Felföldi Dalia School – Hungarian national martial art

The Ethnographic Lexicon explains the concept of heritage protection as follows: “the sum of cultural assets accumulated by previous generations for each generation.” (NL III., 349.) ; The Hungarian people are a warrior people, and fighting is actually one of the ancient occupations of our people, so the existence of traditional Hungarian martial physical culture can be assumed! ; The task of the Felföldi Dalia Association Research Center, operating alongside the Felföldi Dalia School, is to conduct historical and ethnographic research in the field of Hungarian martial physical culture. We divide Hungarian martial physical culture into military and folk martial physical culture. The research work runs on two strands: written sources, analysis of works of art, and live collection. After processing, the material is inserted into the Felföldi Dalia School system, for example as a trick or as a skill-building exercise. Hahasimilarly to experimental archaeology, we bring our “finds” to life, and we become able to draw novel conclusions from them. The Felföldi Dalia School, as a martial art in the modern sense, brings the acquired knowledge back to “life” with systematized, methodologically established practices found in the tradition, and brings the combat-type tradition to life. So, the Felföldi Dalia School, as a Hungarian national martial art, wants to keep this part of our culture alive in a modern, systematic form. ; “Intellectual cultural heritage” means a custom (social practice), form of expression, knowledge, skill – as well as the related tools, objects, works of art and cultural locations – which certain communities, groups, and sometimes individuals regard as cultural heritage. This heritage, passed down from generation to generation – which communities and groups constantly recreate in response to their environment, in interaction with nature and the circumstances of historical existence – provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity. ; There are no hard and fast rules in the system of the Felföldi Dalia School, but there are regulations. By this we mean that in our martial arts school we adhere to the roots of the Hungarian martial body culture. At the same time, the work and practical experience of community life can also bring valuable practice and tricks that, due to their effectiveness, can become part of our school's knowledge base. ; The Felföldi Dalia School is a martial art and not a sport. The two are distinguished by the fact that it deals not only with physical exercises, but also with the individual's spiritual and intellectual state. A comprehensive knowledge of our tradition (history, folk songs, proverbs, crafts, etc.) serves to create the right mental state. The community itself constitutes the spiritual workshop in which the body and soul can be fulfilled and their development is also possible. These interactions shape the character of the individual. ; “Protection” means measures aimed at the preservation of the intellectual cultural heritage, including the identification, description, documentation, research, preservation, protection, support, reinforcement, dissemination of such heritage – especially through education and public education – and its revival. ; The Felföldi Dalia School wishes to “protect” and “maintain” the Hungarian martial physical culture by keeping it alive. By keeping it alive, we mean that we provide an opportunity to practice within the framework of community life, which affects the body, soul and spirit and has character-forming properties. ; The researched material and its processing are very important, as this gives the direction that can be followed. The Felföldi Dalia School divides its knowledge system into seven rovás, taking into account our national characteristics and the comprehensive nature of each rovás: ; • sabre ; • bow ; • fokos ; • hoop whip ; • stick ; • throwing weapons ; • Hungarian folk wrestling ; The incorporation of the researched material gives the main direction of our martial art, and then practical experience polishes the details, the educational and upbringing methodology. Based on practical experience, we outlined the seven-rovás educational system, which is the following: ; • Basic exercises – correct posture, form exercises ; • School exercises – the method of using the basic exercises in a fixed form ; • Skill development exercises – defensive reflex, offensive reflex, speed exercises, rhythm exercises, strength exercises, balance exercises, accuracy, endurance exercises; • Freestyle fencing – fighting, applying knowledge freely, in an informal way; • Competition – assessing knowledge in a different state of consciousness; • Team leadership within a unit – leading a community within a unit, from a strategic perspective (taking responsibility for becoming a leader); • Team leadership outside a unit – leading a community outside a unit, from a strategic perspective (taking responsibility for becoming a leader); The Felföldi Dalia School fosters a living, sustainable knowledge that occurs through practice, is tied to the local community and locality. Practitioners of the Hungarian national martial art strengthen both the community and the individual identity. The established educational system defines a basic direction, where the individual develops various abilities, and then sooner or later their own character is formed, with these practices and the right direction, the individual's character can