Bibliography

Bibliography :

Wolf, N. and Grosenick, U. (2015). Expressionism. 1st ed. Köhn: Taschen.

Goldman, K. (2011). Charcoal drawing. 1st ed. [Irvine, Calif.]: Walter Foster Pub.

 Connolly, A. (2012). Painting Portraits. 1st ed. Ramsbury: Crowood.

YouTube. (2017). ALL ABOUT SUMO THE REAL TRUTH MARTIAL ARTS DOCUMENTARY. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PmtNp2idw [Accessed 13 Mar. 2017].

 YouTube. (2017). GRAND SUMO Highlights - Day 15 Final (27.November.2016) [1080p HD]. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUvEZK24JW4 [Accessed 13 Mar. 2017].

Civardi, G. and Dejey, A. (2010). Drawing human anatomy. 1st ed. London: Bounty Books.

  YouTube. (2017). National Geographic Lucha Libre (Pt. 1/2). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8N3dxlZKhU [Accessed 9 Mar. 2017].

 Maskalucha.com. (2017). History of Lucha Libre and Mexican Professional Wrestling. [online] Available at: http://maskalucha.com/history-of-lucha-libre.aspx [Accessed 9 Mar. 2017].

 CraveOnline. (2017). Origins of the Luchador Mask - CraveOnline. [online] Available at: http://www.craveonline.co.uk/site/777821-luchador-mask [Accessed 9 Mar. 2017].

 YouTube. (2017). India's Wushu Warrior Girl - Witness. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VsROw39pRI [Accessed 9 Mar. 2017].

 Wushuindia.in. (2017). Welcome to Wushu Association of India. [online] Available at: http://wushuindia.in/history.html [Accessed 9 Mar. 2017].

 Guillain, C. (2010). Samurai. 1st ed. London: Raintree.

 Macdonald, F. and James, J. (2005). How to be a Samurai. 1st ed. Brighton: Book House.

 Byam, M. (n.d.). Arms & armour. 1st ed.

 Hudson, D. (2009). Combat sports. 1st ed. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.

 YouTube. (2017). Naadam, Mongolian traditional festival. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI67liJxJtQ [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016].

  YouTube. (2017). Mongolian wrestling at Naadam. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0046rFaibg [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016].

  Jung-Sheng, C. (2016). Introduction to Mongolian Wrestling. [online] Available at: http://www.mtac.gov.tw/mtac_quarterly/quarterly_e/4/1376573586.pdf [Accessed 3 Nov. 2017].
  
 Newworldencyclopedia.org. (2017). Mongolian wrestling - New World Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mongolian_wrestling [Accessed 3 Nov. 2017].

 Mansur, F. (2006). The bible of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 1st ed. [Madrid]: Buda International.

 Gracie, H. (2005). Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. 1st ed. Torrance, CA: Gracie Publications, Inc.

 Gracieacademy.com. (2017). Gracie History. [online] Available at: http://www.gracieacademy.com/history.asp [Accessed 8 Nov. 2016].

 Unitedworldwrestling.org. (2017). History of Wrestling | United World Wrestling. [online] Available at: https://unitedworldwrestling.org/organization/history [Accessed 26 Oct. 2016].

 YouTube. (2017). Olympic Wrestling Trials | Andrew Howe vs Jordan Burroughs, Match 2 | Full Match. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VggZOEzWus [Accessed 26 Oct. 2016].

 The-noh.com. (2017). Introducing the world of Noh : Noh Masks. history and Types.. [online] Available at: http://www.the-noh.com/en/world/mask.html [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016].

Final conclusions

Mixed Martial Arts and Illustration.

I have leraned that to portray martial arts rightly it is important to make observational drawings. It is vital to analyse the different techniques, grips and movements so that they are correctly reflected in the drawings. Researching different martial arts and making experimental illustrations gave me time to improve my figure drawing and showed me which illustrative technique was the best to express martial arts through illustration. I tested out mediums and techniques like coloured pencils, paints, pencils, digital drawing, charcoal, collage and mixture of some of them together.

