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  • Today, when we say that an act is traditional, the meaning is more that of an act belonging to a folklore, or even a culture from another time.
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Techniques of the body and martial arts:
a transversal social reality within practitioner subcultures

by

Patrice Régnier, Olivier Bernard

Martial techniques are first and foremost techniques of the body. Mastery of these techniques is essentially based on mimicking the body movements of others within the same culture. However, it is through a system of emotional attachment that martial techniques acquire value. It is through this that individuals become practitioners. The authors show the sociological mechanisms that energize this attachment system. A comparison between different postmodern martial arts practices – equestrianism and karate – highlights the common learning dynamics of these disciplines, i.e., the processes by which values, norms and the imaginary are transmitted. Reflecting on the transmission of representations, the authors emphasize that practitioners’ attachment and sensitivity to their discipline continue to guide their behavior and sense of belonging. The variety of origins of martial practices is matched only by the number of symbolic systems that correspond to them. Each group of practitioners is in itself a sub-culture, morally defending its system of attachment in a sea of martial diversity.

Technique comparison; Karate; Horseriding

Les techniques martiales sont d’abord et avant tout des techniques du corps. La maîtrise de ces techniques s’appuie essentiellement sur un mimétisme des gestes corporels d’autrui au sein d’une même culture. Cependant, c’est grâce à un système d’attachement émotionnel que les techniques martiales acquièrent de la valeur. C’est par lui que les individus deviennent des pratiquants. Les auteurs montrent donc les mécanismes sociologiques qui dynamisent ce système d’attachement. Une comparaison entre différentes pratiques martiales postmodernes, la pratique équestre et celle du karaté, vient mettre en lumière les dynamiques communes d’apprentissage de ces disciplines, c’est-à-dire les processus de transmission des valeurs, des normes et de l’imaginaire. Par une réflexion sur la transmission des représentations, les auteurs soulignent que l’attachement et la sensibilité des pratiquants à leur discipline restent ce qui oriente leur comportement et leur appartenance. La variété des origines des pratiques martiales n’a d’équivalent que le nombre de systèmes symboliques leur correspondant. Chaque groupe de pratiquants est en soi une sous-culture qui défend moralement son système d’attachement dans une mer de diversités martiales.

technique; comparaison; karate; équitation; corps

Las técnicas marciales son, ante todo, técnicas corporales. El dominio de estas técnicas se basa esencialmente en imitar los gestos corporales de otros dentro de la misma cultura. Sin embargo, es a través de un sistema de vinculación emocional como las técnicas marciales adquieren valor. Gracias a ello, los individuos se convierten en practicantes. Los autores muestran los mecanismos sociológicos que impulsan este sistema de apego. Una comparación entre diferentes prácticas de artes marciales posmodernas, la hípica y el kárate, pone de relieve la dinámica de aprendizaje común a estas disciplinas, es decir, los procesos por los que se transmiten los valores, las normas y el imaginario. Al reflexionar sobre la transmisión de las representaciones, los autores subrayan que el apego y la sensibilidad de los practicantes hacia su disciplina siguen siendo lo que guía su comportamiento y su sentimiento de pertenencia. La variedad de orígenes de las prácticas marciales sólo es comparable al número de sistemas simbólicos que les corresponden. Cada grupo de practicantes es en sí mismo una subcultura, que defiende moralmente su sistema de apego en un mar de diversidad marcial.

técnica; comparación; kárate; equitación; cuerpo

Introduction; Techniques of the body: a social fact for thinking about martial cultures

Today, when we say that an act is traditional, the meaning is more that of an act belonging to a folklore, or even a culture from another time.

In this chapter, the Maussian theory of techniques of the body is not only the starting point, but also the thread around which the argument unfolds. It becomes essential to recall that Marcel Mauss conceptualized “techniques of the body”1 during the inter-war period to explain why certain peoples had advantages in certain postures over prolonged periods. These advantages were due to their ways of acting, being and feeling. Without naming it directly, he speaks of culture in its most prosaic, down-to-earth dimension, i.e. the way in which a person socializes through what his society makes him experience in his flesh, in his body. This is why techniques of the body are the simplest expression of Durkheim’s “social fact”, because the minds of a society are nothing more than the extension of a training process that gradually takes shape through acts that are useful to the society, or more specifically, useful to the group to which the individual belongs or belongs. The acts performed by members of a society are therefore not essentially traditional, but rather convey the belief that these techniques are useful to the group. In other words, it’s not the actions themselves that are traditional, but only the way in which they are transmitted, based on the idea of usefulness. For Mauss, tradition is made up of the process of integrating movements by people who perceive their usefulness in a given context, according to aims and characteristics specific to a geography, a fauna, a climate and, finally, a social system organized around expectations and contributions on the part of its members.

According to our understanding, the efficacy (even if Mauss was mostly hypothetical on this point in his text) of techniques of the body is contextual and inextricably linked to the ethological dimension of bodies. There is nothing immutable about these techniques, which can only evolve in line with the changes faced by the members of a society. What is useful in one era, for one generation, is not necessarily so for the next. Adapting to a different social context inevitably generates a gap between the values of people acting according to aims that are no longer the same. Thus, the values defended are references to the process of integrating acts, to their daily use and, above all, to the feeling of usefulness associated with a supportive participation in the group. This relationship to values is described by Mauss as “bio-psycho-social”, recalling the Weberian notion of “ethos”, to emphasize that the individual is flesh literally in osmosis with his natural and social environment. In short, in this chapter at least, bodily techniques are understood as discretionary, collective, reasoned acts of multiple and temporal effectiveness2.

A comparison of equestrian and karate practices

So-called martial practices all possess the process of transmitting values through techniques of the body that Mauss refers to. However, this transmission cannot exist without a certain sensitivity on the part of practitioners to the representations of their discipline, an attachment that guides their behavior and their sense of belonging. It is the interpretation or reception of representations during the transmission process that is at stake here. While mastery of a technique is based on reproducing the body movements of others within the same subculture of practitioners, it is also motivated by affect, the importance of which we feel is sometimes overlooked in highlighting the mechanisms of transmission during teaching and learning. We therefore propose to make a comparison between different postmodern martial practices, namely equestrian practices (based on research carried out in France by Patrice Régnier) and karate practices (based on research carried out in Quebec by Olivier Bernard), in order to relate the social dynamics of learning body techniques in each discipline. Our approach is comparative in nature, and our intention is to give greater scope to the observations and field data we have accumulated over the past fifteen years, all from an exploratory and essayistic perspective.

To this end, we are conducting a thematic qualitative analysis that will bring together the social facts involved in the transmission of knowledge in equestrian and karate practices. More than a game of factual similarity, the aim is to highlight realities that cut across both types of practice. The facts used bring together the results of several research studies conducted over a period of more than fifteen years. The depth of this exercise lies not only in the facts put under the microscope, but more in the choice of facts. Not least because, with the necessary hindsight, we have classified certain facts as more significant than others. Equestrian and karate practices will be described to shed light on three social dimensions: mechanisms for transmitting techniques, differences in appreciation and collective imaginations. A socio-historical dimension is woven into our comparative discourse to provide a sociological understanding of how techniques of the body have evolved as subcultural practices. Finally, the conclusion describes the comparative elements to provide an overview of the analysis, while retaining the depth of the socio-historical context. But, before getting into the analysis proper, we offer the reader the highlights of our pre-analysis observations, much like a discussion between two colleagues during a geographic, not to say sociographic, topo before heading out into the field.