be shaped. In community life, primarily the fights and competition rules help to get to know and appreciate each other. They learn how a dialogue takes place without words, which is just as important and effective as when it happens with words. And with physical exercises, connection through dialogue can also be developed excellently. ; The experiences gained through physical exercises also serve the creativity of the members of the community, because if they get to know each other well, it means that they have to use new and new tricks in order to surprise their fighting partner. In this way, they do not fight in fixed forms, but freely, so over time the individual can also enrich the material of the martial arts school and the national treasury. ; Research ; The contribution of research to the process of heritage formation ; For the Felföldi Dalia School, as a Hungarian national martial art, research provides the direction with which it creates an organic connection between today's modern society and the past. Our past and our martial culture go back many centuries, and the earlier the times, the more obscure the picture. There are certain things that have been written down, and there are things that we can bring back to life in this form through practice and experimentation. ; Research is what encourages us to stay within the framework of our traditions. Of course, foreign influences must be taken into account here too. What is important for us is that in order to develop quickly, we should not abandon what we have, but we should invest sufficient time and determination in order to be good at it! In this, research work and its results show the direction excellently, but we must move forward on it. ; Research is carried out along two main lines: ; • study of written sources ; • live collections ; With the help of proper study of written sources and works of art, and their healthy critical evaluation, we can set up a framework, which we then have to fill with life. ; During live collections, we can create a sharper picture. In addition to narrowly defined practical knowledge, we can also learn about the circumstances, for example, from whom the informants learned, whether there was a change of residence, whether they saw certain techniques elsewhere, whether the media had an influence (on certain topics). The combat body culture characteristic of a region can be outlined by a comparative analysis of regional collections. In the case of regions located on a language border, there is an opportunity to compare neighboring cultures of other nationalities, so that we can see how generally certain elements can be characterized beyond the language border, and whether there was interaction and how it took place. ; Written sources can look back for many centuries, while in the case of living collections, the age of the recollectors sets the limit. With the help of the two lines, the chain of tradition and its changes or possible ruptures can be outlined. ; What is more clear about military combat body culture than folk culture. The main occupation of a soldier or a knight was fighting, they had weapons, with which their primary purpose was to stand their ground in battle (secondary, for example, hunting). ; In the case of folk martial physical culture, the "weapons" in the hands of the people were, in most cases, work tools, which, if necessary, they could also use as weapons. This is proven, for example, by the use of axes, axes, sticks, whips as weapons by outlaws, and the masterful use of stick wrestling, fencing, and hoop whips collected from shepherds in the live research. ; The phenomenon of what the child saw and what he incorporated into his games is very important! Through games, he establishes an image that is closest to his spiritual world, and this may even determine his life. The role model was important. If the child saw the beautiful kurucs or hussars, then he wanted to play a hussar, or even a cavalry soldier. Perhaps if there was a hussar in the community, he showed the hussar six-cut (Krúdy: Macskavári eagles) and the military tradition can already be seen in children's games! Wrestling, archery, throwing exercises, handling sticks and whips can all be found in children's games, and in most cases in a form that can be incorporated into martial arts training as a skill-building exercise. ; ; Justification ; ; One of the goals of the Felföldi Dalia School is to establish "tradition-preserving" communities and to popularize Hungarian martial physical culture. It is important to bring the individual elements to the "stage" in a certain form, because this is how we can present our national treasures, but this is not the primary goal. Real knowledge cannot be shown on stage. It is not secret, but just so simple that the common man does not even understand it. The "stage" needs a spectacle. The goal of the Dalia School of the Highlands is to shape the individual in body, soul and spirit. This is reflected in the individual's posture on the "stage". ; Shaping a living movement heritage has an important role both at the national and international levels. This factor must primarily affect ourselves, so that we appreciate and be proud of what is our centuries-old tradition. And pride should not give rise to arrogance, but a sense of responsibility and healthy rigor, so that we can be role models for the next generation, our children can incorporate our knowledge into their games, and the effect of our actions should be what shapes their spiritual world!