473.3
Athletic Sport or Health Promotion: Development Dilemma Confronted in Globalization of Chinese Traditional Martial Arts

Wednesday, July 16, 2014: 11:00 AM
Room: 412
Oral Presentation
Nan YANG , Shanghai University of Sport, China
This study is to clarify the relationship between the two different purposes of Chinese Traditional Martial Arts as a sport: athletic sport and health promotion, and propose the author’s own view on the development direction of  Chinese Traditional Martial Arts in the context of sport globalization

This paper reviewed 75 related published articles and academic papers and summarized the views. The author held ten semi-conducted interviews with Chinese Traditional Martial Arts coaches, scholars, students and other Chinese Traditional Martial Arts enthusiasts.

Some hold that in the process of globalization we should focus on training elite players and develop athletic sport system for traditional martial arts, which will help traditional martial arts widely recognized by western cultures. This kind of thoughts results in an reality that Chinese Traditional Martial Arts practitioners prefers to practice athletic Martial Arts. In university, Chinese Traditional Martial Arts Majors choose to practice athleticMartial Arts and attend contest of all kinds, because this is the only way they can get authorized eligibility as first or second class national sportsmanship. 

Others argue that since its functions of attacking and defending have been in degradation as modern weapons developed, Chinese traditional martial arts still can attract many people of different countries, ages, and backgrounds, not because of its athletic features, but because it contribute immensely to one’s physical fitness and self-moral-cultivation,and the cultivation of both physical and moral health is the power source of its sustainable development in the context of sport globalization.

The author think that as to the development of Chinese traditional martial arts, a regular authorized eligibility certification system as the athletic sport has will standardize its technical requirements, and the focus on the physical and moral health promotion will keep its diversified national features  in its globalization in  the world.