The Aesthetic Appreciation of the Epochal and National Character of Competitive Martial Art Routines

With the temporal aesthetics as the mainstream background, the aesthetics appreciation of competitive martial art routines reflects obviously the characteristic of aesthetic globalization, which is just as same as the aesthetic characteristic of the programs mainly based on skills. While the competitive martial arts also inherited the essence of Chinese traditional aesthetics，that’s to say, pursuing artistic conception and the beauty of skills. After 2008, in order to promote the Olympic process of competitive martial art routine, we must enhance the aesthetic values of it in the whole world. When facing the two distinct characteristics of competitive martial arts’ fixed routine—epochal spirit and nationality, whether we choose just one or both is worthy of thinking. Zhang Dainian, Cheng Yishan pointed out in the book the Debate of Chinese Culture and Culture Theory that culture has both the characteristics of epochal spirit and nationality and the relationship between the two characteristics is general and specific. Cultures of different ethnic groups in the same era have the same epochal characteristics, which is general. And different ethnic groups have their own national features in the same era, which is specific. With the changes of the needs of current time, the aesthetics of martial arts becomes more and more important and especially the aesthetics for the fixed routine of competitive martial arts should adhere to the Olympic motto, “higher, faster, stronger” and it should also attract more audience, make more people appreciate its beauty and embodies higher aesthetic value. Competitive martial arts was not a formal program in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, however, it doesn’t mean that it will never enter the Olympics. This article analyzes the aesthetic situation from the perspectives of temporal spirit and nationality, searching further for a breakthrough of the development of competitive martial arts’ fixed routines.