InYo: The Journal of Alternative Perspectives on the Martial Arts and Sciences

December 2003

Slate recently ran a four-day article about a student returning to the Shaolin Temple after a decade away. See http://slate.msn.com/id/2091701/entry/2091721/. Also, check the link at the top of page 1, as it offers has practical advice about what to bring with you if you want to visit yourself. Leading the list was money, followed by Immodium anti-diarrhea medication and an antibiotic in case the Immodium doesn't work.

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Reader Hervé LeMarechal recently sent the following note regarding women's judo in France. "On May 6 and 7, 1950, France's first women's judo championship was organized. The contest took place in the dojo of the Judo-Club de France, at Boulevard Blanqui, in Paris. Although part of an inter-club judo championship, it was organized and refereed by Kawaishi Sensei himself. Any woman judoka could participate if she was an orange belt or higher. At least 24 women participated, and the winner was Mme. Agisson, a brown belt from Paris. The standard of the competition wasn't very high, and it left some viewers perplexed. Therefore, it was several years before the event was repeated. However, this contest was legitimate, and many of the contestants were subsequently awarded their black belts. These included Mme. Levannier (France's first female black belt) and Agisson, and Mlle. Matherion, de Barbentane, de Berc, and Dubost." The source document is Bulletin oficiel de la Fédération française de Judo, May 1950, No. 5, pages 12, 14, and 15.
 


November 2003


For an article about a Korean woman who was inspired by the success of Kim Messer to become a champion boxer herself, see http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/sports/200309/kt2003092816121911640.htm.

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An article about women's sport in early Communist China appears at http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1997/JSH2401/jsh2401b.pdf.


Announcements (August 2003)

A publisher who concentrates on books about women’s sport and fitness is Wish Publishing, in Terre Haute, Indiana. The web address is http://www.wishpublishing.com/.

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Due, no doubt, to the popularity of D.T. Suzuki, I am sometimes asked about the relationship of martial arts to Zen Buddhism. My answer? Yes, some folks who do martial arts in Asia practice Zen, and some martial arts have incorporated some of the tenets. At the same time, however, philosophies underlying other, equally mainstream, Asian martial arts include Taoism, Confucianism, Pure Land Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, Vishnaivism, Roman Catholicism, animism, and Maoism. From a purely objective standpoint, none of these philosophies seems to have proved decisively more useful than the others for keeping enemies from doing unto you before you do unto them.

However, that last sentence describes an idiosyncratic and doubtless heretical viewpoint. Therefore, for the more traditional-minded reader, early English-language texts associating martial arts with Zen Buddhism include Yamashita, Yoshitaro. 1900 (1897). "The Influence of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan," in Transactions and Proceedings of the Japan Society, London, no. 4. Yamashita, in turn, is quoted by Murdoch, James. 1903-1926. A history of Japan. Yokohama: Kelly & Walsh. Another influential early English-language account is Nukariya, Kaiten. 1923 (1913). The religion of the Samurai: A study of Zen philosophy and discipline in China and Japan. London: Luzac. I am indebted to William Bodiford for the citations.


Announcements (May 2003)

An article about professional boxer (and graduate student) Liz McGonigle appears at http://www.uchicago.edu/research/jnl-crit-inq/v25/v25n3.rotella.html.

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In offline correspondence, an EJMAS reader sent this quote, attributed to former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) leader Nicholas Johnson:

A reporter who first comes up with an investigative story idea, writes it up and submits it to the editor and is told the story is not going to run. He wonders why, but the next time, he is cautious enough to check with the editor first. He is told by the editor that it would be better not to write that story. The third time he thinks of an investigative story idea but doesn’t bother the editor with it because he knows it’s silly. The fourth time he doesn’t think of the idea any more. How often does Johnson’s dictum apply to what we do in the martial arts?

More often than it should, I’m sure. A goal of InYo is to give writers a forum for articles that question conventional wisdom. If you have ideas, please let us know.


Announcements (April 2003)

Jim Kelly was the guy with the impeccable Afro in Enter the Dragon and Black Belt Jones. Ever wonder what he’s been up to since then? If so, check out http://www.stomptokyo.com/guests/b/black-belt-jones.html, http://www.blackbeltmag.com/archives/blackbelt/1992/may92/jimkelly/jimkelly.html, http://www.blaxploitation.com/a_10.html, http://www.giantrobot.com/issues/issue11/kelly/jkmain.html, and http://www.kungfucinema.com/articles/blackdragons.htm. A filmography appears at http://us.imdb.com – you’re looking for Jim Kelly (II).

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For photos of and interviews with women involved in mixed martial art competition, see http://www.fightergirls.com/home.htm. Also see http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/others/women.html, which is a web site devoted to female involvement in combative activities.


Announcements (March 2003)

For some background on African American female boxers of the 1920s, see http://www.africana.com/Facts/bl_fact_239.htm.

