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The African Martial Arts Lives
Carlos Thompson
The warrior traditions of Africa were not lost by Africans who migrated to the United States or those who came as cargo, but rather these arts were synthesized into new traditions. Many African American traditions are rooted in the warrior traditions of the African mainland, and are expressed in much the same way using ritual, music, as well as dance and drumming to express their truths.
The highest expression of African martial arts is not in fighting techniques but rather in that sacred knowledge of indwelling divinity that is transferred through the various mystery systems that lay behind all African martial arts. These mystery systems lead to an understanding of one’s self, but more implicitly they lead to the displaced Africans understanding of origin and identity. The key to understanding African martial arts is to understand the migration of the indigenous African to other parts of the world; the Olmec’s African presence in South America, the Dravidians of India and the African presence in Europe during African Imperialism all hint to the mysterious origins of African Martial Arts.
The shamanistic animist cultures prominent in many indigenous cultures also lend insight to the mystery of Martial Arts as a whole, the first of which to come in contact with ethogens being Africa. Terrence McKenna speaks of the history of psychoactive drugs in his book Food of the Gods, in it he states that shamanistic tradition have their origin in ancient Africa; he states that, “[i]n Tassli-n-ajar which is modern day Algeria around 12,000 b.c.,…[i]n this milieu the psilocybin-containing mushrooms were encountered, consumed, and deified…[l]anguage, poetry, ritual, and thought emerged from the darkness of the hominid mind (Mckenna, 1992).”
The story of African martial arts practice dates back to the early dynasties of ancient Egypt and is credited to the Ethiopians who founded the ancient Nubian empire and continued up the Nile River into modern day Egypt (Ra Un Nefer Amen,1990). Evidence of the ancient Egyptian martial traditions can be seen in the temple of Medinet Habu in the form of hieroglyphics that are found on the temple wall (Crawford,2002). These hieroglyphics depict ancient Egyptians practicing, stick fighting, wrestling, and many other martial arts movement that look similar to what we now know as the martial arts of Asia. These hieroglyphs are found on various temples in Egypt, they speak to the origin and history of these martial sciences being from the Heru Shemsu, or the followers of Heru, the Egyptian god of war.
The Egyptian god of war is said to have trained humanity in the ways of forging weapons from metal as well as various forms of martial arts. The followers of Heru were charged with perpetuating the martial traditions (Leadbeater, 1926). These warriors were the elite temple warriors who protected the pharaohs and the priesthood. These mighty warriors were the first to organize a systematic approach to the martial sciences.
The Yoruba people of Africa trace their traditions back to their ancestors who had been given the status of gods and attribute their warrior traditions to the god of war “who lives in the flame the of blacksmith (Green, Iyi, 2004).” in the Yoruba tradition it is said the Ogun appeared from the forest and taught man methods of building shelter and weapons, after being made king, Ogun missed life in the bush so much that he left his throne to venture back to the bush. The Yoruba cosmology and methods of transferring knowledge is very similar to the Egyptian cosmology and is considered to have a direct lineage going back to Egypt.
In the Yoruba tradition of martial arts, the machete is taught by channeling Ogun through the dance. The warriors, dances the dance of Ogun to the tradition Bata drum beat of Ogun, while the song is chanted explaining the nature and history of this deity. In this martial tradition the young men after puberty are initiated into this mystery, coming in direct contact with the realm of the various gods they learn those skills of warrior ship among other things which are essential to survival (Iyi, 2009). Many of the Africans who were brought to the Americas come from Nigeria, a region that is called Yoruba land.
Capoeira is a martial art from the Angola region of African transplanted to Brazil. The Capoeira martial tradition uses music, song, and dance to express the physical art, also having an oral tradition used to transfer the martial knowledge much like the Yoruba. Capoeira comes from N’ tolo a martial art found in Angola which was transferred from Africa, to Brazil, Central America on into the Caribbean and The United States (Obi, 2008). Capoeira was used by the slave in many slave revolts and there are accounts of African slaves in Brazil fighting the Portuguese using Capoeira.
As in the case of the traditional martial arts of the African Mainland, Break Dancing, which is a Diasporas expression of African martial arts, carries with it an oral tradition, different crews having different specialized styles, as is the case on the African continent there being different tribes whose styles were shaped by their location and unique circumstances.
In New York many traditions merged giving birth to break dancing or battling. In break dancing competitors one on one or team against team square off in a dance that mimics fighting. The object is to outperform your opponent with a flurry of dance movements. Breaking has two main components; what is called top rock and what is referred to as going to the ground. In top rock the dancer attempts to exhibit superior footwork than the opponent ( Abeegunde, 2009). The initiator aggressively and at times playfully engages the opponent through dance, in an attempt to intimidate, discourage and gain the accolades of the encircling crowd. The response of the crowd generally decides the victor. The ritual of Capoeira and Break dancing as well as the physical movements share uncanny similarities and through the dance the martial significants is hidden in plain sight.