Discussion and highlights of past surveys

The martial arts, a category encompassing a wide variety of practices, are buoyed by swarms of representations ranging from what the media portray of these practices to the various modalities in which adepts can indulge. Whether participating in competitive, artistic or social dynamics, afficionados are offered a relatively unprecedented choice, challenging the achievements of previous generations, individuals from different social backgrounds or cultures. Horse-riding and karate enthusiasts are unevenly matched, both in terms of their physiological capital and the social dimensions that predominate in their “choice”. Primary socialization always directs boys3 towards activities that value strength and the “manly” dimensions of combat, while girls are directed towards activities that are supple and linked to emotions and empathy4. In this way, we can potentially explain the participation of this or that category in the activities studied here. In all cases, the practitioner is led to compare himself to the mythical, even mythological, personalities of his activity: such a “martial artist”, such a “horseman”, to reach that paragon of the activity, master of his art.

Karate senseis or riding instructors are faced with a kind of paradoxical injunction5 , in the sense that they have to reconcile their experiential experience as practitioners with the demands of new audiences. As it happens, these two aspects are not necessarily in agreement, if not completely ambivalent, creating as many biases to learning and participating in a potential misunderstanding: practicing traditional karate when the student expects an artistic and musicalized practice, teaching riding to young people who see only through the French championships without considering the place of the horse in the process. These difficulties compound the original ones, which consist in teaching not just an act, but the meaning of that act and the value that underlies it.

The notion of tradition6 thus appears, through practices, to be surprisingly polysemous. In the Maussian sense, technique is an “efficient traditional act”7. It is traditional because it is transmissible, and effective because it adapts to the functions we attribute to it. Thus, the tradition advocated by previous generations can lose its “effectiveness” over time, since its meaning and use are potentially no longer to kill but to win a competition. The example of endurance riding could be cited: what about sitting trotting or cantering in a long-distance event? What about competitive taekwondo, where the high guard is relatively useless? Mauss’s efficiency is a present-day efficiency. He did not swim the way our current swimmers swim, and swimming has acquired an efficiency all geared towards competitive success. In this way, the bookish knowledge that has succeeded one another over the centuries can be compared to the martial practices that are gradually evolving from art to sport: Baucher’s horsemanship is not that of gallops, just as Funakoshi’s karate is not that of color belts. The relationship to practice, which contributes to the relationship to the world and to fashions, leads, within the practices studied, to massive misunderstandings between various social groups (age, gender, culture, education, etc.) about values, ways of doing things, “what to do”. As a result, the “guardians of the temple” – the elders –are probably guarding a building that has already collapsed…

This tradition is, moreover, largely mediated by what cultures and subcultures portray of these practices. Whether monks, knights, warriors, cowboys, artists or champions, the media, as a whole contribute to the valorization of this or that representative of a given tradition, valorized hic et nunc, and responding to practitioners’ representations of this or that orientation. Practitioners choose not only a particular activity, but also a particular way of practising, according to the criteria they adhere to and what they find in what is offered to them, and how it is taught. In this way, the match is made between a teacher and a pupil, in which, ultimately, both learn. The student learns a physicality, validated by the teacher on the basis of the actual realization of this physicality, in the moment. More than that, not only is the physicality evaluated, but beyond this physicality is evaluated a value and implicit emotions. In the end, effective learning symbolizes the meeting of two humans, sometimes mediated by a horse or the handling of an object.

The result is quite simply the very idea of a “school” in the sense of a “current of “thought” and a “current of action”. Adherence to a way of doing things translates into a feeling of belonging to a “dojo” or “school”, reinforcing the mythologies associated with the practices, as well as the internal uses of these practices. Whether it is the clothing, the ranks, the tools used or valued (bô, saï, katana, wakisashi for some, spurs, saddle with or without pommels, snaffle with or without bit for others), the ability to speak the vernacular of the activity (gi, mawashi geri, chaps, descent of hands or connection), thematic representations (TV series or films), all these elements contribute to the feeling of being part of a world larger than oneself, in which one recognizes oneself or one’s “opponent” in action and thought, whom one will always take great care to confront, particularly and above all on the Internet. Classicism is not Natural Horseman-ship, Baucherism is not d’Aurisme, Oliviera is not d’Orgeix. Similarly, Wado-ryû is not Shôtôkan, nor is Gôjû-ryû Kyokushinkai. So, whether you are a rider or a karateka, the school you identify with always seems better than the others. Our way of thinking always seems right, and the values we hold dear always seem superior, because in the end, that is what we have learned to love.

Comparative analysis

Now that the observations and general overview have been made, we can move on to a more detailed understanding of what socially links equestrian and karate practices in the use of techniques of the body.

Mechanisms for the transmission of techniques

Whether we are talking about karate or horse-riding, practice presupposes an initial relationship between the one who knows and the one who learns. This relationship is far from insignificant, because it is what gives practice its full value. In fact, we can go even further by asserting that a practice, no matter what kind, can have no essence or meaning outside the social context in which it is acquired. For example, whether martial arts are described as dueling, wrestling, boxing, art, self-defense, a warrior tradition, a method of health and well-being or psychosocial support, the form they take invariably remains “what the men and women who practice them make of it and say about it”8. On this point, the researches of Patrice Régnier and Olivier Bernard is mutually enriching. Each in their own way, they show that martial practices exist thanks to the justifications that practitioners give to their activity. For his part, Régnier9 shows that all equestrian practices linked to combat practices can be grouped under a single “continuum”. He then goes further, proposing a three-dimensional vision that in all cases seeks to apprehend the practice in terms of the practitioner’s representations. On the other hand, Olivier Bernard10 shows that martial practices, including those of karate, are protean and placed on a “ladder”. Each practice ranks according to similar characteristics in a dynamic instituting space, taking the form of individuals’ intentions in a democratic context11. However, it should be stressed that a comparison between equestrian and karate practices implies from the outset the participation of a non-human species in the practice of horsemanship.

Patrice Régnier and Olivier Bernard’s logic for classifying and understanding martial practices is illustrated by simple examples of hand-picked ends: sporting champions are sometimes little versed in, or even interested in, technical mastery; those interested in the art value mastered know-how over the long term, potentially without any interest in victory; those who emphasize social relations with senseis, instructors, pupils, even horses, are looking for a group to belong to. Therefore, considering that practitioners’ justifications create the meaning and definition of martial practices, this makes it all the more important to highlight the mechanisms by which techniques are transmitted, because they reveal how this meaning and definition are shared and evolve for each group. By the same token, we have just implied that there is a meaning and a definition for each group of practitioners, which, as we said earlier, depends largely on the relationship between the one who knows and the one who learns, who are the most often separated by a generation.

