Eskirmology by Jamie Acutt
Before we can categorise or typify the martial arts, we must first typify the contexts from which... more Before we can categorise or typify the martial arts, we must first typify the contexts from which they are derived. This paper is an investigation into the types of interpersonal conflicts that exist, and then attempts to correlate existing martial arts by their invention, as a solution to one or more of those contexts. A survey of existing typologies and corresponding critique is made to demonstrate that, without returning to the context as a first principle, that the result is a typology that is liable to miss important data-points surrounding the existential justification to invent a system of protection in the first place.
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The Eskirmology Society, 2013
The science of physical conflict, and its meta-physical applications. Describing the 3 perspectiv... more The science of physical conflict, and its meta-physical applications. Describing the 3 perspectives of the science, and how it has catalogued the martial arts genome. A shortened overview of Eskirmology, revised on the 10 year anniversary of its original circulation. The audience was non-academics, within a school/practical setting.
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IQ Journal - Institute of Martial Arts and Sciences, 2015
Martial Arts are inevitably designed for a purpose, and that purpose is risk reduction. To formal... more Martial Arts are inevitably designed for a purpose, and that purpose is risk reduction. To formally establish this theory, I have applied an Operational Risk Assessment Model known as SPE (Severity, Probability, Exposure) to investigate the contrasting risks between high-risk and low-risk combat, with a mind to determining the features which define them. This process, it is hoped, may thereby make the kinds of solutions required to cope with them more explicit. In this case, we may well be capable of identifying the types of strategies favoured within each scale of risk, and then compare the strategies in existing Martial Arts. Herein is proposed a definite metric by which combat may be assessed, and how a natural hierarchy of effective behaviours may be determined as a result.
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IQ Journal - Journal of the Institute of Martial Arts and Sciences, 2016
"Martial Arts are understood primarily from a cultural perspective, derived from the social influ... more "Martial Arts are understood primarily from a cultural perspective, derived from the social influences which generated them. There is currently no formally proposed framework to study Martial Arts purely from a functionalist perspective.
This paper proposes that Cybernetics may be used to identify the specific physical problems brought about by inter-personal conflict, as well as identify the finite solutions to them.
The aim is to propose Cybernetics as a suitable framework for this investigation by demonstrating it's value to Martial Arts research."
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The martial arts are solutions to interpersonal conflict. In the context of self-defence, the pro... more The martial arts are solutions to interpersonal conflict. In the context of self-defence, the problem-space is defined as a scenario in which a victim is targeted by an aggressor. The argument is proposed here that the design of self-defence programmes should be more data-driven, and be defined by the profiling of aggressors with the attributes of the individual practitioners. The concept that all learning of physical skills is actually the experience of one's own body is also proposed.
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Based upon an extrapolation from the General Systems Theory which structures systemic information... more Based upon an extrapolation from the General Systems Theory which structures systemic information into four classes; Philosophy, Theory, Methodology and Application. From this, the important factors of: Circumstance, Outcome, Strategy, Tactic, Action, Contingency (COSTAC).
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Martial arts are, by nature, ‘embodied knowledge’. Yet the forms of tacit, physical and internali... more Martial arts are, by nature, ‘embodied knowledge’. Yet the forms of tacit, physical and internalised knowledge are different in practice and in meaning when compared across individual practitioners. The performance, rhythm, physicality of motion is different. Variations occur because of this feature. And so we must question that, in light of such variation, what is there which defines a martial art in reality?
This paper explores the ability to statistically analyse physical movements using a language paradigm. In the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP), there exists the ability to calculate frequencies and idiosyncrasies of expression by analysing the range of words used, the phrases and combinations of words, et al. This paper proposes a similar method, but instead of written words, it explores the possibility of treating movements like words, and routines of movement like phrases. Shotokan Kata is used to identify the range of motions, to identify the most statistically common ‘movement phrases’ which occur across many kata.
Finally, the paper posits the potential for ‘re-embodied knowledge’ or the ability for ‘disembodied knowledge’ (in the form of documentary evidence) can be re-embodied by means of recreation and experimentation.
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Kinesthesis, also spelt ‘Kinaesthesis’, is a term used to refer to the experience of one’s own bo... more Kinesthesis, also spelt ‘Kinaesthesis’, is a term used to refer to the experience of one’s own body in motion through Space. Some definitions also state that it is the experience of the motion of the extremities away from and towards the body.
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This document convinced many people about the potential of Fightlogical study over the years. I f... more This document convinced many people about the potential of Fightlogical study over the years. I found it again on one of my oldest hard-drive back-ups. An original copy of my 2008 Book Proposal for The Martial Arts Delusion - the first time I articulated the Unified Theory of Fighting (UTF) in public.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS – Based upon the title; The Martial Arts Delusion
Ever since the first divisions between schools of martial arts, there has always been the question; is unification of the martial arts possible? The modern mixed martial arts phenomenon is an example of an effort to unify the martial arts.
But the unification of martial arts is only a superficial unification. The logic inherent in fighting is the grand architect of the martial arts. All martial arts must succumb to the logic of fighting in order to comply with its laws and be effective methods of self-defence. Therefore all martial arts are solutions to the problem of fighting and the need for self-defence.
