on invisibility; or, towards a minor jiu-jitsu
Contributors
Description
On Invisibility attempts to meditate on the relationship between the seen and unseen, known and unknowable, particularly when in relation with an other, when grappling — in touch with — another. This text opens the dossier that, whilst seemingly antonyms, invisibility is part of visibility; that each act of seeing is fraught with the possibility of blindness. And more than that, relationality with another is premised on this very unknowability. Which is why, not only does one encounter jiu-jitsu through practice, praxis; not only does one encounter jiu-jitsu through an encounter with the other; part of it always escapes us, remains enigmatic.
Thus, not only is it arte suave, it is always also potentially arte bela.
So, even as we attempt to address the question what is jiu-jitsu, part of it will always remain beyond us. Which might be why we have no choice but to turn to art: for, all that we know, can see, of jiu-jitsu will be fragments of it — sketches.
Responses
‘On Invisibility; or, towards a minor jiu-jitsu’ is like Levinas meets the Gracies through Yves Klein!
~ Damon Young
‘On invisibility’ is a remarkably elegant but also daring and truly thought-provoking work. What it dares and also asks the reader to dare is to reconsider and rethink not only how to understand jiu-jitsu, its different teachings, schools and methods as such, but also — and no less importantly — to question the very basis of what seeing, understanding, thinking and knowledge here means.
~ Anders Kølle