Whatever the practice, it is based on a bodily technique. This technique, this gesture, is part of a logic of communication between master and apprentice that appears to pre-exist all learning. Referring to the riding experience of “equestrian ignoramuses”, Keri Brandt speaks of horses “who know” and take advantage of the situation to gain the upper hand over the rider12. According to the author, the empirical knowledge of professionals enables them to become experts in the relationship with horses, thanks to their daily contact with them. Training in this type of communication takes time and experience. We return to the image of the master. He is described as an “interpreter”. Indeed, his role appears to be that of a technical transmitter, but also a sensory one. As an observer, he teaches the right way (according to him and what he has been taught, of course) to make communication efficient. Consequently, if the instructor can regulate the interactions between the two protagonists, it is unlikely that he can do so hic et nunc. Will the learner immediately understand the correct gesture? No, they are more likely to make mistakes and learn from them later. In this case, the instructor will correct the rider’s communication errors, which will inevitably lead to unwanted movements or no movements at all. Besides, if knowledge, beyond a language, is transmitted from man to horse and then from horse to man, it is a whole physicality that passes from one to the other. From this perspective, the riding instructor has a fundamental role to play. As a transmitter of knowledge, he or she is responsible for training the novice rider in the technique that he or she has mastered. He thus becomes the horse’s human referent, but also that of his apprentice. In this case, the instructor not only passes on his technical knowledge to his pupil, but also his “bodily manner” with the horse, as well as his representation of horsemanship. Training begins with the knowledge imparted to the two interacting parties, the pupil and the horse. The instructor’s role is that of a central mediator, and it is hard not to question the impression left on the student by what he or she says and does. As a result, the student is likely to ride like his teacher before him, reinforcing his role in the continuation of the learning process.

In karate teaching, the transmission of the martial meaning of gestures – the essence of traditional karate knowledge – is never assured. To guarantee this transmission function, the meaning of the signs must be understood by both the sender (sensei) and the receiver (student) of the message13. However, this is not always easy, not least because the sensei can only believe that his pupil understands. This is an evaluation that is only possible through external signs, through a body that moves and has attitudes. In this dynamic of the master-student relationship, misunderstandings between interlocutors are filled by theoretical explanations whose references are generally drawn from popular culture14. Each tries to fill the gaps in understanding with an example or a hypothesis. A reference to the John Wick films may prove useful if both individuals possess the reference and agree that it is credible. In this way, the example becomes a surrogate that serves as a semantic bridge in the way certain gestures are put into action, to give life to the movement by imitating an intention that is considered the most accurate. As in so many other cases, borrowings from popular culture intrude on the discourse of tradition. In fact, the discourse of tradition largely exists in karate clubs and schools, thanks to cultural mediation and popular culture. The teacher’s visual perception of what the learner is doing, whether in karate or horse-riding, is therefore the founding element of the effective transmission of technical knowledge. Observation of technical quality by the pupil and remediation by the teacher, subject to common cultural elements, ensure this transmission. The relationship with the master, the repository of technical knowledge, thus takes on a dimension of necessary reverence.

As we can see, the cultural dimension, whether popular and/or bookish, is of fundamental importance in the teaching of these two families of practices. Rituals may take different forms in different cultures, but they are present in both families of practices. In horse riding, the two interacting parties can only be stakeholders in the implementation of communication tools, hence the expression widely used in equestrian literature: “old rider, young horse, old horse, young rider”15. Riders and horses need to establish an initially basic communication. This is what Jean-Charles Raimbault refers to as the “airs on the ground” the “high school riding” in this case being the more complex communication tools aimed at getting the horse to perform pesades, kicking, rearing16. These are the foundations on which more complex knowledge will be built, and learning them requires an understanding of the prerequisites for practice: grooming the horse, preparing the horse, and so on. Be that as it may, becoming a rider presupposes a bodily socialization that makes the technique function as an interspecies sign language in which human movement is the primary tool of interaction. This ritualized learning of the body goes hand in hand with that of the habits and customs of horsemanship, its norms and ethics: its “moral code”. The way in which horse and human interact constitutes a “high level of body-to-body contact”17 that takes place during interaction. It is through the body itself that communication can progress18, just as the body shape of uke (the one undergoing the exercise) enables the progression of tori (the one executing the exercise) in karate, where this communication ideally leads to a relationship of trust necessary for mastery. Cultural elements linked to equestrian knowledge also play a part in understanding the technique required to move a horse. The technique and the way it is done are all rituals that help to integrate know-how and interpersonal skills19.

In karate, practice becomes more ritualized as the intention of those taking part intensifies. However, this intention is not constructed by chance. It is the gradual establishment of a symbolic device aimed at the integration of a person or group through the exploration of a new reality leading to “a redefinition or reaffirmation of identities within a community”20. According to this understanding, the form tradition takes in a karate practice enables individuals to evolve together on the basis of conventions that govern the behavior of people who stick? to the same group of practitioners, notably within a community grouping together under the banner of a dojo. This discourse on tradition largely structures the dynamics of relations within a group. Teachings and their interpretations are then greatly influenced by the meaning attributed to tradition by the authorities present, often the owners or managers of the organization21. Moreover, this discourse on tradition helps to perpetuate most of the legends and myths conveyed by cultural products dealing with the martial practice of karate. Cultural elements such as the Japanese lexicon and clothing, the hierarchy with its ranks or the authoritarian figure of the master are reinforced by the consumption of films, manga, web series (not to mention Netflix’s latest global hit: Cobra Kai) etc., by members of the community or dojo22.

Authorities such as masters, technical directors and other teachers, all of whom can be called senseis, are therefore of crucial importance. Their teaching pedagogy corresponds to a process of transmitting knowledge that is largely based on (or limited to) the reproduction of gestures whose interpretations correspond to very precise values. In this context, the relationship with tradition and its representatives, the senseis, constitutes an authority in itself. Questioning the interpretation of gestures can therefore be seen as an affront, and can be qualified as a lack of respect for authority and tradition. This is a social control mechanism whose role is to maintain the established order, i.e. the importance that leaders place on their own knowledge and the symbolic system that supports it23. The meaning of gestures is therefore central to the practice of karate, and understanding them is only possible by knowing the context and meaning attributed to them by the community in which they are used. As a result, there is a wide range of meanings for a gesture or sequence of gestures within the karate family. These different interpretations are called “styles” in the jargon of practitioners, and the term also refers to the plural reality of karate schools. The names of these styles are often descriptive of the origins, the founder or the concepts put forward in the practice, for example: karate Gôjû-ryû, karate Shinto-ryû, karate Shôrin-ryû, karate Uéchi-ryû, karate Shôtôkan, karate-kenpô, karate Wadô-ryû, karate Shôtôkai, and so on24. Whether we see these styles as a cultural richness or a lack of coherence, the fact remains that this diversity has been produced by a mercantile rivalry between schools, where each seeks to impose its legitimacy through a definition of practice, such as an interpretation of gestures that would impose itself as “truer” than those of competitors. Ritualization is thus an integral part of all the practices studied here. The meaning given to the action, the importance attached to this or that movement depending on the place of learning, embodies the practice in a representation greater than itself, with reference to past actors where appropriate.

Finally, the last major dimension common to the technical transmission of these two families of activity concerns feelings and emotions, which are rich in all cases and deeply involved during the transmission of knowledge. In equestrian practices, communication appears in the text as pre-existing all learning. This learning takes place in action, at a walk, trot or gallop, fully engaging the rider in the action, with the risk of falling. For Kéri Brandt, both species have a body language that enables them to express a wide range of emotions and even feelings25. Indeed, we know from Erving Goffman’s sociology that non-verbal interaction is one of the main components of overall interaction. Indeed, his research seems to be consistent with work on animals26. Humans and animals alike may be capable of understanding a complex system of bodily27 and verbal communications. Equestrian techniques therefore represent an interesting form of interspecies communication. This communication must be learned by each of the protagonists. In some cases, however, the communication grid can be learned simultaneously by both rider and horse. But even in this case, one must at least have the intention before the other to teach it. Since this verbal language is created by humans to interact with animals, it is the former who teaches the latter. Once this code has been learned, the horse teaches the human, forming a learning circle in which animal and human constantly exchange information. We say that the student learns the “equestrian feeling”.