The Martial Arts Delusion takes a look at the laws of Fight-logic and the movements possible with the human body. By assessing fighting scientifically, it represents a paradigm shift from the importance of martial arts to learn self-defence, to the importance of understanding instinctive fight drives. The text serves as an introduction to the Unified Theory of Fighting, which proves Bruce Lee’s theory of martial arts being “Partial Truths”. Lee further stated (in his process of creating Jeet Kune Do) that we should be after the root not the branches, by recognising the causes of ignorance. The root is the Unified Theory, and the cause of ignorance is the Law of Ritualisation; discussed and defined here for the first time.
With important steps towards creating a legitimate science of fighting, The Martial Arts Delusion takes significant and necessary progressions towards sacrificing some long-established “sacred cows”. The arguments of The Martial Arts Delusion provoke us to examine the martial arts under a scientific microscope leaving the martial arts community to question some long-held delusions about the martial arts.
In The Martial Arts Delusion, millions of years of humanity’s understanding of fighting with at least 7 thousand years of recorded history of the martial arts converge into a single book. The Martial Arts Delusion covers Eskirmology, which is the product of humanity’s understanding of fighting, and hence there is a wealth of information which will inform the beginner and inspire the expert.
The Martial Arts Delusion has the potential to change the practice and study of the martial arts forever.
PROPOSAL SYNOPSIS – Written for the prospective publisher
A Phenomenological & anthropological study of fighting, self-defence and the martial arts
The book logically begins by defining exactly what we means by the term “fighting”, the evolution of combat, both in means, technology as well as fashion, whilst defining the kinds of fighting that exist. The next chapter deals with the issue of fighting in its most natural and raw state; "instinctive fighting" - which is determined by a fight between two (or more) uninformed constituents. Using this discussion, I define fighting as a SARC (Spontaneous Aggressive-resistant Continuum) and reason that any solution to it (as self-defence) must comply with this definition. This definition exists outside of what martial arts state fighting “should be” and right from the off, we have defined the truth of fighting (as a phenomenon). As a phenomenon, both animals and humans have created responses to it. Animal fighting is discussed in this section before moving on to the human responses.
The next stage is to address the current solutions, known collectively as the martial arts - which I define as Ritualised fighting. This describes a brief history of fighting (SARC) as it has become ritualised and institutionalised, and also how social pressure forced it to conform into sports, but also becoming specialised. I outline the flaws of such methods of fighting, as well as reason as to why these have logically evolved down this path. The overriding reason is what I call the Law of Institutionalisation - the passing of knowledge from one human to another; the student continuing the teaching process, rather than the learning process. This law is at the core of the entire subject of Eskirmology.
The next logical course of focus is to look at the philosophical discussions of ritualised fighting by the late Bruce Lee. Using a plethora of quotations and much back matter, I reason that Bruce Lee was one of the first martial artists of the modern era to realise that ritualised fighting cannot be applied to a SARC. We can trace within Lee's work his thought process which lead to a systematic (and scientific) discussion of fighting. We finally propose what Lee's Jeet Kune Do "should have been" and demonstrate that by classifying his approach as "Martial Art" rather than "Martial Science" it too has fallen prey to the Law of Institutionalisation.
The next issue to look at is to prove that what Lee discussed was truly science. With a definition of science compared to Art, we can see that science describes that which is true, and that which is true is eternal. Using this theory, we may look back at the works of masters prior to Lee and see the same thought processes. I attempt to prove this theory by using the 1389 works of Hanko Doebringer (a medieval German martial arts master), as well as Musashi Miyomoto's Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho). Taking these two master's works as an example of the eternal properties of the study of fighting, I reason that we may therefore compare and contrast the most modern scientific masters of fighting with the most ancient. To do this, I use the works of Geoff Thompson (considered one of the world's foremost experts on self-protection) and Grandfectmeister Johannes Leichtenauer (believed to have created the system described by Doebringer and used by European fight-masters for 3 centuries after his death). With this direct comparison we may accept that what works in fighting is universal, and therefore may be studied with the use of science.
The next logical step is to describe the science, making explicit the core reasoning and tools required of an eskirmologist; to use these parameters to draw from the world around him, to appraise his methods for logical application and finally to draw from solutions (martial arts) which already exist. Eskirmology represents the essential paradigm shift from study of martial arts to be good at fighting (and self-defence) but to study fighting and studying which responses are the most practical whilst drawing from martial arts systems. Principles such as "Taking the middle road" (Spatial Relation from wing chun), Interception/Stop-Hit(Temporal Relation, from fencing, with roots in Leichtenauer's principle of "Indes" and found in JKD), Tai No Sen (Waiting for the initiative, as well as the Middle principle of Go Rin No Sho) are combined in the Cardinal Eskirmological Principle of "The Golden Mean". This stems from the ultimate principle of polarity from in any and every martial art (primarily in Internal martial arts) but also in those which have Unilateral or Bilateral responses. This polarity is also defined as the "Polarity-relative perspective" explaining the reasoning for why martial arts have separated into specialised fields. Using this, I have created a Tree of Knowledge from which we can see the change from a "root" to many different decisions made at many different stages.