Reportage drawing from real life, was also very beneficial to understand mixed martial arts through illustration. It helped me to get a better idea of the way two figures move and how their bodies relate to each other during the fight. I was able to capture the sequence of the performed techniques and grips. Making drawings from real life and videos helped me to memorise the body proportions, the movement of the bodies and dynamics of the fight.

I have looked at various martial arts from Sumo wrestling that involves huge bodies to Wushu practised by a girl in a muslim region. Each martial art was different, some were more based on spirituality and rituals like the Mongolian wrestling, where as some were created for self defence for small and fragile humans like the jiu jitsu.

I visited the Pitt Rivers Museum to get a better idea of the history of fighting to help my research. The Samurai armour was impressive and it inspired me to create an interesting illustrative style that I used for my final artworks. The figures dressed in real samurai armour were stood in interesting light and shadow setting in the museum. This setting inspired me to make expressive charcoal drawings with heavy black shading, toning and white highlights.

I continued my research into martial arts and then decided to switch into working on a larger scale. When I was studying the Sumo martial arts, using larger scale paper was perfect to portray how big and scary these fighters are.I kept on using the charcoal technique that I have learned during my visit to Pitt Rivers Museum and it was becoming the perfect way to portraty the dramatic size and the facial expressions of the figures as well as toughness and danger in this sport.

I continued to make charcoal drawings from videos as well as my personal referenced photographs. I used photographs from my boyfriend's competitions as well as my friends who compete in mixed martial arts. I took some of the photogrpahs in the gym and made drawings from them. I also began to experiment with paints and looked into the expressionist movement, to help me convey the certain traits and ideas of fighting and fighters. One of my final pieces is an A3 painting of a fighter, I tried to use the paint and colours like red and yellow to show the energy and ferocity of the fight. The other final illustrations are done in charcoal and I tried to communicate elements like facial expressions that show focus or victory as well as how two fighting figures relate to each other and form composition. I also tried to illustrate the drama and the tougness of the fighting.

Reportage drawing from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class

Sumo (Charcoal sketches)

Sumo is more than just physical Martial Arts, it is spiritual.
It is a strict lifestyle and it is very hierarchical.
It is believed that Sumo fighter should be strong however,
strength will only get the Sumo warrior to certain level.
To become a top ranked Sumo, the fighter must have an
unbreakable spirit and great aura around him. The rituals
are a big part of Sumo tradition. Throughout the history
 there have only been 70 fighters crowned as the Yokozuna,
which is the highest rank.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PmtNp2idw

Mexican wrestling masks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8N3dxlZKhU

http://maskalucha.com/history-of-lucha-libre.aspx

http://www.craveonline.co.uk/site/777821-luchador-mask


Masks- more than anonymous - symbols - good vs evil , right or wrong.  'The luchador(fighter) mask defines a wrestler’s identity and helps him create and maintain a persona.'The wrestlers would take on the role of the character that was reflected in their mask. In other words, the mask would define how the wrestler acted. They would become the mask.'

Masks may look modern but they are inspired by ancient Aztec traditions of masked warriors.
 Most of the early Mexican wrestling masks 'were comprised of colors and symbols that reflected animals, ancient heroes and gods.


 Poor children from the streets dream of becoming wrestlers. They learn the skills in the gyms. They look up to their idols. The fighters are heroes and idols. They give hope.

India's Wushu Warrior Girl

Recently I have watched a very interesting video about a girl from India who practice martial arts and dreams of going to a national tournament however due to the dangers in outside world and her family's religious believes she meets obstacles on her way to fulfill her dream. Due to growing violence towards women in her region the school decided to teach girls martial arts. The martial arts of Wushu mean a lot to Fareeha and she will not give up until she becomes a champion.

Samurai armour

Samurai Armour

1.Some Samurai decorated their helmets with evil-looking masks to scare their enemies. They also wore masks with fierce beards and moustaches made of thick horse-hair.

2.Before they went into battle, samurai would shave the tops of their heads. This stopped them getting too hot in their helmets.

3.Armour was made of woven twigs and metal to protect a soldier.

4.Before 1450 - box-like tunics of sheet metal. Preferences : lighter, close-fitting armour, made of metal strips laced together or carefully shaped steel plates. If can't afford - small metal squares fixed to a shirt of chain mail.

