Martial Arts Studies Research Network

在20世纪70年代初的功夫热潮掀起40年后，西方世界对武术的参与现在可以与与运动、健康和锻炼相关的传统体育活动相媲美(而且往往超过)。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常见；混合武术现在是比拳击更大的全球业务。然而，在英国(以及整个英语)，对武术的学术研究仍然处于阴影之中。尽管来自一系列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。事实上，在不同的学科和许多地理区域，武术研究正在明显地兴起。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，出现了一批交叉的问题学。然而，由于这些研究是在不同的学科内发展起来的，研究人员很少进行跨学科对话。事实上，在英国(以及整个以英语为母语的学术界)，学术写作的激增速度已经超过了学术活动，几乎没有面对面的思想和方法交流。然而，有证据表明，不仅国家，而且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以英语举行。德国、波兰、捷克和亚洲各地都有关于武术的定期学术会议。在世界各地，越来越多的学位课程涉及武术研究的元素，包括英国的一些。然而，尽管这种研究背景越来越大，但对于武术研究的发展，几乎没有社区或网络的感觉。为了解决这一不足，首席调查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)。征文活动吸引了100多份建议书，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。这种广泛的全国性和学科范围的扫荡在从理论到实践方向的广泛工作中都是相匹配的。除了纯学术工作外，参与研究的外科医生、安全专家、外交官和医生将就如何将武术元素作为治疗方法纳入NHS对中风后康复和抑郁症的治疗进行演讲。武术研究研究网将把更多的研究人员聚集在一起，面对面地推动武术研究，并询问学习武术对更广泛的知识有何贡献。每个活动都将围绕一个特定的主题提出一系列问题，并将有学者、研究人员、从业者和专业人士参与，以探讨核心的社会和文化问题。通过这种方式，研究网络将刺激多学科对话，在更广泛的文化背景下促进我们对武术的理解。通过这些对话，网络将产生知识，并在武术研究的发展中引领方向，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.