An important aspect of African Martial Arts is the use of music in training, in particular the drum. The music within the African martial arts is for far more then esthetics. Scientific Research has shown that music can alter ones state of consciousness, creating a trance like state that heightens the nervous system and reflexes (Bardellli). In this method of training responses to stimuli become almost involuntary as awareness is expanded. There is also inside of many martial traditions of Africa along with music to expand increase awareness and expand consciousness the use of ethogens or mind altering drugs. One of the drugs used in the African tradition is the cola nut, which is consumed by many Americans in the form of cola soft drinks, for the adaptive advantage of the caffeine contained within this sacred nut of Africa. This is an illustration of how elements particular to the African warrior culture is still alive and have been preserved in the United States.
The Black Greek Fraternities are structured much like the warrior societies of the ancient world. The Black Greeks match scholarship with warrior ship in what is a testimony to the ancient African Mystery systems of old. It is documented that many of the founders of these fraternities were Freemasons and inspired by Freemasonry, Freemasonry having as its origins in the mystery schools of ancient Kemet and Nubian (Pike, 2008). The Omega Psi Phi fraternal order refer to themselves as the gods of thunder and lightning, at fraternal gatherings they take to dance in what resembles the dances of the Yoruba god of thunder, Shango. As for the knowledge that balanced the warriors of ancient African warriors, much like the black fraternities who war dance, in his essay The Martial Arts of Africa, Kilindi Iyi states, “[t]hese secrets known only to the initiated, esteemed from the custodians of knowledge…the sacred language, and the following seven liberal arts: grammar, rhetoric, logic, asthmatic, geometry, astronomy, music (Iyi, 2009).”
Perhaps the most difficult barriers African Martial Arts in particular have to overcome are those of social, political and religious prejudice. In a Judea, Christian society it is taboo to speak of African Gods as well as Africa’s ancient warriors, however, we now stand firmly in the information age and as scholars of this field produce work, it’s only a matter of time before the good, the bad, and the ugly of the ancient Africans martial history and tradition will take their rightful place, among the other traditions that we know as Martial Arts.
No, these Martial Arts traditions were not lost by those who migrated into other parts of the world or by those who were shipped as cargo. The African Martial Arts can be placed in one of three categories; those arts indigenous to Africa, those from Africa that adapted with the Africans who were transplanted or migrated to different parts of the world and those arts developed by modern Africans, where ever they might be in the African Diaspora. The great mystery of these traditions is that they are indigenous to one’s own consciousness and are awakened when the proper stimuli is given. Some African Martial Arts traditions have been preserved by the mimicking of these arts as well as with careful attention to detail, passing of the knowledge from generation to generation. However African Martial Arts is expressed in every person who brought out of Africa consciousness and made it their own. The story or African Martial Arts is the story of mankind.
Carlos Thompson
The warrior traditions of Africa were not lost by Africans who migrated to the United States or those who came as cargo, but rather these arts were synthesized into new traditions. Many African American traditions are rooted in the warrior traditions of the African mainland, and are expressed in much the same way using ritual, music, as well as dance and drumming to express their truths.
The highest expression of African martial arts is not in fighting techniques but rather in that sacred knowledge of indwelling divinity that is transferred through the various mystery systems that lay behind all African martial arts. These mystery systems lead to an understanding of one’s self, but more implicitly they lead to the displaced Africans understanding of origin and identity. The key to understanding African martial arts is to understand the migration of the indigenous African to other parts of the world; the Olmec’s African presence in South America, the Dravidians of India and the African presence in Europe during African Imperialism all hint to the mysterious origins of African Martial Arts.
The shamanistic animist cultures prominent in many indigenous cultures also lend insight to the mystery of Martial Arts as a whole, the first of which to come in contact with ethogens being Africa. Terrence McKenna speaks of the history of psychoactive drugs in his book Food of the Gods, in it he states that shamanistic tradition have their origin in ancient Africa; he states that, “[i]n Tassli-n-ajar which is modern day Algeria around 12,000 b.c.,…[i]n this milieu the psilocybin-containing mushrooms were encountered, consumed, and deified…[l]anguage, poetry, ritual, and thought emerged from the darkness of the hominid mind (Mckenna, 1992).”
The story of African martial arts practice dates back to the early dynasties of ancient Egypt and is credited to the Ethiopians who founded the ancient Nubian empire and continued up the Nile River into modern day Egypt (Ra Un Nefer Amen,1990). Evidence of the ancient Egyptian martial traditions can be seen in the temple of Medinet Habu in the form of hieroglyphics that are found on the temple wall (Crawford,2002). These hieroglyphics depict ancient Egyptians practicing, stick fighting, wrestling, and many other martial arts movement that look similar to what we now know as the martial arts of Asia. These hieroglyphs are found on various temples in Egypt, they speak to the origin and history of these martial sciences being from the Heru Shemsu, or the followers of Heru, the Egyptian god of war.
The Egyptian god of war is said to have trained humanity in the ways of forging weapons from metal as well as various forms of martial arts. The followers of Heru were charged with perpetuating the martial traditions (Leadbeater, 1926). These warriors were the elite temple warriors who protected the pharaohs and the priesthood. These mighty warriors were the first to organize a systematic approach to the martial sciences.
