Conclusions

This site is  constructed from research that started as a senior thesis paper.  The site was created as a venue for discussion and feedback.   Thoughts, ideas, and suggestions from site participants are greatly appreciated.  Though this website started from a senior thesis the research will continue and develop new ideas involving the topics of nature and Martial arts.

Martial Arts styles and practices are largely based on the observation and incorporation of animal behaviors and Elemental processes in nature.  These observations are then used to create models of how the natural environment responds to events.  They also help to create models of how a Martial Artist should respond to personal events.  These dynamic systems of the environment and Martial Arts must both continually adapt to ever-changing situations.  Over generations the environment and Martial Arts evolve based on the adaptive cycle.  Both of these dynamic systems must go through related adaptations to stay relevant to current times.  The basic understanding of both systems is rooted in observations of nature.  Control over these systems and information about them are passed down from generation to generation.  The main body of information remains intact, but as successive generations take ownership over inherited systems they inevitably build on and adapt it to the circumstances of their current environment.  This generational process can have major impacts on how a system evolves and responds to changes.  While the nature of these impacts will vary with the context of each Martial Art or ecosystem, the changes will still correspond to the characteristics of the adaptive cycle.

Image 18 shows Lao Tzu leaving China after writing the Tao Te Ching