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An article about how societies use combative sports to socialize young males appears at http://www.worldcultures.org/~eclectic/drwhite/worldcul/12-1chick.pdf. According to the researchers, one of the best ways to develop hyper-masculine behavior is to have adolescent males practice combat-like activities and rituals in which there is much shouting and waving of weapons, and little real risk of injury.

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Many Asian American children are offended when their parents suggest that they learn martial arts, protesting that this represents stereotyping. At the same time, children of other ethnicities are often thrilled to get martial art lessons. For some background to why this is, at least in New York City, see Janet Paskin’s article at http://www.columbia.edu/itc/journalism/gissler/anthology/paskin.html.


Announcements (February 2003)

For an introduction to the music associated with Hausa boxing (dambe), try http://hrc.macalester.edu/Other/AfricanMusic/JSFVAMD/Volume2/2-30.html. See also the base site, http://hrc.macalester.edu/Other/AfricanMusic/AfricanMusic.html.

Speaking of dambe, back in March 1927, C. K. Meek published an article about dambe. It appears on pages 47-50 of Man, the publication of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. You can download it at most universities and many libraries by visiting http://www.jstor.org. Anyway, Meek noted that "the pastime of boxing as carried out by the Kyangawa and Shangawa would be more accurately described as ‘wounding.’ … In this form of ‘boxing’ as in the ‘wrestling’ already described the ‘evil drumming’ plays the same part – until the drums play the fighting time no one will start."

Also, see the photo of the Fulani sharo stick fighting festival at http://www.afriquetravel.com/afriquetravel/jsp/other_festivals.html. The purpose of sharo, writes Aliyu Tilde at http://www.gamji.com/NEWS1112.htm, is to build resilience. Says Tilde: "The Fula will bare his chest to be beaten by any challenger in the crowd. As the fresh stick of the attacker awfully tears his skin apart to expose his flesh before the viewing public, he neutralises the sympathy of his spectators with beautiful smiles and cheerful jubilation. Many times, hit on one side of the chest, he will challenge his opponent further by turning the other side. He will retire from the occasion to prepare for a hurtful revenge the following week."

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An article about the Japanese female boxer Emiko Raika appears at http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=A7D22732-FCAF-4E81-BB095B9FCA93E6D7.

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I suppose that I should post this at Kronos, but I don’t have an announcement section there. Therefore, I’ll mention a good article by Jared Diamond here. The title is "Why Societies Collapse," and the URL is
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s707591.htm.

Also relevant to Kronos (and InYo) is "Bearers of War and Creation," an exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art devoted to ancient Maya royal women. The URL is http://www.archaeology.org/magazine.php?page=online/features/siteq2/index.


Announcements (January 2003)

For a recent discussion of the philosophy of Bruce Lee, see http://www.hermenaut.com/a187.shtml.

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The 2003 Guelph School of Japanese Swordsmanship (GSJSA) will be held on July 18, 19, and 20. The panel presentations will be, as usual, on Friday night, the 18th.

The 2003 GSJSA has a theme: women in the martial arts. We will be featuring women instructors of sword and blade arts, and especially encouraging women martial arts students to come to GSJSA, whether they have any previous sword/blade art experience or not. This does not mean that men are not encouraged to teach and take part as in the past; the emphasis will simply be on women's participation and experience as teachers and students.

The academic panel will cover the same theme. Proposals are being sought for 10-page papers (15-20 minutes presentation time) Proposals should include the paper topic, a brief explanation of methodology, contact info and any audiovisual requirements. A discussant is also sought. If you are interested in being the discussant, please send a paragraph about yourself.

Paper presentations will be followed by a directed, then more general discussion. Papers and discussion transcript will be published on EJMAS. The proposal deadline is April 30, 2003. Send proposals to d.klensbigman@worldnet.att.net.


Announcements (December 2002)

InYo is coming up on its third anniversary. It was originally intended to be a place for articles about women’s involvement in the martial arts, but we weren’t getting enough submissions to support that. Consequently, it has morphed into a place for articles that don’t fit into convenient niches. Nonetheless, we’d still like more articles by and about women’s issues, both in self-defense and in the martial arts. Meanwhile, check out the online newsreels at http://www.britishpathe.com – they date back to the 1910s, and some of them feature women boxing, wrestling, etc.


Announcements (October 2002)

Go to http://www.strangehorizons.com. Then go to Archives, then to 9/2/02, where you will find an article by Rachel Manija Brown called "Elven Swords and Zero-G Ki: The Evolution of Martial Arts in SF and Fantasy."

Announcements (September 2002)

After reading some of the claims made on the Internet, it occurred to me that the proper term of address probably is not "grandmaster," but "clinically delusional." See, for instance, this description of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The source of the quote is http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis1/fr21.html:
Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Diagnostic Criteria

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

    1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
    2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
    3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
    4. requires excessive admiration
    5. has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
    6. is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
    7. lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
    8. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
    9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
There are also serial bullies. For a description of this personality disorder, see http://www.successunlimited.co.uk/bully/serial.htm.


