I just happened upon the syllabus for a course on east Asian martial arts history at Cornell University. Why don’t they have neat stuff like this at my college?
http://www.arts.cornell.edu/history/HIST%202960%20FA12%20-%20Hinrichs.pdf
I helped teach such a course at Stanford once.
We covered it in Graduate Kung Fu: Stanford University Offers Division Course in Chinese Martial Arts in our 2004 July/August. I was assisting Professor Meir Shahar who was visiting faculty for a year there.
I’ve corresponded with Prof. Shahar many times over the years. It would be awesome to take such a class with him. I think similar classes would be very popular in colleges around the country.
Holy cow that sounds like a cool class 
[QUOTE=ghostexorcist;1194077]I’ve corresponded with Prof. Shahar many times over the years. It would be awesome to take such a class with him. I think similar classes would be very popular in colleges around the country.[/QUOTE]
Or you could just read his book. 
[QUOTE=Scott R. Brown;1194928]Or you could just read his book. ;)[/QUOTE]
I have; many times in fact. But that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t share some of his most current research in a class.
Heh, I’m in Ithaca NY right now…home of Cornell
Dunno bout that class, but it’s an awesome school overall.
I just found out that my college is offering a similar class. The school of comparative religion is hosting a class on Japanese martial arts history in the spring.
[QUOTE=Scott R. Brown;1194928]Or you could just read his book. ;)[/QUOTE]
Seeing as the book is at least 1/4 citations. I think the course would offer access to a lot more than what is in that book by Dr. Shahar.
It is a good book though. Very enlightening and useful to anyone interested in Shaolin monastery and it’s 3 treasures particularly the martial arts.
Noticed a very important concept:
“invented tradition”
Finally, an academic martial arts class taught correctly.
Dr. Shahar’s class was a one-off
When you are a visiting scholar, the University that you are visiting often requires that you teach a graduate level class. It was true Shaolin yuanfen that brought Dr. Shahar to Stanford and I was delighted to get to know him and his research on a face-to-face basis, but he was only visiting for that one year. The class basically went behind-the-scenes on his research, so while his book was the spine of that class, it was more about the peripheral work he did to develop that book. And in all honestly, I’m still milking the notes I took in that class.
What was most significant about that class was that it was graduate level and at Stanford. That being said, I’m hearing of more collegiate course on martial arts lately, which is very encouraging. I hope you take that course, ghostexorcist. Let us know how it goes.
[QUOTE=GeneChing;1253487] […] I hope you take that course, ghostexorcist. Let us know how it goes.[/QUOTE]
I certainly plan on taking it. There are only 20 slots open, and thankfully I’m a senior, so I get to register earlier than underclassmen. I’ve spoken with the professor and the class includes western boxing and Chinese warefare on top of the Japanese stuff. I sent him a PDF of Shahar’s book. He was really glad to receive it. I’m hoping he will try to incorporate some of the material. He may also include arts associated with Islam. I helped him locate a PDF of the book Shadows of the Prophet: Martial Arts and Sufi Mysticism (2009), which deals with an Islamic Sufi sect that practices Silat in Malaysia.
If more people received real academic instruction in Chinese and Chinese martial arts history, less would believe the nonsense being peddled by the charlatans
[QUOTE=lkfmdc;1253563]If more people received real academic instruction in Chinese and Chinese martial arts history, less would believe the nonsense being peddled by the charlatans[/QUOTE]
you should do it
u have the degree
IDK - life drawing when you have the right models can be a very cool class. 
To me that beats stodgy old manuscript and theoretical contemplation of ancient warring methods any day.
[QUOTE=ghostexorcist;1194066]I just happened upon the syllabus for a course on east Asian martial arts history at Cornell University. Why don’t they have neat stuff like this at my college?
http://www.arts.cornell.edu/history/HIST%202960%20FA12%20-%20Hinrichs.pdf[/QUOTE]
The problem with the premise of this class is that the old methods of training were either not written down or destroyed by the Communists. Nobody knows how the ancient warriors trained so the course would be all speculation.
[QUOTE=Spiked;1253884]The problem with the premise of this class is that the old methods of training were either not written down or destroyed by the Communists. Nobody knows how the ancient warriors trained so the course would be all speculation.[/QUOTE]
Not true. There are in fact several extant manuals moving forward from early 16th century up and into the Qing Period.
The old methods were written down, illustrated etc and the CR didn’t destroy everything. it damaged a lot, but, it didn’t rub out history. There are sections of the forbidden city that have not been opened for study yet for instance that contain reams of knowledge from the past. Untouched for 100 years!
I think that many of us here in the west who have studied the southern kung fu styles have had our points of view somewhat tainted by the animosity that nationalists and communists have and had for each other. I have heard the story and even parroted it myself in regards to the CR and what it destroyed etc, It is only in the last decade or so that I’ve realized that this is not actually how things were and that what we were told came form a long line of whispers and political rivalry.
[QUOTE=David Jamieson;1253958]Not true. There are in fact several extant manuals moving forward from early 16th century up and into the Qing Period.
[/QUOTE]
I was going to tell him this, but, well, you know
Qi Jiguang’s and can still be read intact
[QUOTE=David Jamieson;1253958]Not true. There are in fact several extant manuals moving forward from early 16th century up and into the Qing Period.
The old methods were written down, illustrated etc and the CR didn’t destroy everything. it damaged a lot, but, it didn’t rub out history. There are sections of the forbidden city that have not been opened for study yet for instance that contain reams of knowledge from the past. Untouched for 100 years!
I think that many of us here in the west who have studied the southern kung fu styles have had our points of view somewhat tainted by the animosity that nationalists and communists have and had for each other. I have heard the story and even parroted it myself in regards to the CR and what it destroyed etc, It is only in the last decade or so that I’ve realized that this is not actually how things were and that what we were told came form a long line of whispers and political rivalry.[/QUOTE]
Hmmm, this could be interesting. Do you have or know where I can get translated versions? What were their sparring practices like? Did they spend an enormous amount of time training forms and meditating on their possible techniques? Thanks, David.