Martial Arts : Origins, Philosophy, Practice - Peter Lewis

Fighting is as old as man himself. This struggle to overcomes another by means of combat, unarmed or armed, is perhaps the legacy handed down to us from ous ancestors, the cave dwellers. Man has formulated scientific principles through the ages in his efforts to subdue enemies by fair means or foul. This quest for domination sowed the seeds for a fighting art.

The term 'martial art' simply means arts concerned with the waging of war. Many of the martial arts we know today were developed from ancient war skills. In time, man's search for a deeper meaning to life, led to the development of a higher level of fighting. Ultimately, the old martial ways were used to cultivate man's understandings of himself.

This paradox of beginning as the practitioner of a lethal skill and along the way transcending the violence aim of that skill to became a human being with superior qualities in both mind and body, is perhaps best summed up by the Chinese proverb: 'He who overcomes others in strong. He who overcomes himself is mighty'

The martial arts of the Orient are shrouded in mystery and tradition. Each country seems to have developed its own fighting skills and through trial and error, honed them to perfection. Although many of these fighting arts defer tremendously from one another, there one constant throughout - that is the almost pathological urge for anonymity. It is because of the brotherhood of secrecy that many of the martial arts we know today have only come to light within the last 50 years or so.   

Many martial arts of the East have their roots buried deeply in religion. Taoism and Buddhism and their many offshoots have all played important roles in the development of fighting systems. The servant of the religious disciplines, the monks and priests, were for the most part responsible for spreading the various fighting skills all over Asia.

In the Middle East, murals in tombs in the Nile Valley and hieroglyphics engraved in the pyramids prove that the Egyptians had an organised type of unarmed combat as early as 3500 BC. For more complete information on a systematized martial method of fighting we must also look to the ancient Greek. The works of the post Homer (8th century BC) contained graphic descriptions of unarmed combat, and the philosopher Plato (428-348 BC) mentions in his writings a kind of shadow boxing termed skiamachia . This was eventually combined with the Greek system of wrestling to form an art called pancration meaning 'game of all powers'. In this system a wide variety of techniques was allowed. So far as is known, pancration was the first 
recorded  fighting discipline that incorporated a method of kicking with punches and empty hand strikes. The art was eventually introduced, as a sport, into the Olympic Games in 648 BC.

Some historians believe that we should regard Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) as the founder of the martial arts, bringing, through his invasion of India, the unarmed combat method of the Greeks to East. However, it would seems somewhat native to suppose that Asia had to wait for this Macedonian conqueror to invade her borders before the martial arts born. Recent archaeological investigation in southern China has unearthed sketches and artifacts that suggest unarmed fighting methods were in operation long before this time. 

Combat is identified with fighting and killing and yet, through the practice of martial disciplines, exponents have found increased spiritual awareness. Thus  a strange paradox begins to emerge: a concept of inner peace beyond fighting. Ultimately, through continued studies, a search for a higher understanding of one's self is fostered. No one can train in a martial art discipline without at some strange becoming aware of this fundamental theme. To realize this, is to be half way towards grasping the true martial arts.

From the introduction of the book, and written by Peter Lewis. Published by Rupa & Co New Delhi. Price  Rs 95.