Announcements (August 2002)

Until 1967, DC Comics had a tendency to portray Asians as villains, servants, or comic relief. Then Bruce Lee came along and added a new stereotype: martial arts master. For a discussion of the changing portrayal of Asian characters in one long-running comic book series (Blackhawk), seehttp://www.balchinstitute.org/museum/comics/chop.html and http://ourworlds.topcities.com/blackhawk/indexes/issuem11.html.

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An article about boxer Deborah Nichols appears at http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2000-08-05/cover.html.

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Although some are longer, articles posted to EJMAS average between 3,000 and 5,000 words in length. In the USA, the average adult reader of English reads about 200 words per minute. (http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/aug00.asp) This means that many of you spend 10-20 minutes each time you visit our site. Thanks!


Announcements (July 2002)

For photos of Australian women doing judo and jujutsu (some date to the 1910s), follow the links at http://ijji.org/women/foreword.htm. If you’re wondering why some of the photos look familiar, also take a look at http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_svinth_0201.htm.

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A recent British newspaper article about the problem of sexual harassment in sport appears at http://www.observer.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,678189,00.html. Note that both males and females are involved, as both victims and predators.

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Web pages featuring nineteenth and twentieth century strongwomen include http://www.bigsteel.iwarp.com/Gallery/gallery4.htm and http://amaz.freeyellow.com/Forzudas1.htm.


Announcements (June 2002)

Looking for an evolutionary explanation of why males tend to be more violent than females? Then take a look at David Barash’s article, "Evolution, Males, and Violence," at http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i37/37b00701.htm.


Announcements (May 2002)

Readers who have enjoyed Brian Kennedy’s articles on Chinese martial arts may want to read his article on the Taiwanese book publisher Mr. Liu that appears at http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/04/13/story/0000131705.

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A list of Japanese female pro wrestling champions appears at http://www.puroresu.com/zenjo/titles.

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There is an experimental interactive computer game in Europe in which players are literally whipped, burned, and beaten, and this may suggest a future direction for violent video games. For some details, see http://www.wnyc.org/onthemedia/transcripts_040602_pain.html and http://www.khm.de/~morawe/painstation/painstation_eng.html.

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Announcements (April 2002)

A site dedicated to Turkish female athletes, several of whom are boxers or wrestlers, is http://turkish-sports.tripod.com. Check the links, too, as there you’ll find a listing of other country specific sites.

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Announcements (February 2002)

If you’re interested in reading (free!) e-books by female authors, try http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women.

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A site dedicated to women in the martial arts is http://www.tuffgrrlz.com. Of special interest is an article on nak muay ying, or female muay Thai boxers, found at http://www.tuffgrrlz.com/articles/muaythai/index.asp.

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In 1997, Hawaii Pacific University researchers Phil King and Matthew Kaplan presented findings of dream studies conducted among college age practitioners of Okinawan karate. The following summary was written by Johanna King, and comes from http://www.asdreams.org/jkingrev797.htm:

The research participants of Phil King and his co-author Matthew Kaplan were 166 students from 7 different dojos located in various parts of the country, where they study an Okinawan form of karate that focuses on seeking non-violent solutions to problems of daily life. The emphasis in this type of training is awareness, focus, and discipline, and the avoidance whenever possible of actual physical confrontation. Seventy percent of the participants were male, the median years of study was 2 1/2, and they reported an average of about 5 hours of practice per week. An amazing 42% reported having been the victim of a physical attack at some time in their lives, and another 10% reported a near miss (this may have been a factor in their choosing to study a martial art).

The participants recalled an average number of dreams per week, two to three, and attributed a wide range of importance to their dreams, with women higher on both of these variables as well as on dream emotionality. Those who had been or nearly been victimized reported more tendency to analyze their dreams, higher dream emotionality, lower self esteem, and lower contentment. A composite score of commitment to karate was negatively correlated with attitudes toward fighting, and positively correlated with feeling effective in addressing life goals, religious and spiritual feelings, and handling stress well, as well as with various dream variables.

A total of 70 dreams of martial arts and conflictual situations were reported, and a mere 7% of those involved unprovoked offensive behavior by the dream ego, suggesting an incorporation of the passivist values of this particular karate philosophy

The presenters noted that these findings were preliminary, and that there were no control groups used. In 1998, control groups were added (http://www.asdreams.org/asd-15schedule.htm). However I have not seen a summary of that paper.

