From us: The Broad-based Roles of Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Other Martial Arts in Education - A Brief Literature Review by Gregory C. Brundage
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart
I've always thought this was an indicator, especially after being exposed to 'smile' research in primates back in my psych days.A Winning Smile? Smile Intensity, Physical Dominance, and Fighter Performance.
Kraus, Michael W.; Chen, Teh-Way David
Emotion, Jan 28 , 2013, No Pagination Specified.
The smile is perhaps the most widely studied facial expression of emotion, and in this article we examine its status as a sign of physical dominance. We reason, on the basis of prior research, that prior to a physical confrontation, smiles are a nonverbal sign of reduced hostility and aggression, and thereby unintentionally communicate reduced physical dominance. Two studies provide evidence in support of this prediction: Study 1 found that professional fighters who smiled more in a prefight photograph taken facing their opponent performed more poorly during the fight in relation to their less intensely smiling counterparts. In Study 2, untrained observers judged a fighter as less hostile and aggressive, and thereby less physically dominant when the fighters' facial expression was manipulated to show a smiling expression in relation to the same fighter displaying a neutral expression. Discussion focused on the reasons why smiles are associated with decreased physical dominance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart
...I already have a pair of Shaolin magnetic sandals.
Seriously.
Statistics and Magnetic Socks Shape Modern Tae Kwon Do
A new effort to college data could bring more order to this "messy" martial art
By Chris Gorski and Inside Science News Service
This story was originally published by Inside Science News Service.
(ISNS) -- It's tempting to call some Olympic events, such as wrestling, judo and taekwondo, "messy sports" because it's difficult to quantify exactly how much any given factor contributes to success in each competition. Meredith Miller, the high performance director of USA Taekwondo, is trying to clean things up by developing statistics for the sport, and also a better understanding of the "magnetic socks" integral to the martial art's electronic scoring system.
Miller doesn't have a science degree, but her goals to collect and communicate objective information about the sport to coaches and competitors are scientific.
Unlike many sports, taekwondo has no standard system for collecting or classifying statistics that go beyond the final score. While baseball researchers have developed a nuanced understanding of how much each event, such as a stolen base, contributes to winning, a comparable level of analysis has never existed for taekwondo. Fans can argue about which competitor has the most effective roundhouse kick, but don't have access to numbers to support their arguments.
Without reliable collection and analysis of statistics, it's easy for coaches and competitors to overlook key insights that could help someone succeed.
Isaac Michaels, the CEO of the martial arts resource Taekwondo Science, thinks Miller's efforts could have tremendous value for a national team nearing a competition such as the Olympics.
"Taekwondo, compared to baseball, basketball, football, is almost devoid of statistics," said Michaels. "But it's not because there's nothing to measure; it's because we're not measuring it yet."
Miller has worked with USA Taekwondo for eight years, collaborating with strength and conditioning coaches, sports scientists, nutritionists and others to develop plans to help the U.S. team succeed in the Olympics and other competitions.
In preparation for the London Olympic Games in 2012, Miller began an intensive project to analyze video and collect statistics. Pulling from an extensive library of online video, she collected information about different fighters and teams, logging the type of kicks used and how often they were successful. Then she began analyzing the information, which allowed her to compare the data to coaches' impressions of why, say, South Korea's team is so successful.
"Whatever the coach wants to see, we have the data now to say, let's answer the question that you just posed," said Miller.
She said that she was inspired by teams in other sports that have increasingly looked at statistical analysis as a way to gain an edge over other teams -- or cancel out an opponent's edge.
"I'm a huge fan of 'Moneyball' and what the Oakland Athletics did with baseball," said Miller.
Major rule changes and the introduction of an electronic scoring system spurred a transformation in the sport in recent years, and increased the need for additional research. One consequence of the rule changes and new scoring system is that fighters now kick many more times per round.
Miller worked with a team to analyze the Daedo electronic scoring system used in international competition. They began by asking some basic questions about the conditions under which the system's chest protector would register a kick and award points to a competitor.
They found that when the magnets attached to the sock-like footwear worn during a fight are placed within millimeters of the opponent's chest protector, the system records a point. In theory, this makes it easier to score points, because unlike when judges had to record scoring kicks, the force of impact is no longer a factor.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart
I found a PDF to a $160 book on the Islamic Sufi practice of Silat in Malaysia. It's called Shadows of the Prophet: Martial Arts and Sufi Mysticism (2009). You can download it here for free. Just sign in with your Facebook account.
