Traditions of Warriors

Response to this post.

Popularily in the media, there exists a gap between the warrior elements of the West and Asia. While the West depicts warriors as masculine and savage-like, the warriors of Asia are frequently portrayed with agile moves. Even their warrior attires are visibly different. Warriors from Western media are often clad with heavy armory while warriors from Asian media are dressed in simple silk-materialized cloth. Compare the fierceness of Achilles and Hector (Troy) to the gracefulness of Jin and Leo (House of Flying Daggers):

Women warriors, on the other hand, are occasionally  viewed inferior to men warriors yet are still popular in media. In fact the aspects of men and women warrior, both Western and Asian are hardly different. Compare the fighting styles of Xena (Xena the Warrior Princess) to Jen and Yu Shu-lien (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon):

In The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, tells us the story of Hua Mulan (not Fa Mulan from the Disney film) who was trained for years in the wilderness and disguised herself as a man to fight her enemies and protect her village. Warriors of the Asian media tend to connect with nature; the poses and moves the fighters use in combat represent animals (which is played on in the animated film Kung Fu Panda) and the fights usually involve with a natural enviroment. One good example is this scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:

~ by aliciapark on November 3, 2008.