In karate practice, the practitioner is the canvas on which the gestural technique (re)constructed by a belief in tradition is inscribed, and this applies to both the student and the sensei. Teaching is an experience that transforms both through exchange, as the adage “the master learns as much as his pupils” confirms. In fact, the appropriation of karate techniques is based above all on the process of interpretation that has led to the incorporation of images and values commonly understood and shared during moments that have become significant. This is a rather mechanical and sociological description of how a person learns to love an activity. To paraphrase Marcel Mauss28, the techniques (of the body) of karate are primarily modes of action reflecting the communities that have transmitted them. These techniques remain the revelation of the learning process, a psyche inscribed in the body, a corporeality in action. Emotions and feelings, felt in the activity of fighting and riding, thus represent a pillar of learning.

Mauss’s technique29 is traditional and efficient. But that is not all it is. It is tradition, because it is the passage from master to pupil, impregnated with rituals that foster this transmission. It is imbued with mythical, mythological, theoretical and media elements that potentially condition the proper reception and understanding of these techniques. It is effective, but this effectiveness depends on the objectives expected of the practitioner, and is always linked to an emotional dimension, for reasons that are well understood: understanding an inter-species relationship or a pugilistic relationship, which in all cases involves the whole body, can only involve emotion. Finally, it is always about communication, an interactional exchange, whether we are communicating to the horse or the fighter, whether we are collaborating or confronting, we are always communicating. Communicate is sharing, and thus create an identity through a “doing together” in which transmission becomes a pretext for receiving recognition through the encounter with the other.

Differences in appreciation

Whether we are talking about equestrian practices or karate, the evolution of practices is undoubtedly influenced by the mores of an era. Much to the chagrin of purists, who like to believe that they belong to a lineage that has not dried up over time: for example, warriors in the Middle Ages used the horse as a weapon to win the battle, in all its brutality, whereas with the modernization of war techniques, the practice is gradually becoming more and more artistic. Horseback riding evolved from a means of warfare to a means of obtaining the Prince’s favor through equestrian performances30. The same is true of Okinawa prefecture’s defense practices against the onslaught of imperialist Japan. Once the prefecture had been annexed to the Japanese archipelago in 187531, the practice of karate became primarily a physical education activity in elementary school32. The first manuscript to formalize the practice, without standardizing it, dates back to 192233, and was written by Gichin Funakoshi. In fact, the transformation of a practice’s purpose corresponds to its usefulness at a given time, or its loss in the case of the practices we are interested in. We are witnessing a reduction in the constraints imposed by ancient or traditional moral guidelines, which are falling into disuse and disaffection. If equestrian and karate practices had not adapted to their new social context, they would have had constraining effects34 and would eventually have disappeared.

Today’s younger generations of enthusiasts may have as much desire to turn to tradition as to the ethos of the athlete who rationalizes his or her actions according to time, resources and goals35. For some, the practice of karate will be a springboard to certain virtues such as the search for life balance, the easing of tension and stress, or self-control. For others, karate serves to maintain an already strong self-esteem, to be part of an elite group and to continue to excel in a performative field. It is rather in the context of the democratization of practices and between experts from different traditions that the balance of power is played out. Rivalry between them continues to grow, because each tradition seems to confer a specialization in the use of technique within the same discipline, hence the stakes in terms of reputations and the moral value of a practice. This rivalry also applies to the world of equestrian practices. For example, equestrianism is gradually taking on artistic trappings, which will give rise to tensions between two major practices: war equitation and art equitation. This emergence of the artistic dimension produced an initial source of incomprehension between the advocates of combat riding and “artistic” riding, reminiscent of the later opposition in France between the advocates of judo sport and “beautiful judo”, as well as the long-standing opposition between kung fu sport and martial arts in France in the late 20th century.

Differences of opinion arose precisely in the context of sportivization, i.e. the birth of modern sports36 and the emergence of sports betting. At the top of the list is horse betting, and not far behind is pugilistic betting. The connection with reputations lies in the fact that practices have become standardized with rules, and if there are rules, it is possible to bet on anticipated outcomes between a wide variety of competitors. Last but not least, the craze for betting has made betting practices popular. To convince ourselves of the effectiveness of this process, we need only recall why mixed martial arts are so popular in our time, and the tendency of different schools to accessorize a thousand and one virtues to ensure their trade37.

A whole lexicon is being developed to differentiate practices. Some riding schools claim to be rooted in the “Haute école” tradition, trying at the same time to devalue the proponents of the competitive side. The parallels with the values espoused by opponents of martial arts are obvious. At the same time as equestrian sport is becoming more sportivized, it is also becoming massively feminized, gradually replacing military instructors with professionals from qualified civilian training. The transformation of degrees (three levels until 1978) into stirrups and spurs (3×2 levels until 1991) and then into galops (9 levels reduced to 7 in 2012) bears witness to an extension of value scales in training, in the same way as in European judo during the 1930s with Mikinosuke Kawaishi’s invention of color belts. Here again, research has demonstrated the attachment of past generations to a lost value system (most often idealized or fantasized) and the frustration of seeing a practice wallow in massification and feminization38.

Equestrian standards evolve over time, with each generation differing from the last in some innovation or renunciation of previous procedures. The massive interest in equestrianism in Europe and the rest of the world lies in the immense bibliography we can draw on to understand, over time, how the various conflicts, misunderstandings and, more recently, prejudices linked to equestrian practice are built up and maintained. Let is mention the most important ones for equestrian practices. As early as the 16th century, the Spanish and Portuguese published the first texts that were to launch the future of French equitation: “equitation for combat between men and for hunting ferocious animals. The rider fights at close quarters, requiring total mastery of the horse”39. Then, the Italians gradually began to publish equestrian books. The texts of the period bear witness to a violence that is now intolerable for horses. In England, racing practices were highly prized, demonstrating a clear break with the French school of equitation, which was more focused on warfare and the circus ring. For example, Newcastle, an English nobleman, rejected all the authors and especially the French pillars of Pluvinel40. In the 18th century, the horse was transformed from a military tool into a ceremonial one. Equitation was “representation, courtly equitation”41. Technique is no longer purely for warlike use, and gains in subtlety, in gestures no longer intended for combat, but made to be beautiful in their own right. The result is a drastic change in the perception of what horsemanship should be and what it should be used for. With cavalry taking the place of the old chivalric order, it became important to make riders quickly agile with a horse, by granting them minimal knowledge rather than useless airs in a charge. In a way, this equitation represented a break with the “classical squires”42. The nineteenth century is a period that seems to be practically worth nothing more than conflicts between schools, recalling the eternal pattern between sport riding and artistic show riding. A “new” practice appeared at the end of the twentieth century, at the turning point in the development of animal welfare: Natural Horseman-ship (NH), or so-called ethological equitation. The popularity of this activity, particularly in the UK, seems to be linked to the cultural change it represents and what the practice claims to bring to horse welfare43. For others, however, this activity remains unthinkable, crystallizing the main current oppositions within equestrian circles.