This "Root" is what I name the "Unified Fighing Theory" (UTF, or UFT). It holds that the only martial art which exists is the style of the human body in application to the logic inherent in fighting - there are only techniques defined by the body's biomechanics. Using this, we are able to describe the Universal possibilities of the human body to create a mathematical formula that describes the formation of any technique from any martial art. A technique is merely a variant upon certain core parameters. Using this idea, the fighting style of someone using UTF would be one of "no style" and of no method in particular - any which scores.
The penultimate chapter is a brief yet profound one; it discusses the Metaphysics of fighting. The ethical, moral and sometime religious overtones found in the martial arts. I also make philosophical discussions about Tao, and a scientific exposition of the existence of Chi.
The final chapter of the book proposes the use of science, and what would be needed to create a true martial science. The key idea would be consensus, whereby all research and techniques are considered by a variety of different martial artists and scientist in an open forum of discussion. Research would take place and the findings openly given to a community as a whole. This Eskirmological society would openly discuss the scientific study of fighting, and the martial arts so as to be a peer-reviewed scientific-method.
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Martial Arts Studies by Jamie Acutt
Jacob Happel was the founder of the Belgian 6-Lateral and Proportional Gymnastics System, in the ... more Jacob Happel was the founder of the Belgian 6-Lateral and Proportional Gymnastics System, in the 19th Century. His method included a curriculum of martial arts, which he documented across 3 dedicated works on La Savate, La Canne, La Grand Baton, and L'escrime. He taught it in a framework that came from the German Turner movement known as 'Freifechten', or Fencing without apparatus. 30 years before Barton-Wright, Happel had combined various European martial arts into a single curriculum.
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Privately circulated, 2018
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This paper traces the seven core characteristics which defined the Ancient Roman Schools of Arms ... more This paper traces the seven core characteristics which defined the Ancient Roman Schools of Arms (the Ludi Gladiatorii), and how those characteristics may be found across Europe in the Germanic, French, English and Italian institutions of martial culture.
The paper begs the question to what extent these characteristics were inherited from the ancient period, or posthumously recreated in the High Medieval period.
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This document was written based upon my work in programmatic text analysis and Stemmatology (see ... more This document was written based upon my work in programmatic text analysis and Stemmatology (see my drafts) to demonstrate the quantifiable and statistical relationships. This document supported my published Critical Edition of the Liechtenauer Corpus.
Significantly, it demonstrates the theories of progressive enhancement by the author, and scribal degradation by copyists. It also speculates that the original works existed as autographs, prior to being compiled in anthology behaviour.
The chart shows several types of information - chronological, topological, typological and statistical.
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The following spreadsheets represent a Stemmatological statistical analysis of the Liechtenauer c... more The following spreadsheets represent a Stemmatological statistical analysis of the Liechtenauer corpus.
This paper consists of the output from this activity, the aggregates from which have been used to build a statistically accurate picture of the relationships between source-materials within the Liechtenauer corpus.
Hypothesis:
A number of surviving source-materials demonstrate observable similarities, in which some demonstrate the same errors and idiosyncrasies.
A programme was web-based, written in PHP, jQuery and MySQL. It was written to attempt to validate and measure the similarities between different source-materials, to make the first attempt to build a statistically accurate Stemma Codicum.
Methodology:
1. Each source transcription was loaded into a database (MySQL), using a comparison script to best-match and align paragraphs into columns and rows.
2. Additional material was added to the rows, so that filtering could be performed based upon identifying DISTINCT values. (The programme can therefore compare only certain sources, only titles, zettel or glosse, only Blossfechten, Kampffechten, or Rossfechten etc.)
3. All content was loaded into an array, and a normalisation function applied to make all spellings reconciled, as well as sanitise special characters out of the comparison.
4. All content was loaded into an array, and a function applied to output a new multidimensional array consisting of soundex, metaphone and normal keys and values (modified to cope with Germanic alphabet).
5. A comparison function based upon a similar_text method was then written to cross-reference each value with all others.
6. Based upon a random selection of the sources, the output was then measured and ordered against human (manual) corroboration and validation.
7. The result was that Metaphone produced the most accurate ordering of the similarities (up to 100%), with a standard deviation of around 3%.
8. The algorithm was then applied to all sources within the database, and a percentage value output into a table.
9. Colour-coding and back-end metrics were then used to easily demarcate and distinguish the similarities between sources.
10. Pivot-tables within the programme were then used to generate aggregations and orders between highest to lowest similarities.
11. These aggregates allowed for the design of a Stemma Codicum, presented in my Blossfechten Critical Edition.
12. This entire process has been automated to allow for quick execution of further or edited queries.
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A diagram created in 2013 to assist in mapping the documented evidence described in my work in Sw... more A diagram created in 2013 to assist in mapping the documented evidence described in my work in Swords, Science and Society (2019).
The intention was to update it to align with new findings, and also to provide it in my published work. That intention was not realised, but I have opted to share this version in the hope it generates more research in this area.
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Hils (1985, 19) tells us how the master known as Liechtenauer may be discovered with such regular... more Hils (1985, 19) tells us how the master known as Liechtenauer may be discovered with such regularity in fencing and wrestling literature that these topics were “inextricably linked” with him. So much so, “his name is in a sense a distinctive trademark of fencing manuscripts” (ibid). He is the single authority (Autorität) on the topic, cited routinely to the point of ritual. Even in anonymous manuscripts, the citation of verses derived from Liechtenauer may be found with such honour and esteem as to have lasted for nearly two hundred years. Yet what do we actually know about him and his social group. Paulus Kal in 1470 listed, apart from himself, seventeen other masters who upheld the system of Liechtenauer who were part of a loose association which he called the "Company of Liechtenauer" (Gesellschaft Liechtenawers).
