Why the western works are not so focused on training rhe human body?

[NotaNuffian]

Probably due to too much wuxia and xianxia to the brain, I look back at western works and they mostly made no mention on training the body.

Yes, there is HEMA, but those are sword techniques designed to kill, not to train the body.

And then when magic is involved, shit immediately goes to "the flesh is weak, long live magic" where everyone just flings fireball or flood body with magic to become superhuman.

I get that cultural wise in the west at least, superhumans are supernatural and mortals no no touch, hence no training to become gods. Also, guns OP and made martial arts moot because:
1. Cannot outrun bullets.
2. Cannot tank bullets.

But why? Why no fantasizing on training the body?

 

[ThrillingHuman]

But why? Why no fantasizing on training the body?

 

[TheKillingAlice]

But why? Why no fantasizing on training the body?

But that's not true? There's a lot of good stories I know that also include training. Of course it depends on the nature of your power.
For example in Avatar, as a popular show, they rarely connected blows physically woth their body, the elements did "all the work". Yet they still had to physically train their control on those elements, it just didn't depend on their muscle mass.
Star Wars (original): Training and failing is part of the game.
Of course, if they get strong through certain powers right off the bat, they mostly just learn to control them, but at least that is a given (i.e. old Captain America, old Iron Man).
Or we know they have trained themselves to be as strong as they are on screen when they show up for the first time.
I guess it is different from the enlarged training arcs that are stories like leveling system ones, because they are basically training arcs in their entirety. That is definitely a cultural difference there, but it's not true that western stories didn't feel the need to show training.
It's just that a lot of new stories, especially female lead ones, show characters that can do everything right away and are strong even with clearly less training than their opponents had.

 

[Temple]

Your question looks like asking one culture why their myths are that way, while your own myth is the "normal" one.
The question should be why does eastern stories have people becoming gods while the west have gods and humans as separate?

 

[NotaNuffian]

But that's not true? There's a lot of good stories I know that also include training. Of course it depends on the nature of your power.
For example in Avatar, as a popular show, they rarely connected blows physically woth their body, the elements did "all the work". Yet they still had to physically train their control on those elements, it just didn't depend on their muscle mass.
Star Wars (original): Training and failing is part of the game.
Of course, if they get strong through certain powers right off the bat, they mostly just learn to control them, but at least that is a given (i.e. old Captain America, old Iron Man).
Or we know they have trained themselves to be as strong as they are on screen when they show up for the first time.
I guess it is different from the enlarged training arcs that are stories like leveling system ones, because they are basically training arcs in their entirety. That is definitely a cultural difference there, but it's not true that western stories didn't feel the need to show training.
It's just that a lot of new stories, especially female lead ones, show characters that can do everything right away and are strong even with clearly less training than their opponents had.

If you mean the Last Airbender and its sequel, I always consider them to be "eastern-inspired" and from all the moves that inspired the bending; Air is Bagua palm, Water is Tai Chi, Earth is Hung Gar and Fire is Northern Shaolin.

The Jedi is nice though. Not the new ones.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Pretty much a cultural thing. Blame the US where the holey woods took the trope of the overly toned bags of muscle drugs and slapped a few guns on top of it. And the proven theory that big muscle means smol peepee. Also the whole "ya'll need steroids to train like big guy" which is actually just the chinese pill trope but in real live.

The western focus is more on external forces because that's how it has always been.
Strange stuff happening? Gods or spirits. Did something "unhuman"? Ya either a demi-god or later in the MAs a saint with god-given powers or ya some evil spirit or demon. That was pretty much the western MO from antique to industrialization. It was always external powers, until current holey wood where the stories now turn into "whadaya mean power? You were always perfect! Unless you're male, in that case you were always evil and should be burned on a stake for being born!" /S

 

[NotaNuffian]

Your question looks like asking one culture why their myths are that way, while your own myth is the "normal" one.
The question should be why does eastern stories have people becoming gods while the west have gods and humans as separate?

If I did give that vibe, then yeah, I did then.

It is less on me comparing who is the best because both have their own games and fun.

I am just wondering why so less on training the body.

 

[TheKillingAlice]

If you mean the Last Airbender and its sequel, I always consider them to be "eastern-inspired" and from all the moves that inspired the bending; Air is Bagua palm, Water is Tai Chi, Earth is Hung Gar and Fire is Northern Shaolin.

