The Meaning of Martial Arts

Abstract Having taken the time to identify several discursive regularities and recurring motifs in martial arts imagery, Chapter 6 moves further into ‘delineating a discursive constellation’. This chapter combines a deeper theorization of the discursive entity of martial arts as a floating signifier with a study of martial arts in the British national press and a discussion of the cacophony of images of martial arts in recent media history. In further clarifying the shifting and variable status of martial arts in anglophone contexts, the chapter reflects on its similarities and differences in terms of a consideration of the range of terms used for Chinese martial arts. It argues that all of these reflect different cultural and political interests, and turns to reflect on what it terms the narrative arc of appropriation in martial arts. The chapter closes on a discussion of martial arts and issues in gender and feminism, before returning to the fragmented and fragmentary character of encounters with and representations of martial arts.