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University of Chicago’s Special Collection lists two photos under the title "Jiu Jitsu." According to Mark Alznauer, reference assistant at University of Chicago’s Special Collections, both images were photographed by Steger, and show the Girls’ Jiu Jitsu club practicing in Ida Noyes Hall on January 29, 1943. The caption for the first one reads, "Girls of University of Chicago learn Jiu Jitsu from instructor Mr. Cahn, girl on mat is Jean Salmon, of 5523 University Avenue. Both were demonstrating the circle throw." The caption from the second reads: "Girls at University of Chicago learn Jiu Jitsu the hard way." http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/findaid/photofiles/. See "Series IV, Student Activities."


Announcements (January 2002)

If you’re writing a paper about women’s martial art history and want to reference a source that’s not on the Internet, then try volume II of Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia, edited by Thomas A. Green (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001).

Meanwhile, if you’re researching, a nice academic link is http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Theatre_Speech_Dance/ta126chart.html, as here the relationships between the circus, vaudeville, and professional wrestling are not only introduced, they’re actually acknowledged.

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A 1999 Columbus Dispatch article on women’s boxing appears at http://www.dispatch.com/news/sports99/oct99/box1013.html. For a similar December 2001 article about boxer Rosalie Parker, see Daniel Boyne’s Atlantic Monthly article at http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/12/boyne.htm.

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A film I have not seen, but that sounds interesting, is Gaea Girls, directed by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams, (UK/Japan, 2000, 106 min). It’s about Japanese women trying to break into professional wrestling, and focuses more on the training than the matches and hype. See, for example, the review at http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/gaeagirl.shtml and the viewing notes at http://classes.yale.edu/anth254a/videos/gaea_girls.htm.

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Several photographs and drawings of judo being used for women’s self defense in WWII-era Britain appear at http://www.whitewall.fsnet.co.uk/archive2.htm.

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Evan Ginzburg’s Wrestling Then & Now 2002 Annual includes a tribute to the women of North American professional wrestling. The cost is $12 in the USA, $15 elsewhere. Order from Evan Ginzburg, PO Box 640471, Oakland Gardens Station, Flushing, NY 11364.

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Announcements (December 2001)

If you’re looking for women’s martial art history, try volume II of Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia, edited by Thomas A. Green (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001).

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Announcements (November 2001)

An article that I would like to see involves the relationship between shamanism and martial arts, especially in Korea and Okinawa. The physical, punch 'em in the nose world is dominated by men, no doubt about it, but from what I have seen, women seem to dominate the spiritual world. Deny this, and you deny the women power. Since denying women is a fairly standard goal of Church, state, and academia, this is rarely said out loud, at least in male-dominated media. Nonetheless, it is still an elderly woman rather than a priest to whom Koreans and Okinawans often go to determine good days for marriage, etc. So if anybody has seen anything on this topic, drop me a line and I’ll see about reprinting it.

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Announcements (October 2001)

In 1996, British archaeologists discovered a Roman burial site that some now believe to have been that of a female gladiator. For details, see http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/This_Britain/2000-09/gladiator130900.shtml; http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/09/13/timnwsnws02039.html; http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/09/13/timnwsnws01038.html; and http://www.salon.com/mwt/wire/2000/09/12/female_gladiator/print.html.

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Announcements (September 2001)

Around 1976, I recall a fellow getting drummed out of the Marine Corps after being caught masturbating to the photos in a muscle magazine. Back then, this was considered odd behavior, but these days there is even a book by Steven Zeeland on the subject of homoeroticism in the Marine Corps. So I guess MAD Magazine had it right back in the 1960s when it said that the future included Parris Island meeting Fire Island. Be that as it may, homoeroticism is a subject that receives little attention in the mass media, and in an essay published by the San Francisco Chronicle, novelist Anthony Giardina suggests that the reason may be that it is North American culture’s last great sexual taboo. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2001/08/05/RV199227.DTL

Combative sports are no exception to the wall of silence and shame surrounding homoeroticism. According to a Dutch study, one "respondent said about judo: ‘Because I didn't do well, they [teammates] asked me whether I was a queer, even though nobody knew it--or so I assumed. Of course I was a queer, but at that time I wasn't ready to say so.’ Examples of such verbal harassment were reported so frequently and treated so casually by gay men and lesbians themselves (‘they didn't really mean anything by it’) that we infer that the sports world may be termed a straight bulwark that affords no space for gay men and lesbians. This characterization will be backed up with further examples offered below." For the full report, see http://www.pscw.uva.nl/gl/gaysport.html. See also the Village Voice article called "Grappling with Homosexuality, Professional Wrestling: Simultaneously Homoerotic and Homophobic," at http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0018/adim.php.

Of course, there is nothing new about this uneasy blend of homoeroticism and homophobia: besides patronizing the rules of gloved boxing, the Marquess of Queensberry was also noted for bringing about the imprisonment of his son’s former lover, poet Oscar Wilde. For details, see http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/wilde/wildeaccount.html.