5.Skilled craft workers made and mended the armour.

6.Helemt had up to 32 curved metal panels fasten together, and a neck guard of metal strips.

7.Armour consisted of a helmet, shoulder guard, neck guard, hand armour, breastplate, armoured kilt, shin guard, knee protectors, shin guard, straw sandals. Armour was held in place by strong leather strips tied at the back, and was decorated with silk cords.

8. Most armour was very heavy- a suit could weigh 18kg. It was also hot and uncomfortable to wear. It trapped sweat and was a breeding ground for lice. After a battle, the armour was hanged over a smoky fire to get rid of the bugs, germs and smells.

9. Underneath the armour a Samurai wore a) loincloth b) a short kimono c) baggy trousers tied around the waist.

10. Netsuke - decorated toggles used as a button-like fixture on a man's sash, from which small personal belongings were hung.

11. Armour was unique-developed over many centuries, highly decorative ,ornamental.

Information taken from three books : Fierce Fighters Samurai – Charlotte Guillain, How to be a Samurai - Fiona Macdonald, Arms & Armour - project editor Michele Byam

 

 

Visit to Pitt Rivers Museum

Techniques in Brazilian jiu jitsu

Bjj is a grappling based martial art that uses joint locks and choke holds to defeat the opponent. Opponent that is getting submitted has a chance to save his limb by physically or verbally tapping. If he taps three times with his hand or says 'tap' verbally the opponent will let go of the submission but it means that he lost. If the warrior has a lot of pride he might not tap to a submission for example a choke but then he will loose consciousness for a short period of time. It still means that he lost.

An introduction to Brazilian Jiu Juitsu

How was a small and fragile man able to defeat more athletic men who were twice the size of him? Helio Gracie is a pioneer of one of the most deadly martial arts on the planet - The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Helio Gracie together with his brothers and then the next generations of Gracie family, have developed this unique grappling style. As a young man Helio Gracie had a lot of health problems and was advised by the doctors not to do any physical activity. In addition to that he was not as athletic as his brothers and only weighted about 65 kilograms. His older brother Carlos met a jiu jitsu and judo expert called Mitsuyo Esai Maeda from Japan.He would train with him and quickly became his top student. Anything that Carlos learnt from Maeda he would try to pass onto his brothers. They would spar regularly however, Helio was not allowed to be a part of the fighting team as he was too frail, instead he would stand aside and try to understand the mechanics of the Jiu Jitsu game.

Fast forward few years in 1925, Carlos Gracie was able to fulfil his dream to open a first jiu juitsu academy in Rio de Janeiro. He invited the rest of his brothers including Helio to help with the academy and also he wanted to take his brothers out of their abusive environment. Helio was secretly sparing with brothers Oswaldo, Gastao and George - he was hiding this from Carlos who was too worried about his younger brother's health. Due to his little size Helio struggled and would often get beaten up by his brothers. That's when he started modifying the techniques to accommodate his weak body. He emphasized on leverage and timing, rather than strength and speed. Over the course of the next few years he developed what is now known as Brazilian or Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

To prove the effectiveness of his new fighting system Helio has challenged all the best martial artists in Brazil. The word has spread and he attracted attention of top fighters from all around the world in disciplines like boxing,judo and wrestling. He managed to win or draw even if the opponents were much bigger than him.

Folk wrestling in Mongolia

Wrestling dates back to prehistoric times and most of the cultures have developed different forms of grappling. Today I would like to write about traditional Mongolian wrestling and it's significance to the Mongolian culture. Originally it was called Bökh, and it was a military sport that improved the soldiers strength and stamina. Mongolian emperors were very supportive of this sport so it was often featured on the festivals. The results of the matches had an influence on military rankings and outstanding wrestlers were entitled to high honours. Wrestling together with horseback riding and archery belongs to traditional 'Three Manly Skills of Mongolia and are the country's most popular sports.

