Diversipede (April 2016) Volume 2, Number 1: FULL TEXT

Abstract

T his paper will focus on how the anthropology of the senses, in particular studies about touch, can help us to understand the embodied experience of martial arts. Psychological research done in response to the growing popularity of martial arts in the 1970s has suggested that martial arts training can increase confidence and assertiveness while lowering levels of aggression. A more phenomenological approach to the study of martial arts has also revealed how culture shapes the practitioners subjective, embodied experiences. As I will outline in this paper, phenomenological methodology, drawing from existing literature and my own experiences, offers another means of exploring experiences of the body through training and fighting. As both an anthropologist and a martial artist, I have experienced firsthand how the anthropology of the senses can help us to understand how social and cultural forces shape the way we experience our bodies. 'Rubbing PeoPle the WRong Way'There are many idioms that refer to touch as a form of communication, and researchers who have studied touch in relation to health have observed that touch is essential to normal human development (Andersen 2011; Hertenstein 2011). Touch is necessary for the maintenance of physical and psychological health because it fosters intimacy and emotional connections. It often expresses feelings of warmth and love; in severe cases, touch deprivation can result in emotional, mental, and immunological problems. Touch can also be an act of aggression or coercion, but whether it is attracting or repelling, touch is the medium through which we have some of our deepest sensual experiences. In the edited volume Handbook of Touch (2011), Mathew Hertenstein discusses the crucial role that touch plays in communication. Touch can communicate a wide variety of sentiments that are context-dependent. As a form of communication, touch has both equifinality and equipotentiality. Equifinality re- vol. 2, No. 1, 2016 fers to how the same idea can be communicated through different forms of touch. For example, support at a funeral in a typical Euro-Canadian context can be expressed through a handshake or a hug, and is usually coupled with verbal condolences. Equipotentiality refers to how the same touch can be ascribed different meanings that depend on the relationship between the two people touching as well as the situational and cultural context. For example, in Western sports a pat on the bum by a familiar teammate is usually understood as a show of support and encouragement, whereas a pat on the bum by an unfamiliar person in almost any other context can be seen as an unwelcome, aggressive, and highly sexualized gesture. These examples highlight the role touch plays in communicating intimacy. As Hertenstein (2011, 307) notes, "To be perceived positively, the intimacy of the touch must be congruent with the intimacy of the relationship." In this way, touch can indicate the nature of a relationship as well as what stage of intimacy the relationship is at (Finnegan 2005).Th...