http://www.thearma.org/WoMAU2010.html

This happened very recently although people had been working on it for quite some time. We are quite excited about it, and it should benefit the whole community and not just ARMA.

The name MARE, Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe, was chosen to represent this art to the larger martial art community.

Greg Coffman

Congratulations to ARMA. The designation is well deserved and represents the hard work of many. Keep up the good work!

Congratulations. It is good to see that ARMA finally found its place together with other important, and definitely historical Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe such as Hwaran Mudosul:

http://womau.com/xe/642
http://www.flickr.com/photos/enjoyphoto/2759584906/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/enjoyphoto/2759585508

"The ARMA is now the official representative for the martial arts of Renaissance Europe to the World Martial Arts Union (WoMAU). Under the official patronage of UNESCO, the WoMAU is a Non-Governmental Organization for sustaining Intangible Cultural Heritage."

I have a feeling, that most of the german fencing groups don't think, John Clements can represent either them nor the art of european historical fencing in any union or NGO. Representing the ARMA - okay, but not the art.

Just my two cents,
Thomas

Astounding it is, your understanding of the force, master Thibodeau. :)

I'd very much like to keep the politics of other groups and sites off of myArmoury.com. Given that this concern is stated in our rules, you all should very much like to do that as well.

What is the World Martial Arts Union? And does MARE representation with them effect the community?

I was able to find little information about the organization.

Thanks,
Steven

I suspect that what we do with our individual groups or with our various group meet up will change not one wit. Not like they can actually make us stop what we are doing.

I think that this can mostly only be a good thing. At some level, it raises the profile and recognition of what we do. At the same time, those of us not tied to ARMA don't need to be bound by or to anything, and the WoMAU doesn't have the authority to regulate or really negatively influence anything we do.

Personally I'm not keen on the new name MARE as a general term, since that doesn't cover some of the sources I work with. But I don't need to adopt that either.

But any WMA/HEMA/MARE/whatever group getting some recognition is a high tide that raises all ships.

I second the seahorse T-shirt idea. Nicely played Mr. Teague!

All I can say (or going to say on public forum) is why don't people really think about these names before they decide on them?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mare

It is good to see acknowledgment of our combat art from other organizations, even if it's one no one has ever heard of before.

I have already written elsewhere how dubious this organization seems to me. Based on their visibly weak membership criteria, I don't see how becoming a member can be useful. It seems that the poor knowledge of the leaders of this Union have doomed it to become another "sokeship council", but this time with ties to the UNESCO. I personally think that WoMAU should review its goals, while their selection in every other country seems quite decent, for some reason in the European one, on 12 arts, 8 (and possibly 9 as I have no idea what this mysterious RUMA is) have nothing to do with the culture that they wish to represent apart from gaudy national costumes, dubious historical connections (if any) and a name. Maybe if all the legit arts of Europe joined they could change things from the inside, but I feel they would already be outnumbered.

I could do samba in a traditional Quebec costume, change the name and add a few jig steps. But I could not go to the UNESCO and ask to be recognized as a world intangible heritage. Ethnologists all over would simply obliterate me. But because there are so few scholars seriously researching martial arts, we have Hwaran Mudosul being recognized as one. I'd like to see what documents they submitted to get the approval...

I think the phrase that describes the situation best is this one taken from Bulgarian Kempo (...): "in the real essence of "Bulkempo" there are no winners."