The first thing to learn in judo is how to fall, says Angela Shen, a rising junior in the Huntsman Program for International Studies and Affairs.
You start in a low squat, feet flat on the floor, chin tucked in, rolling backwards, trying to land your back and forearms at the same time, she says. “When you do it right, there should be a loud popping sound,” Shen said. “Being able to fall gracefully and not get hurt is the root of the practice. You need to know how to accept failures with grace before moving on.
A member of Penn’s student judo and taekwondo clubs, Shen’s interest in martial arts began with an academic inquiry, when an article she wrote for a class on Asian American religions in the fall of 2021 evolved into an ethnographic research project exploring Asian American identity through martial arts. .
“Since my freshman year at Penn, I’ve been on a long journey of exploring my Asian American identity,” says Shen, who attends the Huntsman Program, a four-year dual-degree undergraduate language program, the Liberal arts and business, through the Wharton School and the School of Arts & Sciences.
Her parents immigrated from the east coast of China and settled in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where Shen grew up. At Penn, she began exploring the wider Asian American community, participating in the Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute, the Asian American Studies Program Undergraduate Advisory Board, and the Week planning committee. of American Asian-Pacific heritage.
She also enrolled in the Asian American Religions course her second year, where she analyzed examples of racial, cultural and religious connectedness, including the racialization of Islam after 9/11 and the often stereotypical figure of the monk. eastern, Shen said.
Religion and spirituality are much broader categories that many students enjoy, says Rupa Pillai, senior lecturer in the Asian American Studies program. “Our perception of what constitutes a religion is really driven by Western categories where religion is defined by and compared to Christianity,” says Pillai. The Asian American Religions seminar helps students question their understanding of religion and spiritual traditions, she says. For more philosophical examples, she says, “way of life” becomes a better way to think about religion.
After writing a final paper on martial arts for Pillai’s class, Shen received a Turner-Schulman Undergraduate Fellowship from the Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration and support from the Center for Research and Undergraduate Scholarships to expand research. She took an ethnographic approach to her project, using interviews as her main source of data, and took martial arts classes, she says.
“Doing an Asian martial art as an Asian American often has underlying connections to culture,” Shen says. Some martial arts began as an extension of spiritual practice, she says. “Shaolin kung fu is linked to the monastery of Shaolin, the cradle of Chan Buddhism; Japanese aikido is influenced by Mahayana Buddhism.
While modern martial arts classes typically focus on technical skills, rarely referring to historical or spiritual contexts, Shen says many martial arts classes demonstrate the continued presence of religion and culture across the world. ritualization process. “Interaction with symbols and engagement with certain customs and norms during lessons, despite the absence of any religious intent articulated by teachers or other students, can be imbued with meaning that goes beyond the physics,” she says.
For example, competitors learn to bow when stepping on and off the mat, to bow to their opponents, and to bow to their older students and teachers. “Following these rules and embracing the logic behind them — that it’s important to be humble, that everyone deserves dignity — helps give martial arts a level of mental and spiritual discipline,” she says. .
It is an ideal of sportsmanship that is taken “to a higher level for martial arts, because most of the time you are one on one, engaging with someone else in physical combat”, explains Shen. “You have to respect your opponent.”
Martial artists develop a strong mind-body connection, which can be especially empowering for women of color who might be vulnerable to struggles with body image and stereotypes of weakness and submission, Shen says. By practicing drills, learning new moves and practicing on the training mat, martial artists of all backgrounds and skill levels build their confidence, she says.
As a rookie, “I get beat up and lose a lot,” Shen says. “It’s definitely kept me humble, but at the same time I’m learning. You get that sense of progression and accomplishment… alongside a team, supported by everyone in the community.
Physical confidence translates to mental confidence, she says, which is one of the reasons she’ll stick with the practice, long after she returns the diary.