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Announcements (August 2001)

For a Spanish-language article about female boxers in Mexico, see http://www.boxeofemenino.com/historia4.htm – the women include the grandmother of Kiko Bejines, who died fighting for the WBA bantamweight title in September 1983. Also, at least 76 Egyptian women have also taken up boxing in the past four years – see http://www.news24.co.za/News24/Africa/Northern_Africa/0,1113,2-11-38_1048479,00.html. Surprisingly, the British Ladies’ Boxing Association isn’t much older than the Egyptian group, only dating to 1994. For some background on the latter organization, see http://www.lacnet.org/suntimes/990131/sports3.html.

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A Hamilton, Ontario, newspaper article ("From Steeltown, with Glove) describing Canadian boxer Jessica Rakoczy appears at http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/hanley/412045.html.

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An article describing female Thai boxers appears at http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/12_08_98/sport2.htm#s23.


Announcements (July 2001)

For a list of websites devoted to women in the martial arts, try http://www.interlog.com/~wwc/women.html. Meanwhile, if your interests also include high school wrestling, then see http://www.fhsw.com.

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Probably this should be placed under the rubric of physical training rather than alternative perspectives, but there is crossover between weightlifters and wrestlers. So if you’re interested in articles about weightlifters, try Iron Game History at http://www.naturalstrength.com/history/history.html.


Announcements (June 2001)

For articles (including one of ours!) about girls’ wrestling programs in high school and women’s wrestling in college, try http://www.wrestlegirl.com. Meanwhile, for historical articles about both male and female professional wrestlers, try http://maxpages.com/sistudwarrior/Page_6.

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Whether you’re looking for chain-mail fashion accessories, bullwhip-cracking advice, or the League of Women Voters, try some of the links found at http://www.babeswithblades.org/links.htm.


Announcements (May 2001)

For links and bibliographic citations related to women in the military, try http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bibs/women/womtoc.htm.

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If you are interested in keeping up with retired wrestlers and boxers, note that J Michael Kenyon recently got the Cauliflower Alley Club web site up. The URL is http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org.

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For some articles on the relationship between Feldenkrais Method and martial arts, see http://www.feldenkrais.com/senseability/1019/11.html and http://www.semiophysics.com/mental5.htm. See also Albert Rosenfeld, "Teaching the body how to program the brain is Moshe’s miracle" in Smithsonian, January 1981 and various articles in The Feldenkrais Journal over the years. (For example, "Moshe on the Martial Arts," The Feldenkrais Journal, 2:1, 1986, 14-19; interview conducted by Dennis Leri with Charles Alston, Mia Segal, Robert Volberg, Frank Wildman, Anna Johnson, and Jerry Karzen in 1977.) Feldenkrais bibliographies appear at http://www.kirschner-seminare.de/Artikel/Reese/biblio_txt_e.htm and http://www.feldenkraisglobal.com/Articles/A_Bibliography.htm. Note, however, that when talking about himself, Feldenkrais sometimes exaggerated, and some people extolling his virtues on the Internet have exaggerated even more. For example, Feldenkrais was not Europe's first judo black belt, nor did he open the first judo club outside Japan.


Announcements (April 2001)

A professional wrestling message board that is worth a look: Death Valley Driver, at http://208.49.27.96/wwwboard/wwwboard.html.  Meanwhile, for pro wrestling history, try http://webhome.idirect.com/~xds/1800.html.

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An aikido practitioner’s comic strip that is amusing appears at http://www.tantobeak.com. For similar artwork by a karateka, try http://www.samuraisam.com/prod03.htm.

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For a look at how great-grandma lived, see http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/gage/features/gage_lnk.html, a site dedicated to nineteenth-century women.

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If interested in women’s athletic history, see "More Myth than History: American Culture and Representations of the Black Female's Athletic Ability", by Patricia Vertinsky and Gwendolyn Captain, Journal of Sport History, 1998, Vol. 25, No. 3, p. 532-561. The Amateur Athletic Foundation’s reports on gender and racial stereotyping in the media at http://www.aafla.org/9arr/over_frmst.htm are also worth looking at.

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Announcements (March 2001)

For those of you interested in sites about strong women, try http://bonnefemme.com/public/html/alphalist.htm, http://www.womansplace.net/cwws/links, and http://www.thevalkyrie.com/clubhouse/links/fighting.htm. Parental guidance is suggested.

Such material isn’t new, by the way. For art by Picasso, Rubens, and Degas showing mixed wrestling, try http://www.torontostorm.com/art.htm.

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Announcements (February 2001)

For an article about a muay Thai fighter who gave up boxing, had a gender change, and became a lounge singer, see http://gender.org/gain/g00/g100100.htm#12.

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Want to be a Master? Then try http://www.tapanime.com/fun/edu/crs-phys.html.