The Yoruba people of Africa trace their traditions back to their ancestors who had been given the status of gods and attribute their warrior traditions to the god of war “who lives in the flame the of blacksmith (Green, Iyi, 2004).” in the Yoruba tradition it is said the Ogun appeared from the forest and taught man methods of building shelter and weapons, after being made king, Ogun missed life in the bush so much that he left his throne to venture back to the bush. The Yoruba cosmology and methods of transferring knowledge is very similar to the Egyptian cosmology and is considered to have a direct lineage going back to Egypt.
In the Yoruba tradition of martial arts, the machete is taught by channeling Ogun through the dance. The warriors, dances the dance of Ogun to the tradition Bata drum beat of Ogun, while the song is chanted explaining the nature and history of this deity. In this martial tradition the young men after puberty are initiated into this mystery, coming in direct contact with the realm of the various gods they learn those skills of warrior ship among other things which are essential to survival (Iyi, 2009). Many of the Africans who were brought to the Americas come from Nigeria, a region that is called Yoruba land.
Capoeira is a martial art from the Angola region of African transplanted to Brazil. The Capoeira martial tradition uses music, song, and dance to express the physical art, also having an oral tradition used to transfer the martial knowledge much like the Yoruba. Capoeira comes from N’ tolo a martial art found in Angola which was transferred from Africa, to Brazil, Central America on into the Caribbean and The United States (Obi, 2008). Capoeira was used by the slave in many slave revolts and there are accounts of African slaves in Brazil fighting the Portuguese using Capoeira.
As in the case of the traditional martial arts of the African Mainland, Break Dancing, which is a Diasporas expression of African martial arts, carries with it an oral tradition, different crews having different specialized styles, as is the case on the African continent there being different tribes whose styles were shaped by their location and unique circumstances.
In New York many traditions merged giving birth to break dancing or battling. In break dancing competitors one on one or team against team square off in a dance that mimics fighting. The object is to outperform your opponent with a flurry of dance movements. Breaking has two main components; what is called top rock and what is referred to as going to the ground. In top rock the dancer attempts to exhibit superior footwork than the opponent ( Abeegunde, 2009). The initiator aggressively and at times playfully engages the opponent through dance, in an attempt to intimidate, discourage and gain the accolades of the encircling crowd. The response of the crowd generally decides the victor. The ritual of Capoeira and Break dancing as well as the physical movements share uncanny similarities and through the dance the martial significants is hidden in plain sight.
An important aspect of African Martial Arts is the use of music in training, in particular the drum. The music within the African martial arts is for far more then esthetics. Scientific Research has shown that music can alter ones state of consciousness, creating a trance like state that heightens the nervous system and reflexes (Bardellli). In this method of training responses to stimuli become almost involuntary as awareness is expanded. There is also inside of many martial traditions of Africa along with music to expand increase awareness and expand consciousness the use of ethogens or mind altering drugs. One of the drugs used in the African tradition is the cola nut, which is consumed by many Americans in the form of cola soft drinks, for the adaptive advantage of the caffeine contained within this sacred nut of Africa. This is an illustration of how elements particular to the African warrior culture is still alive and have been preserved in the United States.
The Black Greek Fraternities are structured much like the warrior societies of the ancient world. The Black Greeks match scholarship with warrior ship in what is a testimony to the ancient African Mystery systems of old. It is documented that many of the founders of these fraternities were Freemasons and inspired by Freemasonry, Freemasonry having as its origins in the mystery schools of ancient Kemet and Nubian (Pike, 2008). The Omega Psi Phi fraternal order refer to themselves as the gods of thunder and lightning, at fraternal gatherings they take to dance in what resembles the dances of the Yoruba god of thunder, Shango. As for the knowledge that balanced the warriors of ancient African warriors, much like the black fraternities who war dance, in his essay The Martial Arts of Africa, Kilindi Iyi states, “[t]hese secrets known only to the initiated, esteemed from the custodians of knowledge…the sacred language, and the following seven liberal arts: grammar, rhetoric, logic, asthmatic, geometry, astronomy, music (Iyi, 2009).”
Perhaps the most difficult barriers African Martial Arts in particular have to overcome are those of social, political and religious prejudice. In a Judea, Christian society it is taboo to speak of African Gods as well as Africa’s ancient warriors, however, we now stand firmly in the information age and as scholars of this field produce work, it’s only a matter of time before the good, the bad, and the ugly of the ancient Africans martial history and tradition will take their rightful place, among the other traditions that we know as Martial Arts.
No, these Martial Arts traditions were not lost by those who migrated into other parts of the world or by those who were shipped as cargo. The African Martial Arts can be placed in one of three categories; those arts indigenous to Africa, those from Africa that adapted with the Africans who were transplanted or migrated to different parts of the world and those arts developed by modern Africans, where ever they might be in the African Diaspora. The great mystery of these traditions is that they are indigenous to one’s own consciousness and are awakened when the proper stimuli is given. Some African Martial Arts traditions have been preserved by the mimicking of these arts as well as with careful attention to detail, passing of the knowledge from generation to generation. However African Martial Arts is expressed in every person who brought out of Africa consciousness and made it their own. The story or African Martial Arts is the story of mankind.
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