This paper is an attempt to link these masters using historical evidence, and the theory of Social Networking via Degrees of Separation.
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A normalised translation of the Rome Codex (Codex Danzig, Cod.44.A.8) created to focus upon the ... more A normalised translation of the Rome Codex (Codex Danzig, Cod.44.A.8) created to focus upon the information structure of Liechtenauer's Art of Fighting.
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This paper presents a tentative look at attempting to apply statistical analysis to appreciating ... more This paper presents a tentative look at attempting to apply statistical analysis to appreciating the combative instructions of historical source-material, in this case, the Liechtenauer corpus.
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International Journal of Sports Sciences, 2016
Science has a strong legacy in European history. It has characterised the development of many top... more Science has a strong legacy in European history. It has characterised the development of many topics and established a firm basis for the world-view which we hold today. One such topic in which it was a recurrent theme was Fencing.
The golden age of the scientific study of Fencing is generally considered to be the Renaissance, the period in which the method applied is recognisable as being ‘modern’. For this reason perhaps, the sources which document the Science of Fencing prior to the Renaissance are often excluded from consideration. In the following paper, I will appraise the wider world-view of the medieval period, using the lens of Aristotelian Scholasticism, and apply such an intellectual backdrop to the theoretical foreground of Fencing.
This paper attempts to demonstrate strong correlation between the principles of a medieval martial art, as documented in the corpus of Johannes Liechtenauer (15th century), and the concepts discussed by Aristotle in his books on Physics.
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Eskirmology by Jamie Acutt
This paper proposes that Cybernetics may be used to identify the specific physical problems brought about by inter-personal conflict, as well as identify the finite solutions to them.
The aim is to propose Cybernetics as a suitable framework for this investigation by demonstrating it's value to Martial Arts research."
This paper explores the ability to statistically analyse physical movements using a language paradigm. In the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP), there exists the ability to calculate frequencies and idiosyncrasies of expression by analysing the range of words used, the phrases and combinations of words, et al. This paper proposes a similar method, but instead of written words, it explores the possibility of treating movements like words, and routines of movement like phrases. Shotokan Kata is used to identify the range of motions, to identify the most statistically common ‘movement phrases’ which occur across many kata.
Finally, the paper posits the potential for ‘re-embodied knowledge’ or the ability for ‘disembodied knowledge’ (in the form of documentary evidence) can be re-embodied by means of recreation and experimentation.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS – Based upon the title; The Martial Arts Delusion
Ever since the first divisions between schools of martial arts, there has always been the question; is unification of the martial arts possible? The modern mixed martial arts phenomenon is an example of an effort to unify the martial arts.
But the unification of martial arts is only a superficial unification. The logic inherent in fighting is the grand architect of the martial arts. All martial arts must succumb to the logic of fighting in order to comply with its laws and be effective methods of self-defence. Therefore all martial arts are solutions to the problem of fighting and the need for self-defence.
The Martial Arts Delusion takes a look at the laws of Fight-logic and the movements possible with the human body. By assessing fighting scientifically, it represents a paradigm shift from the importance of martial arts to learn self-defence, to the importance of understanding instinctive fight drives. The text serves as an introduction to the Unified Theory of Fighting, which proves Bruce Lee’s theory of martial arts being “Partial Truths”. Lee further stated (in his process of creating Jeet Kune Do) that we should be after the root not the branches, by recognising the causes of ignorance. The root is the Unified Theory, and the cause of ignorance is the Law of Ritualisation; discussed and defined here for the first time.
With important steps towards creating a legitimate science of fighting, The Martial Arts Delusion takes significant and necessary progressions towards sacrificing some long-established “sacred cows”. The arguments of The Martial Arts Delusion provoke us to examine the martial arts under a scientific microscope leaving the martial arts community to question some long-held delusions about the martial arts.
In The Martial Arts Delusion, millions of years of humanity’s understanding of fighting with at least 7 thousand years of recorded history of the martial arts converge into a single book. The Martial Arts Delusion covers Eskirmology, which is the product of humanity’s understanding of fighting, and hence there is a wealth of information which will inform the beginner and inspire the expert.
The Martial Arts Delusion has the potential to change the practice and study of the martial arts forever.
PROPOSAL SYNOPSIS – Written for the prospective publisher
A Phenomenological & anthropological study of fighting, self-defence and the martial arts
The book logically begins by defining exactly what we means by the term “fighting”, the evolution of combat, both in means, technology as well as fashion, whilst defining the kinds of fighting that exist. The next chapter deals with the issue of fighting in its most natural and raw state; "instinctive fighting" - which is determined by a fight between two (or more) uninformed constituents. Using this discussion, I define fighting as a SARC (Spontaneous Aggressive-resistant Continuum) and reason that any solution to it (as self-defence) must comply with this definition. This definition exists outside of what martial arts state fighting “should be” and right from the off, we have defined the truth of fighting (as a phenomenon). As a phenomenon, both animals and humans have created responses to it. Animal fighting is discussed in this section before moving on to the human responses.