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For some insight into how martial arts are done in Hollywood, visit http://public.logica.com/~stepneys/sf/cons/e2000.htm#3. Sword Forum International (http://swordforum.com) also has some theatrical and science fiction sites that might interest you. Meanwhile, if ZAP and POW are more your speed, then don’t miss the Comic Book Writer’s Guide to Information on the Internet at http://members.aol.com/jayjay5000/WritersGuide.index.html.

Speaking of comics, interested in how their portrayal of Asians has changed over the years? For one series, see http://www.balchinstitute.org/comics/chop.html. Women’s appearance in the comics also changed over time. For a discussion of why female characters tend to be scantily clad and buxom (yes, the 92.9% male readership has something to do with it), see http://members.nbci.com/niaha/womencomic.html.

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Female boxers and their fans might want to check out http://www.amateur-boxing.com/women.htm and http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/6251/wboxnews.htm. Ebony meanwhile published an article about black women professional boxers in its March 2000 edition. To read it, see http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1077/5_55/60059069/p1/article.jhtml.

Other links of interest include Women’s Boxing Archive Network at http://www.womenboxing.com/flash1.htm and Boxing for Everyone at http://www.girlbox.com. The latter includes addresses for gyms offering women’s boxing in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Germany.

And, finally, for an article about fighter Deborah Nichols, see http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2000-08-05/cover.html. "I love to fight," says Nichols. I do. I admit it. I love to hit. I like the way it feels when I connect and I know that I've landed one. There is no better feeling than that."

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For a really depressing account of a martial art teacher abusing his position (among other things, he listed oral sex as a promotion prerequisite for female students), see http://php.indiana.edu/~burdickd/travis.html.

A full bibliography of deviance in sport appears at http://www.fpc.net/pages/bagoas/eandcnews.html.

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For historical images of women’s professional wrestling, try http://members.tripod.com/classicwomen, http://womens-pro-wrestling.com, and http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/9099/ladies/index.html.

Meanwhile, for more generic professional wrestling, Wrestling - Then & Now has released its 2000 Annual. The 72-page professionally printed magazine features a tribute to the ailing Johnny Valentine, a biographical article about Harold "Oddjob" Sakata, and more. To order, send a check or money order for US $12 (domestic)/ $15 (overseas) to Evan Ginzburg, PO Box 640471 Oakland Gardens Station, Flushing, NY 11364. For more information, check out Wrestling - Then & Now at www.walkertown.com/wtnow.

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For some background on Toughman contests, see http://cctr.umkc.edu/~tjthompson/pap1.htm.



Announcements (January 2001)

I’m too young, but maybe you remember the "wrestling she-babes" of the 1950s. For some photos, see http://www.womens-pro-wrestling.com/features.htm.

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The items shown at http://web.tiscalinet.it/ladiesweapons are said to "combine personal security with the traditional Italian passion for elegance and fashion." Hmm. For more practical advice, I’d stick with this article instead: http://www.nydailynews.com/2000-12-07/New_York_Now/Women/a-91301.asp.

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The medieval feminist index is located at http://www.haverford.edu/library/reference/mschaus/mfi/thesaurus.html. For some stories of these women's intellectual descendants, see also http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/1582/amazons.html.

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The recently opened Women’s Museum has some links of potential interest. See, for example, http://www.thewomensmuseum.org/e_relatedlinks.html. If visiting, the Museum’s "sports and adventure" section is described at http://www.thewomensmuseum.org/x_breakingboundaries.html.

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During the 1890s, Kate "Vulcana" Roberts (ca. 1872-1946) was a well-known strongwoman. For photos and background on Roberts and other female bodybuilders, see http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Villa/4527/fit.html.

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Interested in British folk magic? Then try http://www.folkmagic.co.uk. (And the relevance of all this to martial arts? Much magic is sympathetic, and in pre-scientific cultures, spells and curses are often employed before steel.)



Announcements (December 2000)

The Feminist Internet Gateway is at http://www.feminist.org/gateway/master2.html. The martial arts link doesn't seem to be working, but there are still many good links there.

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It's not a nice topic, but for "Essential Information on Abuse, Assault, Rape & Domestic Violence," visit http://205.164.8.12/~kathyw/abuse.html. Also see this British women's self-defense site, http://www.womens-selfdefence.co.uk/Informationx.html.

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For an article about women's sport in the Olympics, see http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/templates/res_center/rclib/results_topics2.html?article=583&record=23.

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Capsule reviews of recent academic texts about sport, many discussing corporate, female, and gay/lesbian issues, appear at http://www2.bc.edu/~malec/Abstracts.html.

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There is an article about Canadian female boxer Katie Burton at http://web.cln.com/archives/charlotte/newsstand/c112898/anews.htm. Her trainer estimates 2,000 female boxers worldwide. This number is probably high, as it doubles the number of registered female boxers. For this number, see http://www.citylinkonline.com/news/morgue/0603boxe.htm, which describes women's boxing in South Florida.



