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In 1926, the famous ethnologist Bronislaw Malinowski stated that 'the study of myth has become a point of contact for various branches of academia' [Malinowski 1986 [1926]: 141]. Had he known that, almost one hundred years later, a branch of academia would develop that calls itself 'martial arts studies', he probably would not have been surprised to hear that it, too, has its own take on mythology. This comes in the form of a short monograph entitled Mythologies of Martial Arts, the second title in the new Martial Arts Studies book series published by Rowman & Littlefield. It is authored by Paul Bowman, the editor of that book series, one of the editors of this journal, organizer of the annual Martial Arts Studies conference, and professor of cultural studies at Cardiff University. Mythologies of Martial Arts takes up several of the strands Bowman laid out in his previous book, Martial Arts Studies: Disrupting Disciplinary Boundaries [Bowman 2015]. As the title of his latest effort implies, his focus is on the ideological narratives that surround, permeate, and define martial arts, as well as on the ways martial arts are practiced, perceived, and culturally understood (or misunderstood). While Bowman's theoretical approach is deeply rooted in (mostly French) postmodernism, and indebted to Hegelian and Marxist thought, his ideological impetus is that of Anglo-American cultural studies. To fully appreciate Bowman's work here, it will be important to clarify the methodological differences between Anglo-American cultural studies and their German and French counterparts. As it is known in German, Kulturwissenschaften (and, similarly, disciplines like medieval and early

This essay tries to identify the recurring patterns of mythic narratives with which martial arts at different times and in different parts of the world have described, explained, and legitimized their modes of action, behaviour, and thinking. It proposes that when examining martial arts as ideological systems, Martial Arts Studies could benefit from incorporating concepts and theories provided by Studies of Religion. The essay is accordingly based on the functionalistic concept of myth as a religious narrative as suggested by Aleida and Jan Assmann in the Handbuch religionswissenschaftlicher Grundbegriffe ('Handbook of basic terms for the Science of Religion'). According to them, three basic functions of myth can be identified: laying foundation, creating legitimation, and forming the world. In the narratives of individual martial arts systems, these three basic functions often utilize one or more standard topoi, some of which are described in the essay: mythical founding figures, zoomorphic movement, geometrical foundation, origin on the battlefield, neo-myths of non-violence. These topoi have been developed and used by individual martial arts without necessary influences between the systems. The aim is not to deconstruct and ridicule such myths, but to point out and understand their importance within the transmission and practice of martial arts. Contributor Note Sixt Wetzler is a PhD Student at the University of Tübingen, and among the spokesmen of the Commission for Martial Arts & Combat Sports in the German Association for Sports Science (DVS). He has published on topics like the development of European fencing, ideological dependencies of combative movement, and Old Icelandic wrestling. Currently, he is editing a volume on the sword as symbol and weapon.

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The phenomenon of the fight book is not restricted to the European tradition. Similar artefacts, usually combining text and image to describe the techniques of close quarter combat with and without weapons, exist also in various Asian cultures, in China, Japan, Korea, and India. In the article, the question shall be raised in how far and to which end fight books of different cultures can be taken into one perspective, and be compared. To do so, similarities and dissimilarities between European and early Chinese fight books will be pointed out, and preliminary areas for comparison will be introduced. The aim of the article is to raise awareness for the topic, and to lay the ground for further discussion between specialists on the respective European and Chinese fields.