In the case of martial arts of Asian origin, standardization and unification led to sporting clashes between nations, with non-Asians able to win. In the context of the Cold War, a nostalgic anti-sport critical discourse developed that “laments a move away from a historical norm situated in a more or less precise past”44. It calls into question weight categories, degrees of competition, the quest for victory and the aestheticization of gestures. In short, the practice of sport “denaturalizes” the activity by distracting from the real practice, moving away from efficiency and losing the spirit or essence of the thing. After the 1960s, this dichotomy structured most of the discourse on martial arts and justified the proliferation of new practices. This discourse also reveals a protectionist strategy on the part of masters who might lose their authority to non-national athletes. The result is a diversification and multiplication of martial practices, always adding new versions to existing ones45.

In a context where there is now a huge diversity of practices, each person from a different group learns to like and see things according to the codes of the group to which they belong. For example, karatekas’ relationship with tradition and protocol can vary considerably from one school to another, leading to conflict. A person may be exclusively adept at training for competitive performance, retaining only what is useful for success in his specialized practice. The coexistence of various forms of practice in the same person must be understood according to the logic of rationalization, which does not use the schema of discourse on tradition and which leads to a hyperspecialization of practice. In both equestrian and karate practices, tradition can become the identity refuge of a person seeking emotional stability with reassuring rituals. This does not necessarily include the managers of a traditional school because they administer a product and should ideally know how to detach themselves from it, but rather concerns those who become “adepts” in the literal sense of the term46. The same is true of the advocates of so-called traditional equitation, with the emergence and spread of so-called “ethological” equitation47. According to its detractors, this new school would lead to the disappearance of the fundamental values of equitation, the emergence of the “non mounted horse” and the commodification of a historic practice. This discourse on animalitarian aberrations, for its part, denounces the relationship between horse and human, under the pretext of domination of the former by the latter48.

In the end, the complexity of social change in the history of disciplines is replaced by a bipolar cliché of moral dichotomy, a simplification between good and evil, between the traditional (even if they seek to distinguish themselves from each other) and the sporting. More than a Bourdieusian class distinction, it is a matter of psychological group protection against a complexity of the world too difficult to grasp. As with all cultures, martial subcultures protect themselves, often by closing in on themselves, when their vision of the world is relativized too much.

Collective imaginaries

As we have just seen, practitioners of equestrian disciplines, like those of karate, evolve within groups whose ideologies and imaginaries are constructions over time. They are also legacies forged by lineages of identifiable social actors, and strategic choices that become coherent when put back into context. For today’s practitioners, who are the heirs of these ideas and images, we can affirm that these realities of yesteryear are experienced as imaginaries into which they project themselves, i.e. mental reconstructions that are generally idealized. What makes them a concrete reality is the shared belief, within a community of practitioners, that these imaginaries are true, notably because they revolve around a myth presented as origins that seem true. Whether these imaginations are true or not is of little importance; what is essential is the social dynamic of the group, adding a sense of belonging to the practitioner’s identity.

The contemporary practice of Natural Horseman-ship is said, for example, to have been born of the myth of the American cowboy who, despite his rough image (conveyed by westerns, among others), is entrusted with the ability to relate specifically to horses. Keri Brandt49 believes that this mythology strongly influenced the representations of this new practice, imported from the United States to Europe and rapidly commercialized by its first practitioners50, notably by Pat Parelli in the 20th century. In all cases, this practice is based on observation of the animal and, consequently, on scientific ethology51. Thus, what motivates and frames the way equestrians move is based on very precise codes of visual recognition of gestures, melded into a morality that shapes riders’ attitudes, never independent of the images and videos produced about them by the cultural industries. A case in point is the book The Horse Whisperer52.

The same applies to karatekas. For example, the media world of popular martial arts culture, of which karate is a part, plays a central role in staging choreography or gestural sequences to showcase skills of speed and flexibility. In reality, however, few people possess the biological predispositions to achieve and maintain the body positions often seen in films or on the Internet, such as the prowess of Chloe Bruce (martial arts professional and official stand-in for the Marvel Cinematic Universe heroines in choreographed fight scenes). These exceptions reveal an important norm in the karate milieu. It is a rather implicit norm, imposed by the mechanisms of the cultural industry and nurtured by the imagination of karate communities. This norm consists in satisfying the mythical image of the warrior, i.e., giving the impression that bodywork can offer everyone the opportunity to develop exceptional skills and, ultimately, become someone exceptional who will make a difference in this world through his or her actions53. All karate schools work unconsciously to reproduce the myth that self-realization can be achieved through bodywork.

Whether it is the myth of the cowboy or the knight, the warrior or the monk (and for many, the two myths are equivalent), it is an act of faith that can only be made by relying on reference models, i.e. other bodies that convey the same performances, the same images. These images circulate in the media, and above all among niche consumers such as equestrians and karate practitioners. For them, it is an almost inexhaustible source of motivation, becoming at the same time a very strong sentimental anchor. Let is be clear, the training method – in other words, body technique, also called “body training” by Marcel Mauss54 – when it forms the basis of a practitioner’s main training, generally becomes an exclusive reference that disqualifies and crowds out all other potentially valid ones. It is the practitioner’s path and the time spent with the teacher, master and other adepts in the community that weave social bonds of affection around a method or technique. It helps shape a person’s identity, because the technique becomes the bearer of a history, a sense of belonging to a community, a continuity, a lineage, a tradition and a school. The depth of this attachment usually mobilizes practitioners to defend and justify a tradition or a school. On the other hand, what is really being defended is the identity and path of attachment to a group, which technique has merely supported.

Let is take the example of Nikki Savvides55 to demonstrate this in the field of equestrian practices. This author proposes a comparison between Natural Horseman-ship and dressage riding, whether competitive or not. She finds that for people practicing either activity, the one they did not practice was necessarily worse than theirs, even though they had no knowledge of it. It is worth noting that this state of affairs holds true irrespective of the modality of the “other”. Of course, the fact that Natural Horseman-ship practitioners may be disillusioned with classical dressage may explain the existing tensions between these two activities. In the same way, classical dressage practitioners can remain cold towards this practice when they themselves have never been disappointed by their experience. Today, a multitude of traditions and schools arrogate to themselves the mastery of “true horsemanship”, supposedly better than that of the neighbor. To such an extent that one phrase sums up all equine relations: “everyone does or thinks badly, except me and those who do or think like me”. Practices such as club riding, trail riding and ethological riding rub shoulders or even clash. Proponents of unmounted riding are appearing on Internet forums56. As a result, any rider seeking to practice in a given direction will turn to the structure that offers what he or she expects: competition for some, individual mastery for others, relationships for the last.

Karate, too, is a practice in which you defend the members of your tribe. What makes the different practices evolve is related to the particularities and singularities of socialization of each groups, following and participating in the imaginaries of the cultural industry, which are also evolving57. This enables everyone to invest in their practice with the appropriate meaning, with the right interpretation grid and the right words to share them. It is more the group where the learning has taken place that gives meaning to a practice. Two practitioners may have understandings that are poles apart. In this regard, Kenji Tokitsu quotes Funakoshi to show that these distinctions have existed through the construction of Okinawan traditions since the beginnings of modern institutionalization and, at the same time, to underline the futility of these differences: “Both styles [speaking of the Shôrin-ryû and Shôreï-ryu currents] develop the mind and the body, and one is not better than the other”58. Here, the value of this quotation lies not in the fact that it is the “father” of modern karate who asserts it, but in Kenji Tokitsu’s contextualization. He explains that the names of the two currents derive from the same word (Shaolin), pronounced differently in two distant eras. Distinctions in the execution of choreographed rituals would therefore also refer to interpretations that belong to two different periods. This window on the history of karate shows that Funakoshi was already identifying the presence of style distinctions through the construction of imaginary worlds even before the democratization of karate outside Japan. The phenomenon has only been reproduced and expanded over time and through the different cultures the practice has crossed.