I was searching JSTOR for papers on martial arts and several popped up. I was surprised to see that there have been several studies on 52 Blocks. By the way, I located a PDF for Green Peony and the Rise of the Chinese Martial Arts Novel, a book that analyses the origins of the Chinese martial arts novel. People interested in reading it can do so here: http://www.fightmonks.com/level1/Green%20Peony.pdf
I recently downloaded the book Biomechanics of Human Motion: Applications in the Martial Arts (2012). Anyone interested in reading it can send me a PM and I'll email it to you.
I just learned about Marital Arts as Embodied Knowledge: Asian Traditions in a Transnational World (2011). A pdf of the introduction can be see here:
http://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/62230.pdf
I acquired a PDF of the book Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin (2008). It's only indirectly related to martial arts, but I'm sure others would like to read it. PM me if you are interested.
I acquired a PDF of Jingwu: The School that Transformed Kung Fu by Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo. Anyone interested should send me a PM.
It's the same situation we have with pirate videos on the media forum. We can't just can't advocate that as this is a public forum. Exchange of academic papers is somewhat limited by journal copyrights. Jingwu, while scholarly, is not an academic publication. It was published by Blue Snake, a publisher that has supported us for our Tiger Claw WildAid Champion, our sweepstakes and has advertised with us.
We've discussed Kennedy & Guo here.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart
Here's the link to the original article:
Published: 10 September 2019
Martial arts increase oxytocin production
Yuri Rassovsky, Anna Harwood, Orna Zagoory-Sharon & Ruth Feldman
Scientific Reports volume 9, Article number: 12980 (2019) Cite this article
Abstract
Numerous studies have demonstrated that oxytocin (OT), a peptide hormone, plays an important role in regulating mammalian social behaviors, linking it to social affiliation in parent-infant attachment, romantic and filial relationships, and other prosocial behaviors, such as trust and cooperation. Not surprisingly, research efforts have been made to increase endogenous levels of OT. In the present study, we investigated whether traditional martial arts training, which integrates the natural benefits of physical exercise with dyadic prosocial interaction, would result in OT response. To this end, 68 beginner and advanced participants were recruited from several schools practicing Jujitsu (“soft art”), a form of traditional martial arts originating in Japan. Salivary OT levels were assessed at baseline, immediately following high-intensity training, and following a cool-down period. Analyses revealed a significant increase in OT immediately after a high-intensity training, returning to baseline levels following a cool-down period. Additionally, although no significant difference between beginner and advanced martial artists was found, a significantly higher increase in salivary OT followed ground grappling, as compared to “punch-kick” sparring, indicating an added benefit of close contact tactile interaction. These results suggest that the reportedly socially beneficial effects of traditional martial arts may be in part mediated by OT release and underscore the potentially therapeutic applications of these methods for disorders involving social dysfunction, such as autism, conduct problems, or schizophrenia.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart
And here's the Xinhua take on this:
Usually I prefer the original source, but I can't resist a headline like 'Martial arts training increases level of "love hormone"'Martial arts training increases level of "love hormone": Israeli research
Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-12 00:02:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan
JERUSALEM, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have found that martial arts training triggers an increase in the level of oxytocin, known as the "love hormone," the Bar Ilan University (BIU) reported on Wednesday.
Oxytocin plays an important role in regulating mammalian social behaviors and is responsible, for example, for a burst of happiness with parents gazing at their newborn baby or a loving couple exchanging glances.
However, oxytocin is not only a hormone of love but also plays a role in normal social interactions, birth and breastfeeding, control of stress and appetite, and more.
In the Israeli study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, the BIU team investigated whether traditional martial arts training, which integrates physical exercise and social interaction, would result in oxytocin response.
To this end, 68 beginners and advanced participants were recruited from several schools practicing Jujitsu, a form of traditional martial arts originating in Japan.
Analyses revealed a significant increase in salivary oxytocin levels immediately after a high-intensity training, which returned to baseline levels following a cool-down period.
Additionally, a significantly higher increase in salivary oxytocin followed ground grappling, as compared to "punch-kick" sparring, indicating an added benefit of close contact and interaction.
These results suggest that the reported socially beneficial effects of martial arts training may be partly mediated by oxytocin release.
This underscores the potentially therapeutic applications of these methods for disorders involving social dysfunction, such as autism, behavioral problems, or schizophrenia.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart
'Additionally, a significantly higher increase in salivary oxytocin followed ground grappling, as compared to "punch-kick" sparring, indicating an added benefit of close contact and interaction.'
ha ha! Yeah, not much love going on when you're getting repeatedly punched/kicked in the head and body. Stress inhibits oxytocin release. I bet the oxytocin levels after competition grappling are lower or on par with the the post-striking sparring VS post-rolling levels though. I doubt the close contact and interaction during rolling is what causes the increase too. More likely it's the joy of several minutes of largely unrestrained freedom to maul someone with the safety net of the tap.