Martial Arts as Embodied Knowledge

D. S. Farrer is Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Guam and the author of Shadows of the Prophet: Martial Arts and Sufi Mysticism. John Whalen-Bridge is Associate Professor of English at the National University of Singapore and the editor of several books, including (with Gary Storhoff) American Buddhism as a Way of Life, also published by SUNY Press.

"…a significant and very innovative piece of work that is a must read for everyone interested in martial arts studies. Martial Arts as Embodied Knowledge shows that traditional martial arts cannot be studied as static entities; the social, cultural and historical context needs to be taken into consideration … this book provides insights for further work in several directions … offers food for deep thought and adds substantially to our understanding of traditional Asian martial arts." — idrottsforum.org"The book successfully demonstrates that martial arts and other traditional art forms are not static entities. Instead they respond to changing environments by a process of constant reinvention." — Thomas A. Green, coeditor of Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation"Taken together, these essays give a new picture of Asian martial arts as a transnational phenomenon, ranging from Singapore's preservation of Chinese traditions to British adaptation of Indian martial arts for the stage and African usage of Okinawan traditions. Since martial arts are one of the most famous traditions to have originated in Asia, it is useful to see exactly how they are viewed or practiced around the world, from a scholarly perspective." — Margaret B. Wan, author of Green Peony and the Rise of the Chinese Martial Arts Novel

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgments1. Introduction: Martial Arts, Transnationalism, and Embodied KnowledgeD. S. Farrer and John Whalen-BridgePart I: Embodied Fantasy2. Some Versions of the Samurai: The Budō Core of DeLillo’s Running Dog John Whalen-Bridge3. The Fantasy Corpus of Martial Arts, or, The "Communication" of Bruce Lee  Paul Bowman4. Body, Masculinity, and Representation in Chinese Martial Arts FilmsJie LuPart II: How the Social Body Trains5. The Training of Perception in Javanese Martial ArtsJean-Marc de Grave6. Thai Boxing: Networking of a Polymorphous ClinchStéphane RennessonPart III: Transnational Self-Construction7. From Floor to Stage: Kalarippayattu TravelsMartin Welton 8. The Oriental Martial Arts as Hybrid Totems, Together with Orientalized AvatarsStephen Chan9. Coffee-Shop Gods: Chinese Martial Arts of the Singapore DiasporaD. S. FarrerContributorsIndex