These interpretive mechanisms simply demonstrate that techniques of the body acquire meaning through their utility in a given social and historical context. This context becomes the matrix that allows the imaginary (the equivalent of social representations) of practices to be arranged and organized according to the needs and preferences of the individuals of an era. For example, some traditionalists, young and old alike, see their practice as a challenge to the dominant values of their society: the Horseman-Ship denounces the lack of respect shown to horses, while traditional karate accuses the world of sporting excesses. It should be pointed out that these practices are usually used by individuals to find their place in society by staging themselves, because distinguishing oneself is today experienced as an injunction or a moral obligation. However, repulsion from the dominant values may indicate that individuals experience their traditions as a denial of their society. This can lead to a phenomenon of turning in on oneself, turning the practice into a refuge where the imaginary of a past and idealized tradition is comforting and ensures a takeover based on a know-how that leads to greater isolation. This is when criticism and judgment of other traditions take on the air of condemnation and fundamentalist discourse. But in the majority of cases, these are little parochial wars where, to paraphrase Pierre Bourdieu59, the traditions of some are the disgust of those of others.

Conclusion

Equestrian practices, like those of karate, can be considered subcultures. These groups of martial practices each have their own language, norms, values, symbols, beliefs, ideologies, bodily hexis and habitus60, some of which are generational. These elements highlight the traits that characterize a social group, i.e., what the members of a martial practice have in common that distinguishes them from other groups within a larger dominant culture. Martial subcultures therefore belong to two cultures at once. In the contemporary context, they are becoming more internationalized as a result of social networks, taking on ever greater importance in our societies, which value the diversity of identities. Of course, for the practices presented in this chapter, the comparative research results are based on work carried out respectively in France (Patrice Régnier for equestrian practices) and Quebec61 (Olivier Bernard for karate practices), two postmodern societies where subcultures benefit from a predominantly favourable political context. It is also worth noting that martial practices, as subcultures, have succeeded in establishing themselves in social representations (collective imaginary) and gaining importance, particularly through commercial success. Cultural products relating to martial arts are largely associated with geek universes (fandom). For example, enthusiasts can come from a wide range of social backgrounds and perfectly understand each other in this common ground, despite the dichotomy of dominant discourses between purists and “others”. Belonging to a school of thought, to the discourse on traditions, legends and myths, depends on the various players, masters and pupils.

No matter what categories or nomenclature we assign to practices at various moments in history, they are the result of what the individuals who practice them make of them and say about them. However, these practices need to be relativized and understood sociologically in two stages: physical practices (a wide variety of forms and modalities of practice) and cultural industries (discourses and products that disseminate cultural meanings and symbols). The history of the development of each activity and recent events linked to the differentiation of practice modes, as well as current commercial offers, enable us to understand what unites two a priori dissimilar practices in which, ultimately, the differences are sometimes of a generational nature, between old and new practitioners. A practitioner’s perception of his practice is relative to the objective he infers. The representations linked to the practice are often mythologized around the concept of the warrior, the monk, the cowboy or the knight; historical evolutions have also modified practices and their uses. In this way, bodily technique is evolving, as is its purpose. This purpose makes the practice effective according to the objective assigned to it: effectiveness in competition is not the same as usefulness in a crisis or aggression situation. As practice norms evolve over time, the uses and representations of activities diversify, shaping historical narratives (whether fantasized or not) according to the needs of members of practicing groups. As a result, representations of practices are all the more varied, giving an appearance of eclecticism or cacophony, but always following a social logic of adaptation to time, place and individual. As temporality has accentuated the modification of practices and their perceptions, norms are changing, and with them the way in which actions are viewed.

Visual cues guide both the learner and the teacher, whether in karate or horse riding. Through an interplay of mental and sensory interpretation, these visual cues are transformed into perception. Perception is crucial because it is the foundation of the effective transmission of technical knowledge, and a key element in the classic dialectic between master and initiate. The observation of technical quality and the remediation provided by both, subject to common cultural elements, ensures this transmission, and to the relationship with the master, the repository of technical knowledge. The image of the master as moral interpreter of what the body should do, how it should move, makes him a central mediator. His words and deeds leave an imprint or psychic mark on the pupil, indelibly underlining a bodily socialization that makes technique function as a language with others and with oneself. Learning the body is thus accompanied by learning the habits and customs of a model, with its norms, its ethics – in short, its moral code. Practitioners thus confront each other through the prism of their representations, sometimes aligning themselves behind leaders, experts staking their reputation on the discipline in which they excel, or even in the specialization of that discipline. As a result, misunderstandings accumulate between those who know and those who do not, increasing the conception of a practice different from one’s own, which always seems systematically wrong, since it is not the one they have learned. The leaders, whose expertise is claimed or shared by as many supporters, organize a competition in an attempt to confiscate the monopoly of “truth”. All channels are mobilized, particularly those of the Internet, through forums and social networks (physical and online), where strategies are implemented by visually demonstrating the real or supposed qualities of said experts.

In this way, the myth of the warrior is fulfilled across the whole range of practice options. Whether you are a warrior who trains to the limit, a gold-medal winner or a fighter in a cage against your opponents, whether you “fight” against a surly horse or are such a master that you win without fighting, in total agreement with the technique… Whether you identify with one or other of the representations of practice, the practitioner always ends up in the figure of the fighter, the warrior, the scholar, the master of everything. So it is with reproductions of old fights that regenerate in new social contexts, modifying and transforming themselves to satisfy fashionable representations. These complex social transformations of disciplines are replaced, however, by a bipolar cliché of moral dichotomy between practices that are more legitimate than others, more noble, closer, it is thought, to a model whose purity could not be debated, and practices perverted by competition or by the music that comes to insert itself into more classical practices.

Learning is correlated with significant moments in the learner’s life, based on a federal framework versus the bookish imaginary of what is valued in a given group, the reference authors in whom he or she recognizes himself or herself. So, competition is fierce, and schools try to diversify within a multitude of possible proposals, while succeeding or failing to keep pace with the evolution of disciplines and related societal values. Generations of practitioners, evolving in different environments, with different expectations, make teaching complicated, as does the search for legitimacy for both teacher and practitioner. Tradition, far from being an unchanging monolith, is in fact extremely lively and mobile, as the effectiveness of technique goes hand in hand with specific expectations (artistic, competitive, interactional, etc.). Ritualization is thus an integral part of all the practices studied here. The meaning given to the action, the importance attached to this or that movement depending on the place of learning, embodies the practice in a representation greater than itself, with reference to past actors where appropriate. Myths produced and transmitted by the cultural industries can be mobilized as part of these strategies. Whether we are talking about more or less unanimously recognized practitioners (Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nuno Oliviera, François Baucher), representations of combat in Game of Thrones jousts, horse-riding “whisperers” or the relationship between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, modern myths and representations contribute to the popularity of these practices. Through their choices and the approval they give to one representation or another, practitioners participate in a “staging” of practices through their own bodies. This idea of staging the self62 is strongly associated with the economic motives of putting on a show and the performance of bodies to which our society attaches great importance63. The same quest for performance can lead some practitioners to make specific technical selections. Multi-disciplinary practice is a new reality. The huge diversification of disciplines, not only through their sheer number, but above all through the quality of the interpretations that each can give to their practice, invites practitioners to pick and choose from right and left in a kind of personalized production in terms of performance. MMA fights are the embodiment of this, so much so that the rationalization of performative logics invites hyperspecialization. Whatever the case, and all other things being equal, the method (or body technique) learned by the practitioner always seems better than those of others, as does the morality of the practice. Dry, diluted and incomprehensible practices are always those of others, because it is too difficult to question a socializing path that contributes to the identity and present value of a practitioner within a group.