The next stage is to address the current solutions, known collectively as the martial arts - which I define as Ritualised fighting. This describes a brief history of fighting (SARC) as it has become ritualised and institutionalised, and also how social pressure forced it to conform into sports, but also becoming specialised. I outline the flaws of such methods of fighting, as well as reason as to why these have logically evolved down this path. The overriding reason is what I call the Law of Institutionalisation - the passing of knowledge from one human to another; the student continuing the teaching process, rather than the learning process. This law is at the core of the entire subject of Eskirmology.
The next logical course of focus is to look at the philosophical discussions of ritualised fighting by the late Bruce Lee. Using a plethora of quotations and much back matter, I reason that Bruce Lee was one of the first martial artists of the modern era to realise that ritualised fighting cannot be applied to a SARC. We can trace within Lee's work his thought process which lead to a systematic (and scientific) discussion of fighting. We finally propose what Lee's Jeet Kune Do "should have been" and demonstrate that by classifying his approach as "Martial Art" rather than "Martial Science" it too has fallen prey to the Law of Institutionalisation.
The next issue to look at is to prove that what Lee discussed was truly science. With a definition of science compared to Art, we can see that science describes that which is true, and that which is true is eternal. Using this theory, we may look back at the works of masters prior to Lee and see the same thought processes. I attempt to prove this theory by using the 1389 works of Hanko Doebringer (a medieval German martial arts master), as well as Musashi Miyomoto's Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho). Taking these two master's works as an example of the eternal properties of the study of fighting, I reason that we may therefore compare and contrast the most modern scientific masters of fighting with the most ancient. To do this, I use the works of Geoff Thompson (considered one of the world's foremost experts on self-protection) and Grandfectmeister Johannes Leichtenauer (believed to have created the system described by Doebringer and used by European fight-masters for 3 centuries after his death). With this direct comparison we may accept that what works in fighting is universal, and therefore may be studied with the use of science.
The next logical step is to describe the science, making explicit the core reasoning and tools required of an eskirmologist; to use these parameters to draw from the world around him, to appraise his methods for logical application and finally to draw from solutions (martial arts) which already exist. Eskirmology represents the essential paradigm shift from study of martial arts to be good at fighting (and self-defence) but to study fighting and studying which responses are the most practical whilst drawing from martial arts systems. Principles such as "Taking the middle road" (Spatial Relation from wing chun), Interception/Stop-Hit(Temporal Relation, from fencing, with roots in Leichtenauer's principle of "Indes" and found in JKD), Tai No Sen (Waiting for the initiative, as well as the Middle principle of Go Rin No Sho) are combined in the Cardinal Eskirmological Principle of "The Golden Mean". This stems from the ultimate principle of polarity from in any and every martial art (primarily in Internal martial arts) but also in those which have Unilateral or Bilateral responses. This polarity is also defined as the "Polarity-relative perspective" explaining the reasoning for why martial arts have separated into specialised fields. Using this, I have created a Tree of Knowledge from which we can see the change from a "root" to many different decisions made at many different stages.
This "Root" is what I name the "Unified Fighing Theory" (UTF, or UFT). It holds that the only martial art which exists is the style of the human body in application to the logic inherent in fighting - there are only techniques defined by the body's biomechanics. Using this, we are able to describe the Universal possibilities of the human body to create a mathematical formula that describes the formation of any technique from any martial art. A technique is merely a variant upon certain core parameters. Using this idea, the fighting style of someone using UTF would be one of "no style" and of no method in particular - any which scores.
The penultimate chapter is a brief yet profound one; it discusses the Metaphysics of fighting. The ethical, moral and sometime religious overtones found in the martial arts. I also make philosophical discussions about Tao, and a scientific exposition of the existence of Chi.
The final chapter of the book proposes the use of science, and what would be needed to create a true martial science. The key idea would be consensus, whereby all research and techniques are considered by a variety of different martial artists and scientist in an open forum of discussion. Research would take place and the findings openly given to a community as a whole. This Eskirmological society would openly discuss the scientific study of fighting, and the martial arts so as to be a peer-reviewed scientific-method.
Martial Arts Studies by Jamie Acutt
The paper begs the question to what extent these characteristics were inherited from the ancient period, or posthumously recreated in the High Medieval period.
Significantly, it demonstrates the theories of progressive enhancement by the author, and scribal degradation by copyists. It also speculates that the original works existed as autographs, prior to being compiled in anthology behaviour.
The chart shows several types of information - chronological, topological, typological and statistical.
This paper consists of the output from this activity, the aggregates from which have been used to build a statistically accurate picture of the relationships between source-materials within the Liechtenauer corpus.
Hypothesis:
A number of surviving source-materials demonstrate observable similarities, in which some demonstrate the same errors and idiosyncrasies.
A programme was web-based, written in PHP, jQuery and MySQL. It was written to attempt to validate and measure the similarities between different source-materials, to make the first attempt to build a statistically accurate Stemma Codicum.
Methodology:
1. Each source transcription was loaded into a database (MySQL), using a comparison script to best-match and align paragraphs into columns and rows.