Announcements (November 2000)

For a chronology of women's sport that focuses on the years since 1900, see http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/timeline.htm. There's little mention of boxing and almost no mention of wrestling or judo, but what the heck, that's what we're here for. Also see http://fiat.gslis.utexas.edu/~lewisa/womsprt.html.

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Allen Guttman, author of Women’s Sports: A History (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991) has an excellent article called "Sport, Eros, and Popular Culture" at http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/6-2/html/guttmann.html.

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To read a review of Karyn Kusama's film about women's boxing called Girlfight, see http://www.nationalreview.com/weekend/movies/movies-feeney100700.shtml. To read about a real female boxer named Jill "The Zion Lion" Matthews, see http://www.waort.org/reportersum98.html and http://www.jvibe.com/gametime/boxing.shtml. Matthews, in her mid-30s, trains at the same New York City club (Gleason's Gym) as Sky Hosoya, who is featured elsewhere in InYo. At a less macho level, also see the martial arts stories at Radiance Online: The Magazine for Large Women, at http://radiancemagazine.com/move.html. Authors include Carol Wiley.

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If you collect postage stamps, then surely you'll be interested in Bruce Lee commemoratives. For a Gambian example, see http://www.plumpub.com/info/Fun/LeeStamps.htm. No? Then how about a 2000 Japanese series that commemorates the attack on Pearl Harbor and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? See http://yushu.or.jp/english/e_sdate/00jpn/00comm/00apr21c1.html.



Announcements (October 2000)

I doubt the sampling is scientific, but according to the site search statistics I found at http://www.yep.com/cgi-bin/displayRank_yep.cgi?HealthFitness/group, Attention Deficit Syndrome is the number one health care concern. At medical, penis pumps are pretty popular, too. Wonder if there is a relationship there?

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If reading about martial arts makes you hungry, try SPAM-ku at http://pemtropics.mit.edu/~jcho/spam. Then, after licking your fingers, also take a look at the judo postage stamps listed at http://www.charleston.net/com/martial-arts/stamps.htm.

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For a list of films with women doing judo throws, try http://www.legswatcher.com/judo.html.

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Jessica Amanda Salmonson's article "Amazon Heroic Fantasy" appears at http://www.violetbooks.com/amazon.html. Also check "Babes with Blades" at http://www.best.com/~jendave/BabesWithBlades/index.html and "Xena: Warrior Princess as Feminist Camp" at http://www.mirrorblue.com/annex/jpc. Finally, for an article about a nineteenth century pioneer of women's gymnastics, see http://www.oberlin.edu/~EOG/LucyStonewalk-a-thonTour/Delphine%20Hanna/1957HannaArticle.html.

Go to the EJMAS weapons page



Announcements (September 2000)

For a satirical look at the state of martial arts on the Internet, try "Buyer Beware" by Wayne Muromoto at http://www.furyu.com/onlinearticles/OnlineArts6.html.

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For links to women's wrestling, go to http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Sideline/9563/wreslink2.html, and then
drop down to the bottom of the page. Meanwhile, for information on the Bellevue, Washington fighter Kim Messer, see Jay Yim's article called "'Fireball' Heats Up the Ring" on pages 24-25 of the October 1999 issue of KoreAM Journal. One also learns that Frazier and Ali are about to go at it again, but this time it's the daughters. Tell me this fight isn't going to be a media circus -- with career records of 4-0 and 7-0, Frazier and Ali are holding out for $2.5 million each. Meanwhile Christy Martin, at 40-2-2, was making about $10,000 a fight, last I heard, and neither Ali nor Frazier wants to fight her.

***

A good article on the history of tattooing in Japan can be found athttp://www.tattoos.com/mieko.htm.

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The most famous member of the Han resistance to the fourth century Hsiung-nu invasions of China was Hua Mulan, a young girl who took her elderly father's place in the Northern Dynasty army; according to the story, Mulan disguised herself as a man, served twelve years, and won high recognition. In the Chinese opera, the emphasis was on Mulan’s willingness to sacrifice for kinsmen, but in the twentieth century the stories stressed how she dedicated her life toward national salvation. For example, in 1907 her story was put into a textbook designed for use by schoolgirls; in 1920 her story was set to music; and in 1939 she was made the heroine of a war against foreign invaders who were clearly Japanese. For some online details, try "100 Celebrated Chinese Women" at http://www.span.com.au/100women/index.html. If interested in additional East or Southeast Asian resources on the Internet, try http://newton.uor.edu/Departments%26Programs/AsianStudiesDept/index.html.

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Between 1942 and 1944, the US Army taught some judo to 20,000 members of the Women's Army Corps. For a description of the women's training in Florida, see http://www.iglou.com/neters/business/ftwaltonaauw3.shtml. The National Archives and Records Administration (http://www.nara.gov/nara/nail.html) has film footage of women receiving additional training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Try the keyword "judo"; the film's NARA control number is NWDNM(m)-111-ADC-1182. There are also images of WWII US Army nurses doing calisthenics on a wrestling mat at http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/anc/a&i/ww2-kw/anc-glry.htm.