Emotions and feelings, as experienced in karate and horse riding, are thus a pillar of learning. These practices require absolute bodily involvement, since when riding a horse, the body is totally committed to the risk of falling, whereas in karate, combat implies putting the individual’s bodily integrity at stake (even if it involves combat choreography). Practitioners involved in these disciplines must master the emotions that sometimes assail them, and even those of their partner, whether human or equine. Taking a blow or suffering a fall are moments that engage a set of representations linked to feelings of possible failure and being called into question. All these elements contribute to communication, as a fundamental element of these activities. Whether they are based on a logic of partnership or antagonism, they are always first and foremost a bodily interaction, which produces emotion and feeling, since it is bodily felt.

To bring this comparative work to a close, we had like to return to Marcel Mauss’s initial definition of techniques of the body. For him, it is defined by two elements: its traditional transmission aspect and its effectiveness. From the outset, therefore, Mauss evoked the importance of oral transmission, which accompanies techniques to give them meaning; this is the traditional aspect: “There is no technique and no transmission, if there is no tradition”64. This work highlights how the postmodern world in which we live has given density to these traditional aspects, and allows us to propose a kind of update of Marcel Mauss’s concept. Finally, while the nephew of Emile Durkheim was initially disserted on his conception of tradition, he remained vague on the dimension of efficiency, which was perhaps taken for granted at the time. According to our comparative analysis, this efficacy is by no means “self-evident”. It is always socially and historically situated, a function of the objectives that actors assign to their practice and to themselves. In this way, the Maussian concept takes on added depth and renewed vitality.