2. Additional material was added to the rows, so that filtering could be performed based upon identifying DISTINCT values. (The programme can therefore compare only certain sources, only titles, zettel or glosse, only Blossfechten, Kampffechten, or Rossfechten etc.)
3. All content was loaded into an array, and a normalisation function applied to make all spellings reconciled, as well as sanitise special characters out of the comparison.
4. All content was loaded into an array, and a function applied to output a new multidimensional array consisting of soundex, metaphone and normal keys and values (modified to cope with Germanic alphabet).
5. A comparison function based upon a similar_text method was then written to cross-reference each value with all others.
6. Based upon a random selection of the sources, the output was then measured and ordered against human (manual) corroboration and validation.
7. The result was that Metaphone produced the most accurate ordering of the similarities (up to 100%), with a standard deviation of around 3%.
8. The algorithm was then applied to all sources within the database, and a percentage value output into a table.
9. Colour-coding and back-end metrics were then used to easily demarcate and distinguish the similarities between sources.
10. Pivot-tables within the programme were then used to generate aggregations and orders between highest to lowest similarities.
11. These aggregates allowed for the design of a Stemma Codicum, presented in my Blossfechten Critical Edition.
12. This entire process has been automated to allow for quick execution of further or edited queries.
The intention was to update it to align with new findings, and also to provide it in my published work. That intention was not realised, but I have opted to share this version in the hope it generates more research in this area.
This paper is an attempt to link these masters using historical evidence, and the theory of Social Networking via Degrees of Separation.
The golden age of the scientific study of Fencing is generally considered to be the Renaissance, the period in which the method applied is recognisable as being ‘modern’. For this reason perhaps, the sources which document the Science of Fencing prior to the Renaissance are often excluded from consideration. In the following paper, I will appraise the wider world-view of the medieval period, using the lens of Aristotelian Scholasticism, and apply such an intellectual backdrop to the theoretical foreground of Fencing.
This paper attempts to demonstrate strong correlation between the principles of a medieval martial art, as documented in the corpus of Johannes Liechtenauer (15th century), and the concepts discussed by Aristotle in his books on Physics.
This paper proposes that Cybernetics may be used to identify the specific physical problems brought about by inter-personal conflict, as well as identify the finite solutions to them.
The aim is to propose Cybernetics as a suitable framework for this investigation by demonstrating it's value to Martial Arts research."
This paper explores the ability to statistically analyse physical movements using a language paradigm. In the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP), there exists the ability to calculate frequencies and idiosyncrasies of expression by analysing the range of words used, the phrases and combinations of words, et al. This paper proposes a similar method, but instead of written words, it explores the possibility of treating movements like words, and routines of movement like phrases. Shotokan Kata is used to identify the range of motions, to identify the most statistically common ‘movement phrases’ which occur across many kata.
Finally, the paper posits the potential for ‘re-embodied knowledge’ or the ability for ‘disembodied knowledge’ (in the form of documentary evidence) can be re-embodied by means of recreation and experimentation.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS – Based upon the title; The Martial Arts Delusion
Ever since the first divisions between schools of martial arts, there has always been the question; is unification of the martial arts possible? The modern mixed martial arts phenomenon is an example of an effort to unify the martial arts.
But the unification of martial arts is only a superficial unification. The logic inherent in fighting is the grand architect of the martial arts. All martial arts must succumb to the logic of fighting in order to comply with its laws and be effective methods of self-defence. Therefore all martial arts are solutions to the problem of fighting and the need for self-defence.
The Martial Arts Delusion takes a look at the laws of Fight-logic and the movements possible with the human body. By assessing fighting scientifically, it represents a paradigm shift from the importance of martial arts to learn self-defence, to the importance of understanding instinctive fight drives. The text serves as an introduction to the Unified Theory of Fighting, which proves Bruce Lee’s theory of martial arts being “Partial Truths”. Lee further stated (in his process of creating Jeet Kune Do) that we should be after the root not the branches, by recognising the causes of ignorance. The root is the Unified Theory, and the cause of ignorance is the Law of Ritualisation; discussed and defined here for the first time.
With important steps towards creating a legitimate science of fighting, The Martial Arts Delusion takes significant and necessary progressions towards sacrificing some long-established “sacred cows”. The arguments of The Martial Arts Delusion provoke us to examine the martial arts under a scientific microscope leaving the martial arts community to question some long-held delusions about the martial arts.
In The Martial Arts Delusion, millions of years of humanity’s understanding of fighting with at least 7 thousand years of recorded history of the martial arts converge into a single book. The Martial Arts Delusion covers Eskirmology, which is the product of humanity’s understanding of fighting, and hence there is a wealth of information which will inform the beginner and inspire the expert.
The Martial Arts Delusion has the potential to change the practice and study of the martial arts forever.
PROPOSAL SYNOPSIS – Written for the prospective publisher
A Phenomenological & anthropological study of fighting, self-defence and the martial arts
The book logically begins by defining exactly what we means by the term “fighting”, the evolution of combat, both in means, technology as well as fashion, whilst defining the kinds of fighting that exist. The next chapter deals with the issue of fighting in its most natural and raw state; "instinctive fighting" - which is determined by a fight between two (or more) uninformed constituents. Using this discussion, I define fighting as a SARC (Spontaneous Aggressive-resistant Continuum) and reason that any solution to it (as self-defence) must comply with this definition. This definition exists outside of what martial arts state fighting “should be” and right from the off, we have defined the truth of fighting (as a phenomenon). As a phenomenon, both animals and humans have created responses to it. Animal fighting is discussed in this section before moving on to the human responses.
