In a precarious occupation, martial arts instructors must be inspiring and build a shared philosophy. Drawing on Taijiquan and Capoeira, which have their philosophical or epistemological roots in Asia and Africa, this article explores core concepts that feature in students’ enculturation. These concepts are grounded in epistemologies contrasting with Papineau’s work on popular and elite sport, Knowing the Score. More specifically, the philosophical approach used builds upon Papineau’s chapters on focus, cheating and racism, although these martial practices are not grounded in the Judeo-Christian Western epistemologies underlying Papineau’s thinking. Indeed, one of the attractions for Western Capoeira and Taijiquan students is precisely their “strange” or exotic philosophical concepts driving specific pedagogical practices. Ethnographic fieldwork in Britain and written and oral accounts of embodied expertise are used to explore the practical uses of these non-Western epistemologies by teachers to build shared cultures for their students. Specifically, we examine the concepts of axé (life force) and malicia (artful trickery) in Capoeira, noting its contrast to Western ideas of energy and fair play. We then examine Taijiquan and the concepts of song (鬆 or “letting go”) and ting (听 or “focused listening”), considering the movement skill of systematic relaxation and the focus on specific components of human anatomy and body technique among adults unlearning embodied tension built throughout their lives. We close with considerations for projects examining the diverse, alternative southern, non-Western, and potentially decolonial and subaltern epistemologies in such martial activities.

中文翻译：

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向东看南：太极拳与卡波耶拉的哲学反思

在不稳定的职业中，武术教练必须鼓舞人心并建立共同的理念。本文借鉴源自亚洲和非洲的哲学或认识论根源的太极拳和卡波耶拉，探讨了学生文化适应中的核心概念。这些概念以认识论为基础，与帕皮诺关于大众和精英运动的著作《了解比分》形成鲜明对比。更具体地说，所使用的哲学方法建立在帕皮诺关于焦点、作弊和种族主义的章节之上，尽管这些武术实践并不以帕皮诺思想背后的犹太基督教西方认识论为基础。事实上，对西方卡波耶拉和太极拳学生的吸引力之一正是他们驱动特定教学实践的“奇怪”或异国情调的哲学概念。教师利用英国的民族志实地考察以及具体专业知识的书面和口头记录来探索这些非西方认识论的实际用途，为学生建立共同的文化。具体来说，我们研究了卡波耶拉中的 axé（生命力）和 malicia（狡猾的诡计）概念，注意到它与西方能量和公平竞争理念的对比。然后，我们研究太极拳以及松（松或“放手”）和听（听或“专注聆听”）的概念，考虑系统放松的运动技能以及对成人不学习的人体解剖学和身体技术的特定组成部分的关注体现了他们一生中建立的紧张气氛。我们最后考虑了一些项目，该项目考察了此类军事活动中多样化的、另类的南方、非西方以及潜在的非殖民和底层认识论。