Games of Sport, Works of Art, and the Striking Beauty of Asian Martial Arts

AbstractMartial-arts practice is not quite anything else: it is like sport, but is not sport; it constantly refers to and as it were cohabits with violence, but is not violent; it is dance-like but not dance. It shares a common athleticism with sports and dance, yet stands apart from both, especially through its paradoxical commitment to the external value of being an instrument of violence. My discussion seeks to illuminate martial arts practice by systematic contrast to games of sport and works of performance art, especially dance.KEYWORDS: Martial Artssportdanceaesthetics Additional informationNotes on contributorsBarry AllenBarry Allen is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: bgallen@mcmaster.ca