Abstract: Creativity means different things to different arts at
different
times; rather than trying to cover everything, I plan to concentrate
on how I
personally have experienced creativity in my Martial Arts career of
twenty-six
years. I have seen and experienced creativity in several different
facets of
training, including instruction, practice, demonstration, and competition.
Creativity is like a double-edged [straight] sword: it can be an asset
when
applied properly or a liability; it can be pragmatically applied or
flagrantly
abused -- it depends on the expression of the application.
I wish to highlight both the good and the inappropriate applications
of
creativity. My metric is simple: either "Does the application
of creativity
enhance my `martial' capability?" or "Is my activity still `martial'
with the
addition of the creative element?" Subjects to be covered include
creative Kata with and without
weapons for promotions,
demonstrations
and competitions,
the use of music with Kata,
sensitivity drills and cross-training,
time and speed of execution
as variables, and
use and abuse of Kiai.
In many cases of inappropriate applications, there may be nothing wrong
with the
basic concept per se, but rather the various expressions of that concept
fail to
meet the above metric.
This paper applies an anthropology issue to martial arts practice:
"borrowing" indigenous rituals and traditions from another culture (in
this case, Japan's) and creatively transplanting/reinventing/reinterpreting
them in a new environment (i.e. the US). Beyond citing numerous examples,
I also intend to explore some of the functions and meanings of these transplanted
rituals and traditions, both positive and negative, and their
impact on practitioners.
Formalized martial arts are often studied by breaking them down
into individual
techniques. Yet, these complex systems exhibit emergent properties
that are
indeterminable based on an analysis of their components. Parameters
of the
system provide an elemental structure, through which complexity may
arise. This
presentation will address the emergence of complexity in karate using
games
theoretic tools to map elements between domains. Ultimately,
the objective of
all martial arts is to provide a vehicle for the perfection of the
individual.
This lecture will use the criterion of emergence to differentiate between
sophisticated martial ways and elemental martial skills.
Raymond Sosnowski:
Mr. Sosnowski began his Martial Arts training over twenty-six years
ago at the Stevens [Tech] Karate Club in "Korean Karate," which was a euphemism
for Tae Kwon Do; he trained for over sixteen years in the ITF style, teaching
for the majority of that time. He has practiced Kuang P'ing Yang
style Tai-Chi Ch'uan for the past eleven years, and taught for several
years, giving several local seminars. His first weapons were the
Tai-Chi [straight] sword and the iron fan. He came to the Japanese
Arts eight years ago, initially training in Aikido, first Tomiki-Ryu and
then Aikikai style, and Aikido weapons. Japanese weapons training
was acquired over the past four years, including Iaido, Jodo, Kendo, Kenjutsu,
Kyudo, and Naginata. He is a co-founder and the first Secretary of
the East Coast Naginata Federation, and co-director of the Guelph School
of Japanese Sword Arts in 1998 and 1999. In addition, he is a contributing
author of articles, book reviews and seminar reports to The Iaido Newsletter
and the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts as well as an occasional contributor
to Iaido-L and Kyudo-L. In his "other" professional career, Mr. Sosnowski
is an Engineering Fellow and Director of Emerging Technologies at Sonetech
Corp. (Bedford, NH), specializing in Artificial Intelligence methologies
and Numerical Analyses, as well as being an expert in all phases of software
development. Prior to defence electronics, he worked in environmental
consulting, solar energy research, and oceanographic data collection and
analysis. He holds three Masters degrees from the University of Connecticut,
Storrs (Physical Oceanography), Rivier College, Nashua, NH (Applied Mathematics),
and Boston University (Cognitive and Neural Systems).
Deborah Klens-Bigman
Ms. Klens-Bigman received her Ph.d in Performance Studies from New
York
University in 1995. Her dissertation topic was a field study
of Japanese
classical dance as a contemporary practice, based around her study
of Soke
Fujima ryu classical dance, which she still studies and performs
under Fujima
Nishiki. She began her study of Muso Shinden ryu iaido at New
York Budokai in
1986, and now teaches as an assistant instructor and manages the dojo.
In her
"spare time" she studies kyudo and Yang style tai chi. Ms. Klens-Bigman
writes
extensively on martial arts and Japanese dance, theatre, and performance,
contributing articles and book reviews to the Journal of Asian Martial
Arts
(JAMA), Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Asian Theatre Journal,
and The
Drama Review. She is currently a member of the editorial board
of JAMA, and has
recently contributed an essay on iaido to the World Encyclopedia of
Women in
Sport. She is married to artist Vernon Bigman and lives in Beautiful
East
Harlem, in New York City.
Michael McCarthy:
Michael McCarthy has been studying martial arts for 15 years with a
focus on
karate in which he attained the rank of Second Degree Black Belt.
In 1996 he
spent a year in Japan studying martial arts, business, and Japanese.
He has
completed an Honor B.Sc. in Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence
and a BA
in Conflict Studies at the University of Toronto and is currently enrolled
in
the McMaster University MBA Program. Michael is employed by the
City of Toronto
as a Y2K Consultant and studies karate with the Toronto Wado-Kai organization.