Three paths, one destination

To my thinking there are three paths to the African warrior tradition. The first path is characterized by both the practice of the African combat arts, as well as the internalization of the highest ethics and discipline of the culture. Herein, one is not simply employing technical principles, but also seeks to reflect African cultural ideals in various ways.

The second path is where one incorporates select principles and techniques of the African combat arts into whatever warrior discipline one practices. This may entail using one or more kicks from Capoeira, or several blocks from 52 Blocks. Here one also draws on the philosophical principles of these arts and of African culture more generally.

The third path consists of the incorporation of the philosophy of the African warrior tradition into one’s practice of non-African martial arts. For years when I did Kung Fu, before I started learning Capoeira, various African proverbs informed my thinking about what it meant to be a martial artist. Whether it was the Odu which states, “It is at home that the war is lost before even reaching the battlefield” or another that states “The constant soldier is never unready, even once”, these statements greatly informed my thinking about these arts and the type of consciousness that must accompany their practice. They gave me a way of conceiving what warriorhood meant in the African milieu and how such principles are vital to the present context.

Hence, even absent the African fighting arts, the African warrior tradition remains a vital area of personal and community development that ultimately should inform our work.

Those seeking further insight into the aforementioned topic should consider the following texts:

Carruthers, Jacob H. 1985. The Irritated Genie: An Essay on the Haitian Revolution. Chicago: The Kemetic Institute.

Desch-Obi, T. J. 2008. Fighting for Honor: The History of African Martial Art Traditions in the Atlantic World. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.

Green, Thomas A. 2003. “Freeing the Afrikan Mind: The Role of Martial Arts in Contemporary African American Cultural Nationalism.” In Martial Arts in the Modern World: Transition, Change and Adaptation, edited by Thomas A. Green and Joseph R. Svinth, 229-248. New York: Praeger.

Green, Thomas A. 2003. “Surviving the Middle Passage: Traditional African Martial Arts in the Americas.” In Martial Arts in the Modern World: Transition, Change and Adaptation, edited by Thomas A. Green and Joseph R. Svinth, 129-148. New York: Praeger.

Green, Thomas A. 2004. “African Roots in the Martial Arts: An Interview with Kilindi Iyi.”  In Yo: Journal of Alternative Perspectives (Nov 2004).

Karenga, Maulana. 1999. Odu Ifa: The Ethical Teachings. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press.

Maasi, Shaha Mfundishi. 2008. Essential Warrior: Living Beyond Doubt and Fear. Baltimore, MD: MD&H Publications, LLC.

Maasi, Shaha Mfundishi, and Nganga Tolo-Naa. “The Liberation of Consciousness Through African-Descended Martial Culture in the Americas: The Truth About Kupigana-Ngumi.” accessed December 10, 2015. http://www.kupiganangumi.com/kupiganangumi/History.html.

Powe, Edward L. 2011. Black Martial Arts VIII: The ABC & “Bay-ah-Bah” of Capoeira de Angola. Madison, WI: Dan Aiki Publications.

Price, Richard. 1996. Maroon Societies: Rebel Slave Communities in the Americas. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

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