Alexus McLeod is professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University.

• Introduction: Creating the DragonChapter 1. “I Want to Create a New Chamber”— Historical Foundations and Development of theMartial ArtsChapter 2. “A Finger Pointing to the Moon”—Dance, Ritual, and the Arts of WarChapter 3. “One Should Consider Himself as Dead”—Martial Arts and Deconstruction of theSelfChapter 4. “What’s Your Style?”—National, Ethnic, and Cultural Identity in the Martial ArtsChapter 5. “Honestly Expressing Yourself”— Bruce Lee and the Idea of Expression of the “TrueSelf” in the Martial ArtsChapter 6. “Who’s The Master?”—Martial Arts Ideologies of EmpowermentChapter 7. “No Mercy”—Contemporary Martial Arts Myth of “Real” Fighting, Control, andPotencyConclusion: Commitment and the Martial Arts as Way of Life

“Myth and Identity in the Martial Arts is a timely and welcome addition to the martial arts studies literature. Alexus McLeod’s engaging and accessible text provides a persuasive analysis of how martial arts mythologies feature in the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves. The broad scope of its analysis will appeal to readers across academic disciplines with a substantive interest in how myths provide vital fodder for the social construction of identity.”