The wrestling competition had no weight or time limits. Before and after the match each wrestler performed an Eagle Dance that symbolised power, bravery, grace and invincibility. The costumes had a lot of significance, especially the hat. The four sides of the hat symbolised the four major provinces that Mongolia was used to dived into.The carved animals on the hats showed the rank of a wrestler.They went in in order of Falcon, Elephant ,Lion and Titan. Also there were streamers attached to the wrestler's hats on which yellow stripes indicated how many times the competitor has reached the final bouts. The hats were treated with dignity and were never put down on the ground.In traditional Mongolian wrestling women were not allowed to compete. The wrestlers had to wear an open chest vest because the legend says that once a woman won the whole competition and embarrassed the rest of male competitors. She was able to hide her identity because the vests used to cover the chest area.

Today's sketches are taken from a documentary called Chapter 13 - Naadam - Mongolian Wrestling: From the Heart of Asia - Mongolia Documentary  

Sketches from a wrestling match

In order to understand wrestling better and learn how to better portray this discipline as an artist 

I decided to make some quick observational sketches while watching a wrestling match between Andrew Howe and Jordan Burroughs . My sketches show different techniques and moves that are involved in wrestling : wrestling clinch, opponent trying to break a grip, attempt for a take down, pin down and more. I chose to make these sketches with coloured pencils that cannot be erased rather than with pencil because I wanted the lines to be more free and unpredictable. The outlines are more immediate rather than thought through. I purposely chose two different colours to sketch each fighter so that their techniques and grips are more visible. I think that making observational sketches from each martial art will help me to create better illustrations in the future, because I will learn how body movements and mechanics work behind each martial art. By drawing from observation I will get a better understanding of anatomy and how two fighting bodies relate to each other.

 

Wrestling caricature

In the next couple of posts I will be analysing visually martial arts disciplines that go into MMA. Today I will start with wrestling. The drawing I made today is a light caricature of a Olympic wrestler's body and his characteristics. Wrestlers most often have big necks, arms and legs because of the type of training they do : I exaggerated these features in my drawing because they are usually very noticeable and are a topic of inside jokes in the mma community. Other noticeable features are cauliflower ears, swollen eyes and bandages. 

Broadening the research field

Originally I planned to only research illustration for mma fight wear. However after speaking to my colleagues and tutor at University I decided that by telling myself that the end goal has to be designs for mma clothing, I am limiting myself from other possible outcomes . In mma illustration is also used on posters, logos and books. I will keep on doing my research into how art is used for mma with an open mind for the final outcome. Perhaps I could make a short comic with funny stereotypical characters that you would find in mma gym or I will decide to come back to my first idea and print beautiful designs on textiles.

The sketches that I am posting today are inspired by fun posters that I have seen around the mma gyms. The first picture is a poster made by an unknown to me artist. The image is titled 'bad sports' it is taken out from series of posters that show stereotypical mma characters. In the illustration the artist mocks how some fighters come to the practise with bad breath, ill- fitting clothing, wounds with infections that can spread etc.

I made two sketches in similar cartoony style. The first sketch shows a stereotypical bjj-brazilian jiu jitsu 'geek' and the second one portrays an angry dragon holding a gorilla in a choke hold because he interrupted his coffee break.

First artwork

I would like to start my research by looking at the current most popular design subjects. One of them is a Japanese demon mask. This mask amongst many other was used in Japanese theatre in 14^th Century. They represented different characters .

As a beginner to fight wear design I would like to start my artistic practise by drawing or painting simple designs and eventually increase the detail. This gradual process will help me to understand how these illustrations are created.

Eventually I will move into experimenting with different art forms, styles and themes and see if I can create something unusual.

However for now this is my first painting :

A research into illustration for martial arts fight wear

Attire design is a big part of today's mixed martial arts culture. It is much different to what it use to be. The fight wear no longer has to be traditional (white and plain) . Nowadays fascinating designs give the competitors and fighters more confidence and individuality. Their clothing now consists of amazingly illustrated designs. These illustrations are often very dramatic, expressive, vibrant and decorative. The influences for the designs are often taken from traditional Japanese art ,tales, cartoons, animals etc and each designer adds their own little twist.

For this project I would like to research the current fight wear designs as well as different contemporary and past art forms and illustration styles to help me create my own ideas. The end goal is to produce several finished illustrations that could be printed on the martial arts clothing.