Yeah, but that's just one example. Almost all the books, movies, or shows I ever considered good showed the protagonist familiarize and train their powers.
A difference for why it's not as drawn out most of the time, is usually the run time. Stories in the west tend to be somewhat concise, unless they are sort of "xoxo gossip girl" kind of stories, that get bonkers over years of running and affairs evolving. It's weird.
But a story following one character for 25 years? Not a regular thing in the west, but it happened more than once or twice in the east. More time to play it, more time to train.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Yeah, but that's just one example. Almost all the books, movies, or shows I ever considered good showed the protagonist familiarize and train their powers.
A difference for why it's not as drawn out most of the time, is usually the run time. Stories in the west tend to be somewhat concise, unless they are sort of "xoxo gossip girl" kind of stories, that get bonkers over years of running and affairs evolving. It's weird.
But a story following one character for 25 years? Not a regular thing in the west, but it happened more than once or twice in the east. More time to play it, more time to train.

Training body.

As in muscles, bones, etc

@BearlyAlive gave a ok but way too aggressive explanation.

I get that it is the eastern culture thing to "cultivate" the body, but I always thought that the west has "a healthy body borns a healthy mind". So, just do cardio and eat healthy?

 

[TheKillingAlice]

The question should be why does eastern stories have people becoming gods while the west have gods and humans as separate?

I believe that to be deeply rooted within their mythology and belief system.
For example: a lot of western gods are shown living among the people and ruling over them or leading them.
In the east, there's an abundance of gods that are indistinguishable from monsters in their stories, they might live among men and need to be revered in order to not be harmful to them. A lot of them come from folklore and were originally human.
Or Buddha, who isn't a god at all, but an ideal; a goal of a state of mind to achieve.

Training body.

As in muscles, bones, etc

Again, that depends on your powers. I guess training the bones isn't a traditional western thing. Like, acupuncture and a lot of other eastern medicine, I think those are roots to this, which aren't very western. While it's part of the culture and thus par for the course in eastern Stories?

 

[ThrillingHuman]

I get that it is the eastern culture thing to "cultivate" the body, but I always thought that the west has "a healthy body borns a healthy mind". So, just do cardio and eat healthy?

Muh people from Ancient Greece were very based and black-pilled and we had our superpowered people be born into greatness

 

[NotaNuffian]

Muh people from Ancient Greece were very based and black-pilled and we had our superpowered people be born into greatness

I hate born heroes

Probably because I know I'll never be one.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

I hate born heroes

Probably because I know I'll never be one.

Don't hate them. None of them end up well anyway. Besides, most of the time they are rape babies. "Oh look his mom got golden showered by Zeus and now a hero is born!"

 

[NotaNuffian]

Don't hate them. None of them end up well anyway. Besides, most of the time they are rape babies. "Oh look his mom got golden showered by Zeus and now a hero is born!"

 

[Lodur]

Training body.

As in muscles, bones, etc

@BearlyAlive gave a ok but way too aggressive explanation.

I get that it is the eastern culture thing to "cultivate" the body, but I always thought that the west has "a healthy body borns a healthy mind". So, just do cardio and eat healthy?

(Self)-cultivation is specifically the eastern thing. Training? A hell of a lot of western stories (especially medieval fantasy ones) features training of the body, one way or another. What with all that muscular knights and paladins. Also military academy (with obligatory body training) very common and popular trope. Some novels even introduces physical training to combat mages (it's not so common, but still used occasionally). And, of course, mages do a lot of specialized training (usually not so physical, but still training).

 

[ThrillingHuman]

The question should be why does eastern stories have people becoming gods while the west have gods and humans as separate?

Because the Chinese had the Investiture of gods iirc

 

[HelloHound]

rocky has a training montage, training montages are something of a common sight in western media (depending on the genre)

 

[NotaNuffian]

(Self)-cultivation is specifically the eastern thing. Training? A hell of a lot of western stories (especially medieval fantasy ones) features training of the body, one way or another. What with all that muscular knights and paladins. Also military academy (with obligatory body training) very common and popular trope. Some novels even introduces physical training to combat mages (it's not so common, but still used occasionally). And, of course, mages do a lot of specialized training (usually not so physical, but still training).

rocky has a training montage, training montages are something of a common sight in western media (depending on the genre)

I can't lie, I like violence with muscular men.

That's why Baki is good, Jojo pre-Jotaro muscle nerf is good, Terraformars with all dem delicious muscular old men and beefy cockroaches is good.

 

[BearlyAlive]

I can't lie, I like violence with muscular men.

That's why Baki is good, Jojo pre-Jotaro muscle nerf is good, Terraformars with all dem delicious muscular old men and beefy cockroaches is good.

Sounds like Bara