The next stage is to address the current solutions, known collectively as the martial arts - which I define as Ritualised fighting. This describes a brief history of fighting (SARC) as it has become ritualised and institutionalised, and also how social pressure forced it to conform into sports, but also becoming specialised. I outline the flaws of such methods of fighting, as well as reason as to why these have logically evolved down this path. The overriding reason is what I call the Law of Institutionalisation - the passing of knowledge from one human to another; the student continuing the teaching process, rather than the learning process. This law is at the core of the entire subject of Eskirmology.
The next logical course of focus is to look at the philosophical discussions of ritualised fighting by the late Bruce Lee. Using a plethora of quotations and much back matter, I reason that Bruce Lee was one of the first martial artists of the modern era to realise that ritualised fighting cannot be applied to a SARC. We can trace within Lee's work his thought process which lead to a systematic (and scientific) discussion of fighting. We finally propose what Lee's Jeet Kune Do "should have been" and demonstrate that by classifying his approach as "Martial Art" rather than "Martial Science" it too has fallen prey to the Law of Institutionalisation.
The next issue to look at is to prove that what Lee discussed was truly science. With a definition of science compared to Art, we can see that science describes that which is true, and that which is true is eternal. Using this theory, we may look back at the works of masters prior to Lee and see the same thought processes. I attempt to prove this theory by using the 1389 works of Hanko Doebringer (a medieval German martial arts master), as well as Musashi Miyomoto's Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho). Taking these two master's works as an example of the eternal properties of the study of fighting, I reason that we may therefore compare and contrast the most modern scientific masters of fighting with the most ancient. To do this, I use the works of Geoff Thompson (considered one of the world's foremost experts on self-protection) and Grandfectmeister Johannes Leichtenauer (believed to have created the system described by Doebringer and used by European fight-masters for 3 centuries after his death). With this direct comparison we may accept that what works in fighting is universal, and therefore may be studied with the use of science.
The next logical step is to describe the science, making explicit the core reasoning and tools required of an eskirmologist; to use these parameters to draw from the world around him, to appraise his methods for logical application and finally to draw from solutions (martial arts) which already exist. Eskirmology represents the essential paradigm shift from study of martial arts to be good at fighting (and self-defence) but to study fighting and studying which responses are the most practical whilst drawing from martial arts systems. Principles such as "Taking the middle road" (Spatial Relation from wing chun), Interception/Stop-Hit(Temporal Relation, from fencing, with roots in Leichtenauer's principle of "Indes" and found in JKD), Tai No Sen (Waiting for the initiative, as well as the Middle principle of Go Rin No Sho) are combined in the Cardinal Eskirmological Principle of "The Golden Mean". This stems from the ultimate principle of polarity from in any and every martial art (primarily in Internal martial arts) but also in those which have Unilateral or Bilateral responses. This polarity is also defined as the "Polarity-relative perspective" explaining the reasoning for why martial arts have separated into specialised fields. Using this, I have created a Tree of Knowledge from which we can see the change from a "root" to many different decisions made at many different stages.
This "Root" is what I name the "Unified Fighing Theory" (UTF, or UFT). It holds that the only martial art which exists is the style of the human body in application to the logic inherent in fighting - there are only techniques defined by the body's biomechanics. Using this, we are able to describe the Universal possibilities of the human body to create a mathematical formula that describes the formation of any technique from any martial art. A technique is merely a variant upon certain core parameters. Using this idea, the fighting style of someone using UTF would be one of "no style" and of no method in particular - any which scores.
The penultimate chapter is a brief yet profound one; it discusses the Metaphysics of fighting. The ethical, moral and sometime religious overtones found in the martial arts. I also make philosophical discussions about Tao, and a scientific exposition of the existence of Chi.
The final chapter of the book proposes the use of science, and what would be needed to create a true martial science. The key idea would be consensus, whereby all research and techniques are considered by a variety of different martial artists and scientist in an open forum of discussion. Research would take place and the findings openly given to a community as a whole. This Eskirmological society would openly discuss the scientific study of fighting, and the martial arts so as to be a peer-reviewed scientific-method.
The paper begs the question to what extent these characteristics were inherited from the ancient period, or posthumously recreated in the High Medieval period.
Significantly, it demonstrates the theories of progressive enhancement by the author, and scribal degradation by copyists. It also speculates that the original works existed as autographs, prior to being compiled in anthology behaviour.
The chart shows several types of information - chronological, topological, typological and statistical.
This paper consists of the output from this activity, the aggregates from which have been used to build a statistically accurate picture of the relationships between source-materials within the Liechtenauer corpus.
Hypothesis:
A number of surviving source-materials demonstrate observable similarities, in which some demonstrate the same errors and idiosyncrasies.
A programme was web-based, written in PHP, jQuery and MySQL. It was written to attempt to validate and measure the similarities between different source-materials, to make the first attempt to build a statistically accurate Stemma Codicum.
