As has already been pointed out, most of the Asian theatrical traditions are performed by stylised, dance-like movements. Many of these intricate movement techniques have developed during many centuries, even millennia. They include several different elements, such as symbolic hand gestures, fixed ways of standing and sitting, sculpture-like poses and defined ways of portraying, for example, a battle.
Many movements, particularly those related to fighting, can be traced back to ancient martial arts and weapon worship. Most of the Asian cultures have their own sophisticated martial art systems also known now in the West, such as the Chinese taiji (t’ai chi), the kalaripayattu and thangta of India, Thai boxing, the silat of the Malay world and the Japanese kendo and judo etc. Many of these martial systems have a very long history. For example, the Chinese tradition can be traced back to periods before the present era.
From Animal Movements to Martial Arts
The existence of so many animal movements in the present martial art systems is a clear indicator of the long history of martial arts. It is possible that the ancient animal movements of prehistoric periods formed a kind of basis on which the martial systems were later developed. Thus it is often through the martial arts that animal movements also found their way into theatrical traditions.
Basically, the martial arts traditions can be divided into four groups: (1) those rehearsed with weaponry, (2) those executed without weaponry and, furthermore, (3) those rehearsed in groups or by couples, and (4) those rehearsed alone, as a kind of solo form. The weapons vary in different traditions. They usually include traditional weaponry such as spears, sticks, swords, daggers etc.
The original function of the martial arts was, no doubt, to practise the skills of combat and self-defence. The arrival of firearms, of course, reduced their original function and many of them developed into kinds of psychophysical training methods that focused on mental and physical skills, self-discipline and mental harmony. These kinds of meditative and magical aspects may have been present in many of the martial arts traditions even at a very early stage.
From Martial arts to Dance and Theatre
Most of the Asian martial arts techniques have clear ritualistic features and they share movements and poses, such as the open-leg position, with the dance traditions of the regions where they evolved. Martial arts techniques have influenced Asian dance and theatre traditions deeply. In fact, when martial arts are isolated from their original function, fighting and/or self-defence, and are shown either as a part of a theatre or dance performance or as independent martial arts demonstrations or performances, they bear similarities to dance performances, although martial arts as such are rarely regarded in Asia as a form of art.
One could simplify the process of how the martial arts became part of the theatrical arts as follows. Firstly, they were adopted as rituals, such as, for example, the Balinese war dance baris, which was originally performed before the warriors went to war. Secondly, they were adopted into classical traditions because the performers (for example members of the court and its body guard) had the basic knowledge of them. Later, when grand court theatre forms evolved, including also great battle scenes, the martial arts provided an already established movement vocabulary that was already familiar for both the performers and the audience.
As will been seen, many of the Asian classical traditions include martial arts techniques even today. The well-known grand-scale examples include the kathakali of India, the khon of Thailand, and the kabuki of Japan. Probably the best known example in the West is the Chinese Peking opera in which the spectacular fighting scenes are constructed of carefully rehearsed units based on a similar training system as the actual martial arts. In fact, a Peking opera actor studies these skills from the beginning of his or her training and continues to develop these skills further if he or she is specialising in many of the Peking opera’s martial role types.