Martial Arts Studies Research Network

20世纪70年代初，西方掀起了一股“功夫热”，40年后的今天，武术在西方世界的普及程度已经堪比（甚至超过）与运动、健康和锻炼相关的传统体育文化活动。跆拳道和太极在学校、大学校园和社区中心就像足球和网球一样普遍；综合格斗现在在全球范围内比拳击更受欢迎。然而，在英国（以及一般的英语语言），武术的学术研究仍然处于阴影之中。尽管来自不同学科的学者通过探索与武术、文化和社会有关的许多问题，为不同的国际学术领域做出了贡献，但情况仍是如此。的确，武术研究在不同的学科和跨越许多地理区域中明显地出现。在人类学、文化研究、民族志、电影研究、历史、医学、心理学、宗教研究、社会学和体育研究等学科中，重叠的问题群正在出现。然而，由于这些研究是在独立的学科中发展起来的，研究人员很少参与跨学科的对话。事实上，在英国（以及整个以英语为母语的学术界），学术写作的增长速度超过了学术活动的发展速度，几乎没有面对面的思想和方法交流。然而，有证据表明，不仅在国内，而且在国际上都有兴趣建立一个研究网络，以促进武术研究发展中的跨学科交流。除了越来越多的出版物，国际上的会议和活动也越来越多，但很少有活动在英国或用英语举行。在德国、波兰、捷克共和国和整个亚洲都有关于武术的定期学术会议。在世界各地，包括英国在内，越来越多的学位课程涉及武术研究的元素。然而，尽管这一日益增长的研究背景，很少有社区意识或网络的武术研究的发展。为了解决这一不足，首席研究员已经组织了一次国际跨学科武术研究会议（卡迪夫大学，2015年6月）。论文征集活动吸引了100多份提案，其中约60份被接受。提案来自英国、澳大利亚、关岛、北美、中国、韩国、香港、日本、南美、德国、芬兰和法国，代表了人类学、文化研究、民族志、电影研究、历史、医学、哲学、心理学、宗教研究、社会学和体育研究等不同领域。这种广泛的国家和学科扫荡是在广泛的工作范围内匹配的，从理论到实践方向。除了纯粹的学术工作外，还将有外科医生、安全专家、外交官和参与研究如何将武术元素作为治疗方法纳入NHS中风后康复和抑郁症治疗的医生进行会谈。武术研究网络将把更多的研究人员聚集在一起，面对面地推动武术研究，并询问学习武术可以为更广泛的知识做出什么贡献。每次活动都将围绕一个特定的主题提出一系列问题，并将涉及学者，研究人员，从业者和专业人士，以探索核心的社会和文化问题。通过这种方式，研究网络将激发多学科的对话，促进我们在更广泛的文化背景下对武术的理解。通过这些对话，网络将产生知识，并引领武术研究的发展，为多个领域做出贡献。

Four decades after being kicked off by the 'kung fu craze' of the early 1970s, participation in martial arts in the Western world now rivals (and often exceeds) participation in traditional physical cultural practices connected with sport, health and exercise. Taekwondo and t'ai chi are as common in schools, college campuses and community centres as football and tennis; and Mixed Martial Arts are now globally bigger business than boxing. Yet, in the UK (and the English language in general), the academic study of martial arts remains in the shadows. This is so even though academics from a range of disciplines are contributing to diverse international scholarly fields via explorations of the many questions attached to martial arts, culture and society. Indeed, martial arts studies is demonstrably emerging, in diverse academic disciplines and across many geographical regions. Clusters of overlapping problematics are emerging within disciplines such as anthropology, cultural studies, ethnography, film studies, history, medicine, psychology, religious studies, sociology, and sports studies.However, as these studies have developed within discrete disciplines, researchers have rarely engaged in cross-disciplinary dialogue. In fact, in the UK (and across Anglophone academia), the proliferation of academic writing has outpaced academic events, and there is little face-to-face exchange of ideas and approaches. Yet, there is evidence of not only a national but also an international appetite for a research network to foster cross-disciplinary communication in the development of martial arts studies. As well as increasing publications, there are growing numbers of conferences and events internationally, yet very few events have ever taken place in the UK or in the English language. There are regular academic conferences on martial arts in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and all over Asia. Around the world, a growing number of degree programmes involve elements of martial arts studies, including some in the UK.Yet, despite this growing research context, there is little sense of community or network for the development of martial arts studies. To address this lack, the Principal Investigator has already organised an international interdisciplinary Martial Arts Studies conference (Cardiff University, June 2015). The call for papers attracted over 100 proposals, some 60 of which were accepted. Proposals came from the UK, Australia, Guam, North America, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, South America, Germany, Finland, and France, and represent fields as diverse as anthropology, cultural studies, ethnography, film studies, history, medicine, philosophy, psychology, religious studies, sociology, and sports studies. This wide national and disciplinary sweep is matched in a broad spectrum of work, spanning from theoretical to practical orientations. As well as pure academic work, there will be talks by surgeons, security experts, diplomats, and medical doctors involved in research into ways of incorporating elements of martial arts as therapy into NHS treatment for post-stroke rehabilitation and depression.The Martial Arts Studies Research Network will bring more researchers together in face to face events that advance the study of martial arts and ask what studying martial arts can contribute to knowledge more widely. Each event will engage with a cluster of questions around a specific theme, and will involve the participation of academics, researchers, practitioners, and professionals, in order to explore core social and cultural questions. In this way the research network will stimulate multi-disciplinary conversations that advance our understanding of martial arts in broader cultural contexts. Through these dialogues, the network will generate knowledge and lead the way in the development of martial arts studies that contributes to multiple areas.