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Notes

  1. Mauss Marcel, Les techniques du corps, Édition électronique, Microsoft Word 2001, UQAC, dans le cadre de la collection : “Les classiques des sciences sociales”, [1934] 2002.http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/mauss_marcel/socio_et_anthropo/6_Techniques_corps/Techniques_corps.html
  2. In other words,we are evoking habitus (the sum of social experiences of someone ; it holds one’s manners to understand and act in and on the world) and hexis (the embodied habitus, the corporal form of our experiences).
  3. The two big differences are that in horse-riding, human and horses are working together and they use some tools (saddle, stirrups…).
  4. Augustini Muriel, Duret Pascal, Irlinger Paul et Louveau Catherine, “Pratiques sportives des enfants et rôle socialisateur du sport”, Enfance, n°2-3, 1994, p. 171-195.Catherine Vidal, “Les cerveaux des filles et des garçons : au-delà des préjugés”, Dans D. Ratia-Armengol, Quand les temps changent, les bébés changent-ils ?, 2018, (p. 201-218). érès. https://doi.org/10.3917/eres.ratia.2018.01.0201.Guérandel Carine et Mardon Aurélia, “Introduction : Socialisations de genre durant la jeunesse : la part du sport”, Agora débats/jeunesses, n°90, 2022, p. 58-69. https://doi.org/10.3917/agora.090.0058
  5. Bourocher Julie, “Injonction paradoxale : (paradoxical injunction – prescripción paradójica)”, dans Vandevelde-Rougale Agnès (dir.), Dictionnaire de sociologie clinique, Toulouse, Érès, 2019, p. 365-367.https://doi.org/10.3917/eres.vande.2019.01.0365
  6. Gérard Lenclud, “La tradition n’est plus ce qu’elle était…”, Terrain, 9 | 1987, 110-123.
  7. Mauss Marcel, Les techniques du corps, op. cit.
  8. Gaudin Benoît, “La codification des pratiques martiales ; Une approche socio-historique”, Actes ; De la recherche en sciences sociales, no 179, septembre, France, Éditions Seuil, 2009, p. 5.
  9. Régnier Patrice, Devenir cavalier : un apprentissage par corps. Essai de socio-anthropo-zoologie des pratiques et techniques équestres, thèse présentée pour le doctorat de l’université de Rennes 2, mention sociologie, 2014.Régnier Patrice, Dans la peau d’un cavalier. Un acteur communicationnel par excellence ?, Paris, L’harmattan, collection Des Hauts et Débats, 2016.
  10. Bernard Olivier, Les arts martiaux : entre sports et loisirs, dans Bernard Olivier (dir.), L’arrière scène du monde des arts martiaux, Canada, Québec, Presses de l’Université Laval, 2014, p. 27-67. https://www.pulaval.com/produit/l-arriere-scene-du-monde-des-arts-martiaux
  11. The post-World War II period was a dynamic time for the spread of Japanese martial techniques around the world, except for the USA in which Karate spread during the 1960s.
  12. Brandt Keri, “A Language of Their Own: An Interactionist Approach to Human-Horse Communication”, Society and Animals, n°12, 2004, p. 306.
  13. Élias Norbert, Théorie des symboles, Éditions du Seuil, France, 2015.
  14. Bernard Olivier, La référence commune des arts martiaux : l’imaginaire. Dans Bernard Olivier. Les arts martiaux ; La puissance d’un imaginaire (p. 7-74). Collection : L’univers social des arts martiaux. Canada, Québec, Presses de l’Université Laval, 2016. https://www.pulaval.com/produit/les-arts-martiaux-la-puissance-d-un-imaginaire
  15. Pidancet-Barrière Véronique, Les mots du cheval, Paris, Belin, 2005, p. 137.
  16. Raimbault Jean-Charles, Petit dictionnaire équestre. Paris, Arléa, 2011, p. 52.
  17. Brandt Keri, A Language of Their Own, op. cit.
  18. Ibid., p. 301.
  19. Goffman Erving, Les rites d’interaction, Paris, Editions de Minuit, 1974.
  20. Lemieux Raymond, “Ritualités et mystères de l’identité. Gérer les défis du sujet en processus”, dans Denis Jeffrey et Roberge Martine, Rites et identités, Coll. Sociologie au coin de la rue, Presses de l’Université Laval (PUL), Québec (Canada), 2017, p. 6.
  21. Bernard Olivier, “De l’herméneutique dans l’enseignement des arts martiaux : une tradition de la compréhension, dans Bernard Olivier, Arts martiaux : Entre enseignement et intervention (Hommage à Jacques Hébert, Collection : L’univers social des arts martiaux, Canada, Québec, Presses de l’Université Laval, 2019, p. 1-30, https://www.pulaval.com/produit/les-arts-martiaux-entre-enseignement-et-intervention
  22. Bernard Olivier, La référence commune des arts martiaux, art. cité.
  23. Bernard Olivier, De l’herméneutique dans l’enseignement des arts martiaux, art. cité.
  24. Each of them is created at the end of the 19th century. Tokitsu Kenji, L’Histoire du Karaté-Dô. Les Grands Maîtres – Les styles, Paris, Éditions E.M., 2003.
  25. Cyrulnik Boris, Les nourritures affectives, Paris, Odile Jacob, 1993.Le Breton David, La Sociologie du Corps, Paris, PUF, 1994.
  26. Goffman Erving, Les rites d’interaction, op. cit., p. 7.
  27. Brandt Keri, A Language of Their Own, op. cit. p. 304.
  28. Mauss Marcel, Les techniques du corps, art. cité.
  29. Ibid.
  30. Lagoutte Jean, Idéologies, croyances et théories de l’équitation en France depuis le XVIIᵉ siècle. Leurs relations avec les classes sociales et les groupes, Thèse pour le doctorat de sociologie, Université de Tours, 1974.
  31. Loudcher Jean-François et Faurillon Christian, “The influence of French gymnastics and military French boxing on the creation of modern karate (1867-1914)”, Martial Arts Studies, Vol. 11, 2021, p. 80-100.
  32. Tokitsu Kenji, L’Histoire du Karaté-Dô. Les Grands Maîtres – Les styles, Paris, Éditions E.M., 2003.
  33. This is a simplification of the reality we need to make for the clarity of the dissertation. Indeed, it shall be comparable to the myths concerning the evolution of martial arts.
  34. Bellefleur Michel, Le loisir contemporain. Essai de philosophie sociale, Presses de l’Université du Québec, Sainte-Foy, Canada, 2002.
  35. Bernard Olivier, Les arts martiaux : entre sports et loisirs. op. cit.
  36. Élias Norbert et Dunning Éric, Sport et Civilisation. La Violence Maîtrisée, Paris, Fayard, 1994.
  37. Ramirez Yann, Dans la cage. Sociologie d’un sport du XXIe siècle, Éditions Atlande, Paris, 2021.Ramirez Yann, Les jeux vidéo et les arts martiaux mixtes : la rencontre de deux “mauvaises réputations”, dans Bernard, Olivier. Arts martiaux et jeux vidéo. Quel rapport à la culture ?, Collection : L’univers social des arts martiaux, Canada, Québec, Presses de l’Université Laval, 2019, p. 115-142. https://www.pulaval.com/produit/arts-martiaux-et-jeux-video-quel-rapport-a-la-culture
  38. Régnier Patrice, Devenir cavalier : un apprentissage par corps, op. cit.Régnier Patrice, Dans la peau d’un cavalier, op. cit.
  39. Henriquet Michel, L’œuvre des écuyers français. Un autre regard, Paris, Belin, 2010, p. 28.With the exception of Patrice Franchet d’Espèrey, few scientific authors have fully studied the texts of French equestrians. We therefore take as our starting point the work done by Michel Henriquet, an erudite expert who proposes a study of these texts.
  40. Henriquet Michel, L’œuvre des écuyers français, op. cit., p. 95.
  41. Digard Jean-Pierre, Une histoire du cheval. Art, technique, société, Paris, Actes sud, 2007, p. 237-238.
  42. Henriquet Michel, L’œuvre des écuyers français, op. cit., p. 248.
  43. Birke Lynda, “Learning to Speak Horse”: The Culture of “Natural Horsemanship”, Society and Animals, n°15, 2007, p. 217-239.
  44. Gaudin Benoît, La codification des pratiques martiales, op. cit., p. 22. 
  45. Ibid.
  46. Bernard Olivier, Les arts martiaux : entre sports et loisirs. op. cit.
  47. Digard Jean-Pierre, Des manèges aux tipis. “Équitation éthologique” et mythes indiens. In Techniques & Culture [En ligne], 43-44, mis en ligne le 15 avril, 2004, p. 3. URL : http://tc.revues.org/1139Digard Jean-Pierre, Une histoire du cheval, op. cit.
  48. Régnier Patrice et Héas Stéphane, Prolégomènes à une analyse des points de vue antispécistes et véganes. L’Homme et la Société, 210, 2019, 137-164. https://doi.org/10.3917/lhs.210.0137
  49. Brandt Keri, A Language of Their Own, op. cit.
  50. Digard Jean-Pierre, Une histoire du cheval, op. cit., p. 220.
  51. Hence the term “ethological equitation” used in France.
  52. Evans Nicholas, L’homme qui murmurait à l’oreille des chevaux, Paris, Pocket, 1997.
  53. Bernard Olivier, Quand l’image du corps est une prérogative sociale. Une exploration sociologique de l’apparence. Québec (Canada), Presses de l’Université Laval, 2021. https://www.pulaval.com/livres/quand-l-image-du-corps-est-une-prerogative-sociale-une-exploration-sociologique-de-l-apparence
  54. Mauss Marcel, Les techniques du corps, op. cit.
  55. Savvides Nikki, Communication as a Solution to Conflict: Fundamental Similarities in Divergent Methods of Horse Training, in Society & Animals, n°20, 2012, pp. 75-90.
  56. Des chevaux sans équitation (Consulté le 10 décembre 2024). https://chevaux-en-vacances.forumactif.com/
  57. Bernard Olivier, La référence commune des arts martiaux, op. cit.
  58. Tokitsu Kenji, L’Histoire du Karaté-Dô, op. cit., p. 103.
  59. Bourdieu Pierre, La distinction. Critique sociale du jugement, Paris, Éditions de minuit, 1979.
  60. Bourdieu Pierre, Méditations pascaliennes, Paris, Éditions du Seuil, 1997.
  61. We mention Quebec because it is a distinct society with a different francophone culture and identity from English Canada.
  62. Goffman Erving, La mise en scène de la vie quotidienne, Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 1973.
  63. Ehrenberg Alain, Le culte de la performance, Paris, Calmann-Levy, 1991.Héas Stéphane, Les virtuoses du corps. Enquête auprès d’êtres exceptionnels, Paris, Max Milo Éditions, 2010.
  64. Mauss Marcel, Les techniques du corps, art. cité, p. 9.
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Techniques du corps, arts martiaux et sports de combat. Du quotidien aux JOP
Body Technics, Martial Arts and Combat Sports. From the Everyday to the OGP
Técnicas corporales, Artes Marciales y Deportes de combate. De lo cotidiano a los JJ.OO.PP.
Olivier Bernard, Patrice Régnier
Presses universitaires de Bordeaux
PrimaLun@35
Pessac
Chapitre de livre
EAN html : 9791030012231
ISBN html : 979-10-300-1223-1
ISBN pdf : 979-10-300-1224-8
ISBN EPub 3 : 979-10-300-1226-2
Volume : 35
ISSN : 2741-1818
Posté le 23/04/2026
21 p.
Code CLIL : 4096
licence CC by SA

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Régnier, Patrice, Bernard, Olivier, « https://una-editions.fr/techniques-of-the body-and-martial-arts », in : Loudcher, Jean-François, Hernandez, Yannick, dir., Techniques du corps, Arts Martiaux et Sports de combat. Du quotidien aux JOP / Body Technics, Martial Arts and Combat Sports. From the Everyday to the OGP / Técnicas corporales, Artes Marciales y Deportes de combate. De lo cotidiano a los JJ.OO.PP., Pessac, Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, collection PrimaLun@ 35, 2026, 109-130, [URL] https://una-editions.fr/techniques-of-the body-and-martial-arts
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