Short Communication - (2017) Volume 3, Issue 3
Martial arts for many years have captivated people by their sequences of incredible movements and sometimes with a shadow of mystery for people who do not practice them. It is impossible to think of martial arts without bringing to mind kung fu, karate movies or movie characters who have been captivated by their feats, often that same fact distanced from discipline, concentration and self-knowledge that in them exists.
Martial arts for many years have captivated people by their sequences of incredible movements and sometimes with a shadow of mystery for people who do not practice them. It is impossible to think of martial arts without bringing to mind kung fu, karate movies or movie characters who have been captivated by their feats, often that same fact distanced from discipline, concentration and self-knowledge that in them exists.
Martial arts are not only in China (although it is one of its greatest exponents), you will be able to see in France the Savate, in Brazil the Capoeira, in India the Kalaripayattu, in Japan Karate like Aikido, in Thailand Muay Thai; as well as new branches in different countries. Many times it is limited to seeing its defensive or self-protective qualities but beyond that war component there is a discipline, the use of multiple intelligences and even mindsight.
The following lines express some ideas of how neurosciences can bring a new vision of martial arts, to deepen their understanding, it is desired that people who can read this article also see in this the possibility of asking questions and continue studying the issue (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Wu Shu: symbol in Mandarin grouping all martial arts.
The terms martial art, martial arts and military arts allude to those codified practices and traditions whose purpose is to submit or selfdefend through technique. There are several styles and schools of martial arts that usually exclude the use of firearms or other modern weaponry. What differentiates martial arts from mere bellicose or physical violence (street fights) is the organization of their techniques and tactics into a coherent system, adherence to a philosophy of life or code of conduct and coding of effective methods tested in the antiquity
It is important to emphasize that it seeks to give a concept accessible to all scientists; a very useful book to understand martial arts is the Tao of Jeet Kune Do made by also philosopher and martial artist Bruce Lee, this offers a vision accessible to the West [1].
From a few years, with Howard Gardner's theories of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983) it was understood that intelligence is not limited to one aspect (mathematical or verbal), we have others as: musical, kinesthetic, and interpersonal to mention a few. When an elderly man with osteoporosis problems receives Tai Chi classes, is he not making use of kinesthetic ability? Or a child when he enters the Kalari and is asked to pray in silence; is not he being taught the principles of meditation, contemplation and focus?
It is important to emphasize the ability of the sifu/sensei to see in their students a state of depression or to be able to understand their altered emotional states; are the abilities of empathy being used?, when a young girl in Salvador de Bahia, enters the practice wheel observes a more advanced student and copies their movements: Would not be making use of mirror neurons?
Seeing in the martial arts a field of fertile study, will allow researchers from various areas of neuroscience to see the application of many concepts that today constitute this science [2,3].
In Germany are the works of Dr. Nikolaus Weiskopf in the Real Time fMRI neuro feedback area, a brilliant work on real-time brain activity. Would it be impossible to see which motor areas are involved in the development of the practice physical? See in the moments of greatest concentration that neurons are activated? What areas of the brain are connected and how?
In different academic works the advantages of martial arts for health are appreciated, an example of this is Tai Chi, but in the psychological and wellness area we must see if there are other advantages that can be discussed.
In 2016 the BrainForum (a multidisciplinary conference) was celebrated in Switzerland, the new talents of the medicine, psychology, psychiatry, pharmacology, technology among others could share their theories of investigation; the brain is a north, a subject of study that surprises more and more. The study of martial arts can open a possibility to understand our brain, emotions and mind concept? These are some of the issue that we want to understand [4,5].
This work seeks to create a question that due to the circumstances has not been able to develop, to look for a new scientific vision of the martial arts. The scientific method has the quality of dissipating doubts and opening the door to new questions; our brain, behavior and relationships that it establishes are exciting issues, not only shared by scientists but the practitioner of martial arts too, perhaps there is more in common than everyone thinks.
There is a word in Mandarin that is Wu Shu one of his translations is: learn to stop force or aggressiveness, to reach that state the subject must recognize in him this ability. When listening or attending the lectures of mindsight dictated by Dr. Daniel Siegel we can see in these concepts coincidences; a path for self-understanding, the knowledge of the individual, is there to be sought, understood and developed.
