This week we had two readings that dealt with games or activities with a distinctly martial focus. The first of these was the rise and tradition of martial arts in China. This looked at the earlier existence of calisthenic programs and their evolution into a codified martial arts system, driven by the cultural shift to personal and national independence from colonial European powers. The second article that dealt with martial games was on polo. It outlined the origins, nations where it took root and the social concepts behind the game.

Both polo, regardless of the nation playing it, and martial arts in China had roots in military life and culture. Chinese martial arts in particular was interesting in that the military imprinted its structures, in the form of combat and training, and its culture, in the form of a more defensively prepared culture on Chinese culture at large. Polo was, in China, abandoned when it proved to be too dangerous for the emperor and members of the royal court. These two games were the military made palatable; war transformed into a mass activity that all within a nation could understand, participate in and internalize.

The current media landscape of the US today is similar in many regards, at least in my opinion. Most of our sports and games are derived from military like activities. Games offer the most obvious parallels, with titles like Call of Duty occupying the highest sales and the bulk of the awareness of players. Sports as well seem to have this same link to military culture. Football, at least from my relatively ignorant perspective, looks like a form of combat. There are teams lined up, sparing in a feat of physical strength to move a line from one end to another. Exchange the colored uniforms for Roman attire and you could be forgiven for mistaking a game from reenactments.

Player obsession with the military is not a new phenomenon, as highlighted by the earlier examples. Games and combat go hand in hand. It is one of the most efficient ways to describe tension and conflict. The larger question is how the representations of combat effect society. I am not discussing the use of violence in games and society, that is a discussion for another day. Instead, I am looking specifically at the implantation of military values into society through games, play and leisure activities.