Methodology:
1. Each source transcription was loaded into a database (MySQL), using a comparison script to best-match and align paragraphs into columns and rows.
2. Additional material was added to the rows, so that filtering could be performed based upon identifying DISTINCT values. (The programme can therefore compare only certain sources, only titles, zettel or glosse, only Blossfechten, Kampffechten, or Rossfechten etc.)
3. All content was loaded into an array, and a normalisation function applied to make all spellings reconciled, as well as sanitise special characters out of the comparison.
4. All content was loaded into an array, and a function applied to output a new multidimensional array consisting of soundex, metaphone and normal keys and values (modified to cope with Germanic alphabet).
5. A comparison function based upon a similar_text method was then written to cross-reference each value with all others.
6. Based upon a random selection of the sources, the output was then measured and ordered against human (manual) corroboration and validation.
7. The result was that Metaphone produced the most accurate ordering of the similarities (up to 100%), with a standard deviation of around 3%.
8. The algorithm was then applied to all sources within the database, and a percentage value output into a table.
9. Colour-coding and back-end metrics were then used to easily demarcate and distinguish the similarities between sources.
10. Pivot-tables within the programme were then used to generate aggregations and orders between highest to lowest similarities.
11. These aggregates allowed for the design of a Stemma Codicum, presented in my Blossfechten Critical Edition.
12. This entire process has been automated to allow for quick execution of further or edited queries.
The intention was to update it to align with new findings, and also to provide it in my published work. That intention was not realised, but I have opted to share this version in the hope it generates more research in this area.
This paper is an attempt to link these masters using historical evidence, and the theory of Social Networking via Degrees of Separation.
The golden age of the scientific study of Fencing is generally considered to be the Renaissance, the period in which the method applied is recognisable as being ‘modern’. For this reason perhaps, the sources which document the Science of Fencing prior to the Renaissance are often excluded from consideration. In the following paper, I will appraise the wider world-view of the medieval period, using the lens of Aristotelian Scholasticism, and apply such an intellectual backdrop to the theoretical foreground of Fencing.
This paper attempts to demonstrate strong correlation between the principles of a medieval martial art, as documented in the corpus of Johannes Liechtenauer (15th century), and the concepts discussed by Aristotle in his books on Physics.
The work incorporates accounts attributed to Johannes Liechtenauer, Martin Hundsfeld, Jud Lew, Sigmund Ringeck and Peter Von Danzig. Published in August 2014 (pp.143).
It includes a complete Critical Edition of Andre Liegnitzer's Sword and Buckler Art (Das puckler fechtenn, die stuck mit dem pucklär).
This document is an extension of that experiment, aiming for the same outcomes as the Liechtenauer Playbook: to modernise and improve accessibility of the information. The outcomes are again correlated with Natural Language Processing: Simplicity, Consistency, Extensibility and Modularity of the information from source-materials.
A Critical edition produced as part of The HEMA Roadmap framework.
Codex Liechtenauer reduces all known accounts into a single reading, providing ease of access to all sources, as well as an authoritative view on the tradition. The Zettel (schedule) has been treated separately to the Glossa (commentaries) in the Scholastic tradition.
A total of 31 texts contain a discussion upon one particular topic known as the Liechtenauer ‘Blossfechtens’ (Unarmoured combat), with around 15 detailing the Zettel. 17 versions of the Glossa, representative of 4 Stemma within the Liechtenauer Corpus have been compiled, reduced, translated and annotated for completeness. The approach was to use Computer-assisted Stemmatology, then to manually study and refine.
[This a SAMPLE ONLY, which is representative of the full book, completed in 2014.]
Presented within this book is an investigation of the Company of Liechtenauer, tracing their connections and influences through archival records spanning more than a century. Scholarly Fencing is contrasted with what was referred to as ‘Common Fencing’. This book demonstrates the Aristotelian and Scholastic approach that defined the secret Art of Liechtenauer, and describes the science of sword-fighting in the 15th and 16th centuries.
For the first time, the modern science of Combative Systemics has been combined with period resources to bring a comprehensive treatment of a Knightly Combat System, in an attempt to prove the eternal omnipotence of the knight’s martial arts.
With this in mind, the author treats the medieval combat system within the context of reality-based fighting, including references from Wing Chun, Karate and Modern self-defence systems. Also included is a translation of the Long Sword and other parts of the HS.3227a manuscript - perhaps one of the most important documents of the German School.
This 2012 paper presented, for the first-time, the manuscript Ms.G.B.f.18a (Bl. 123va-b).
For more updated information which I have researched since 2012, please view: http://chivalry.org.uk/beringois.html
This transcription was made by Karl Wassmanssdorff, and it appeared in his 1870 (Leipzig) text "Die RingKunst des deutschen Mittelalters - mit 119 Ringerpaaren von Albrecht Dürer".
The paper here is a transcription of this section, appearing on pages 183-193. It also includes translations of Wassmanssdorff's original footnotes. I have provided this transcription for those interested in this fascinating and obscure wrestling manual.
The source outlines a method of fencing in vogue from the 1650s in England, and potentially instrumental in shaping the art of fencing into the sport we recognise today.
The current paper presents for the first time a full transcription and modernisation of the Add.MS.5540, as well as investigating the characteristics of the source in a bid to identify the origins of the techniques.