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To see how Buddhism has influenced at least one Okinawan karate teacher, see Shoshin Nagamine's comments at http://www.izs.org/izs/journal/archive.htm.

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For scientific articles on martial art topics, see Winston Stableford's site http://www.interlog.com/~wwc/science1.html.



Announcements (August 2000)

A website to check for links to Internet sites featuring females doing MA is http://www.budogirls.com. The readers here appear to be mostly male. So, for links to feminist sport websites, try http://www.feminist.org/sports/sports.html, where one finds the National Women's Martial Arts Federation at http://www.nwmaf.org. Also try www.femboxer.com, which links to various sites devoted to women's boxing.

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For those of you who secretly believe that EJMAS needs more eye candy, well then, visit http://www.thevalkyrie.com/picthumb/combat.htm and http://www.fencingsucks.com/gallery/index.htm. Parental discretion is advised.

***

Some of television’s first heroines to be shown having significant prowess in Asian martial arts were The Avengers’ Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) and Emma Peel (Diana Rigg). The Avengers' fight arrangers included Joe Robinson, Ray Austin, and Cyd Child. For additional details about Robinson, see "The South African Family Robinson" in Robert W. Smith's Martial Musings and for more about Austin, Child, and The Avengers, see http://www.the-avengers.net/avstunts.html.

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Need a good medieval joust to set you right? Visit http://ejmas.com/jousting/jousting.htm. Also see http://www.diac.com/~dgordon/MA.html and http://ijka.u4l.com.



Announcements (July 2000)

Last month I mentioned an Internet site dedicated to martial arts and Elvis. A search at the Library of Congress website http://catalog.loc.gov/ reveals the following: Elvis Presley karate exhibition. 1974 Copyright Collection (Library of Congress) DLC [Undetermined] [VAC 7107 (viewing copy)]. The same site also reveals a US government document featuring the comic book characters Snuffy Smith and Barney Google called Do that judo. 1963 Copyright Collection (Library of Congress) DLC [Undetermined] [FAB 4913 (ref print)].



Announcements (June 2000)

Do you like famous movie tough guys? If so, then here's a link to Godzilla himself: http://users.pdnt.com/~kaiju/nakajima.htm. But even the Big Guy can't hold a candle to The King. If you doubt this, then see Shane Peterson's "Elvis and the Martial Arts" at http://members.tripod.com/beyondthereef__1/tigerman.html.

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For a fun site devoted to a variety of sports, see J. Michael Kenyon's http://www.phocian.com.

***

In 1980, a former United States Army decathlete named Tom Waddell decided to organize a Gay Olympics. The outraged US Olympic Committee promptly took Waddell to court, where the judge agreed with the Olympic Committee and told Waddell that he could not have a Gay Olympics. Undeterred, Waddell changed the name to the Gay Games, saying that this was probably best, as "the Olympics are racist, the Olympics are exclusive, they’re nationalistic, they pit one group of people against another, and [are] only for the very best athletes. That doesn’t describe our Games." Instead, in the Games Waddell had in mind, "Winning's not important, doing your best is important." Although only a few thousand people attended the first Gay Games in 1982, the fourth Gay Games in 1994 boasted more participants and nearly as many spectators as the 1992 Winter Olympics, despite none of the massive television coverage or corporate sponsorship.

The next Gay Games will be held in Sydney, Australia, in 2002. The three combative sports will be judo, martial arts (generic; if you have more than four years' experience, you're in the black belt division, regardless of current grade), and Olympic freestyle wrestling. For more information, see the Federation of Gay Games website at http://www.gaygames.org and the Sydney Gay Games website at http://www.gaygamesvi.org.au.

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For information about the University of Minnesota's women's collegiate wrestling program, visit http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~wrestle/wnotes.html.

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New Traditions: Celebrating Women in the Martial Arts is a new (May 2000) e-zine and forum devoted to women's issues. The URL is http://www.4martialartswomen.com.


Announcements (May 2000)

What we publish in InYo depends entirely on what is available. So far that hasn't been much, but we're working on fixing that. Meanwhile, if you have a well-written, reasoned, and researched article relating to the martial arts and sciences that doesn't seem to fit anywhere else, please consider contacting the editor or dropping a line to jsvinth@ejmas.com. We don't pay, but we do try to treat authors and photographers right.

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We don't claim to agree with everything written in the following links (the feeling is doubtless mutual!), but will say that these folks present some alternative perspectives on the martial arts and sciences.

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The first link is Isaac Bonewits' essay on warriors and soldiers; the second and third are point/counterpoint. After reading them, also see the "Journal of non-lethal Combatives" announcements for links to Ralph Peters' very different thoughts on the same subject.

 

INYO 2002
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