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The creation of ASEAN’s martial arts
By Lee Ho-chul martial arts scholar

Through diverse cultural influences, ASEAN’s martial arts have evolved into a set of unique fighting systems.

Because of its geographical location as the gateway for transportation between and among Northeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, Southeast Asia has a long history of fostering cultural diversity in terms of both folk traditions and languages, due to the coexistence of many cultures, including that of native, Chinese, Islamic and European peoples. The region’s richness of religious customs, including shamanism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others, has served—and continues to serve—as a foundation for the mixed arts. It is due to such cultural and artistic diversity that, unlike Northeast Asia, which was predominantly influenced by traditional Chinese martial arts, Southeast Asian martial arts were influenced by a combination of the traditional martial arts of India and China—the two countries considered the pillars of Asian culture—and developed into diverse fighting techniques that each embody a unique set of traits and cultural identities. For their proliferation, the traditional martial arts of the ASEAN countries were especially dependent on the repetition of dialectical processes (conflict, exclusion, convergence, assimilation between local and traditional cultures, and imported religious influences, among others).By Lee Ho-chul martial arts scholar

Article may not reflect the opinion of the editorial board of the ASEAN Culture House Monthly.