Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

1077 The Song-dynasty scholar Zhao Yong dies. Ming-dynasty scholars
subsequently credited Zhao and his students with creating
Earthly Branch horary astrology. Earthly Branch astrology
sought to locate auspicious moments by combining birth information,
Indo-Iranian arithmetic puzzles, and the 64 trigrams of
the Yijing (I Ching; Book of Changes). Earthly Branch divination
methods are commemorated by the names of several
Southern Shaolin quanfa (fist law) styles, various Okinawan
karate kata, and the eight trigrams shown on the modern South
Korean flag.
About 1086 Believing it to be useful for teaching heihô (the way of strategy)
to soldiers, a Japanese prince named Otoku introduces the
game of Go into Japanese military training. Most of his contemporaries
continued to view the game as an entertainment
rather than a practical martial art.
1090 An Iranian imam called Hasan ibn al-Sabbah establishes the occult
branch of Sevener Shiism known as the Nizaris in the
mountains of western Iran. Due to hashish-laden drinks that
Nizari leaders supposedly gave their followers before sending
them out to commit political assassinations, the Nizaris are better
known by the Syrian name of hashshashin (hashish-takers),
from which the word assassin comes. The Nizaris are also remembered
for providing Islamic literature with its stories about
Aladdin, the daring young thief who could open magic caves
and seduce women simply by crying, “Open, sesame!” Pakistan’s
Agha Muhammad Khan (1917–1980) is probably the
most famous modern Sevener.
1096 During England’s first important judicial duel, the Norman
Count of Eu fights another Norman named Godefroy Baynard;
the cause is a dispute over Godefroy’s relationship with the homosexual
King William Rufus.
Twelfth century A Tamil martial art develops in southern India. In Travancore,
it was known as varma ati (hitting the vital spots) while in Kerala
it was known as kalarippayattu (gladiatorial training).
About 1100 Mystery plays become popular throughout Europe. These presented
the history of the world from the Creation to the Last
Judgment (the word mystery originally meant “to minister”)
and taught biblical stories to illiterate audiences during Carnival
or other popular festivals. The plays’ scatological dialogue
and use of partial nudity were sacrilegious and crude by modern
standards. Nevertheless, from a martial art standpoint,
their feats of choreographed sword dancing and wrestling were
impressive, and it was not for want of a better word that the
twelfth-century German theologian known as Hugh of
St. Victor described all kinds of games and amusements as
“theatrics.”
About 1106 Troubadours popularize pre-Christian legends about an Ulster
hero called Cu Chulainn who was so much a man that by the
age of 7 he already required the sight of naked women to distract
him from wanton killing. Further, as he got older, Cu
Chulainn became notorious for conquering matristic societies
by rape. Evidently Christian patrilinealism was being imposed
798 Chronological History of the Martial Arts