At 08:44 PM 11/2/02 +0900, you wrote:
>Odd... I know many kendo-ka in Japan who would take grave
> >
> > offense at that remark....
> >
> > Any form of weapon study (hands and feed _are_ weapons) can be
> > termed a martial art.  Sword study is just as much a martial
> > art as is any of the open-hand arts.  It is only the weapon
> > involved that changes.
>
>*shrug* to each his own I suppose. I dont conisder that a martial art because
>you wouldnt be able to us it unless at a duel or something unless you carry
>around some type of sword with you all the time.

<twitch...twitch>  Stupid...infantile...remarks...made...by...idiot...on... 
<twitch> favorite...mailing...list... 
<twitch...twitch>  Must...resist...urge...to...kill! <reaches for nearest 
sledgehammer>

Let's take a look at the words here:

martial   Pronunciation Key  (mrshl)
adj.

    1. Of, relating to, or suggestive of war.

art   Pronunciation Key  (rt)
n.

    1. Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work 
of nature.

<other definitions unrelated to our discussion>

    7.
          1. Skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation: the 
art of the baker; the blacksmith's art.
          2. Skill arising from the exercise of intuitive faculties: 
Self-criticism is an art not many are qualified to practice (Joyce Carol 
Oates).
    8.
          1. arts Artful devices, stratagems, and tricks.
          2. Artful contrivance; cunning.

<yet another definition unrelated to our discussion>

Combine the two:
Martial Arts
The human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of 
nature using a skill arising from the exercise of intuitive faculties using 
devices, stratagems, tricks, and cunning that is attained by study, 
practice, or observation as related to war.

My skill with the foil, revolver, semiautomatic pistol, shotgun, 
sledgehammer, and my freakin' DART GUN are ALL considered to be MARTIAL 
ARTS!!!  I certainly wouldn't claim anything /near/ a masters rating in any 
of 'em, but they fall under the category of "martial art."

Similarly, my street-fighting and grappling abilities, also something I 
claim to be no expert in, are martial arts.  Where people get confused is 
that when you say "martial arts," all people seem to be able to think about 
are the ORIENTAL martial arts, completely leaving out the OCCIDENTAL 
martial arts, which themselves have an equally long tradition and are just 
as capable of takedown, knockout, honor, death, etc. as the Oriental arts, 
even if they aren't nearly as formalized.  Because of the outlaw of weapon 
use by anyone outside of the warrior class (samuri) in Japan and similar 
restrictions in China during the Oriental middle ages, the peasant and 
priest classes developed their own fighting abilities that they could use 
without and against weapons.  Of course they /look cool/ and have loads of 
folklore and myth surrounding them.  In occidental cultures, people 
considered the sword to be THE definer of battle that it wasn't until WWI 
(Spanish-American war?) that the military stopped issuing the sword as part 
of the regular military armaments.  Up until the firearm nullified nearly 
every other form of weapon on the battlefield, there was plenty of myth and 
folklore around the sword.  So much so, in fact, that occidental nobility 
would have been laughed out of the court if he/she had even brought up the 
POSSIBILITY of unarmed combat being supperior in any way.  The sword was 
just plain /better/!

Of course, in todays world, where nearly every nation on the planet is 
enacting Oriental middle-ages style weapon restrictions, the concept of 
weaponless combat styles facing weapon based martial arts and WINNING is 
very attractive.

OK, rant over, go back to your regular discussions like whether or not 
Akane should marry Ranma, or the color of Shampoo's hair, or where Akane's 
mallets come from, or...


Chris McFarland
I have no tag line, except maybe, "DEATH TO IGNORANCE!"
The Ranma 1/2 Expressway
http://home.nethere.net/homernet