Through popular movies starring Bruce Lee and songs like the disco hit "Kung Fu Fighting," martial arts have found a central place in the Western cultural imagination. But what would 'martial arts' be without the explosion of media texts and images that brought it to a wide audience in the late 1960s and early 1970s? In this examination of the media history of what we now call martial arts, author Paul Bowman makes the bold case that the phenomenon of martial arts is chiefly an invention of media representations. Rather than passively taking up a preexisting history of martial arts practices--some of which, of course, predated the martial arts boom in popular culture--media images and narratives actively constructed martial arts. Grounded in a historical survey of the British media history of martial arts such as Bartitsu, jujutsu, judo, karate, tai chi, and MMA across a range of media, this book thoroughly recasts our understanding of the history of martial arts. By interweaving theories of key thinkers on historiography, such as Foucault and Hobsbawm, and Said's ideas on Orientalism with analyses of both mainstream and marginal media texts, Bowman arrives at the surprising insight that media representations created martial arts rather than the other way around. In this way, he not only deepens our understanding of martial arts but also demonstrates the productive power of media discourses.

About the Author
Paul Bowman is Professor of Cultural Studies at Cardiff University. He is the author of many works of film, media and cultural studies, on popular culture, postcolonialism, cultural theory, and martial arts. He is founder and director of the Martial Arts Studies Research Network.

Reviews
In The Invention of Martial Arts, Bowman takes readers on an expedition in media archeology. Important and surprising in turns, this exploration explains the ways that we think, talk and fantasize about these fighting systems. This exhaustively researched and theoretically informed work is sure to become required reading for students of cultural, media and martial arts studies. * Dr. Benjamin N. Judkins, Co-editor of the journal Martial Arts Studies *
Wide ranging, rich in detail, and meticulously researched, The Invention of Martial Arts traces multiple and varied representations of structured, combative praxes in the UK. Moving beyond a now-conventional inquiry into kung fu film, Bowman provides a history of the idea of martial arts as articulated through popular culture forms as diverse as novels, TV commercials, cartoons, and pop music. * Janet O'Shea, Professor, UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance *
The Invention of Martial Arts is a good read. Unlike many other scientific monographs, it is written in a manner accessible to non-specialists. It is recommended especially to martial arts researchers, sociologists of culture, and media experts. * Wojciech J. Cynarski, University of RzeszA(3)w, RzeszA(3)w, Poland *



Book Information
ISBN 9780197540343
Author Paul Bowman
Format Paperback
Page Count 280
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions(mm) 155mm * 231mm * 18mm