The seven forms of lightsaber combat: hyper-reality and the invention of the martial arts

The definition of martial arts studies

“…Nonetheless, it has already generated (or at least enriched) some highly significant work, most notably in the form of Benjamin N. Judkins' recent study of the Star Wars inspired phenomenon of Lightsaber combat [Judkins 2016a]. …”

“…There are currently conferences and publications appearing in many languages in many countries. But the fact that this is happening without much in the way of a conversation about how to study martial arts is troubling [Bowman 2015a;Wetzler 2015;Judkins 2016a]. History is littered with failed attempts to establish any kind of coherent and sustainable academic discourse of martial arts studies.…”

Deconstructing martial arts

“…It has a history. It is only within the last few decades that the notion of 'martial art' has become an intelligible term that is widely understood as the kind of thing we all tend to think it means ( Farrer and Whalen-Bridge 2011;Judkins 2014a). What non-specialists tend to think the term 'martial arts' means frequently involves some vague evocation of punching and kicking, coming from Asia, and -surprisingly frequently, still, half a century after their heyday -being exemplified by figures like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan, whose very names have become shorthand for 'martial arts' (or 'kung fu').…”

Editorial

“…In this issue's first article, Bowman turns his attention to the unfolding debate about the definition of martial arts [Channon and Jennings 2014;Wetzler 2015;Judkins 2016;Channon 2016]. This discussion is prefaced with a brief exploration of some of the failed precursors to martial arts studies, including hoplology.…”