Kerrie Sinclair

Body Conflict Entertainment: Training Practices, Ethics and the Spectator in Australian Martial Arts Kerrie Sinclair

The physiques and mental attitudes of martial artists are highly trained toward the specific purpose of engaging in fight games. This book examines how perceptual changes in physical posture and mental attitude occur during training. It explores the type of physical exchange which occurs between two opponents and investigates some of the differences between class practice fights, tournament fights and theatrical fights. It is concerned with how these encounters of varying amounts of violence are constructed, and what defines aggression and violence in combat. It is argued that training creates a specific type of awareness which has been described as strategic kinaesthetic intention. Do Australian practitioners who develop a physical capacity for combat also develop the system's full ethical and moral aspects that temper aggression? This research investigates the origins of the ritual aspects of the martial systems and examines how religion, ethics and spiritual principles all contribute to a practitioner's overall knowledge. It asks to what degree can a teacher influence the attitudes and/or instill ethical values in a practitioner.