Afrikan combat sciences are not “martial arts” — and that distinction carries the full weight of liberation. Words are weapons. Furthermore, the names we accept or reject determine whether we walk in self-definition or cultural surrender. In 2019, Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon delivered a keynote address at the UNESCO-ICM 2nd African Regional Martial Arts Congress that made this truth undeniable. He challenged practitioners, scholars, and community builders to examine the language they use — because language shapes identity, and identity shapes destiny.

Cultural imperialism does not always arrive with guns. Most importantly, it arrives through terminology — through the quiet imposition of alien frameworks onto Afrikan realities. Ɔbenfo Kambon explains how placing an equal sign between “Afrikan combat sciences” and “martial arts” is not neutral translation. Instead, it is cultural misorientation dressed as convenience. This misorientation produces what he identifies as false narratives, alien-self disorders, and anti-self disorders. As a result, Afrikan warriors unknowingly fight to preserve systems that were never built for their liberation.

Why Afrikan Combat Sciences Demand Their Own Framework

Afrikan combat sciences carry cosmology, philosophy, and ancestral memory. However, the term “martial arts” flattens all of that into a generic, Western-compatible category. Ɔbenfo Kambon draws directly on the concept of soft power — the way dominant cultures normalize their worldview through media, education, and language. Therefore, every time an Afrikan practitioner defaults to borrowed terminology, soft power wins a quiet victory. This keynote, backed by 75 slides and over twenty minutes of precise, uncompromising scholarship, gives our warriors the analytical tools to resist that surrender. In addition, it offers a clear way forward rooted in Abibifahodie — Afrikan liberation in every dimension of life.

Abibitumi exists to place this level of scholarship directly into Afrikan hands. This presentation is essential for educators, martial practitioners, cultural custodians, and every Afrikan person committed to protecting our intangible cultural heritage. Furthermore, this is the kind of content that sharpens minds and straightens spines. Consequently, when we name ourselves correctly, we reclaim the power that cultural imperialism works daily to erase. Watch Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon’s full keynote and arm yourself with clarity, purpose, and ancestral precision.

Watch / Get it here: Combating Cultural Imperialism & Cultural Misorientation to Preserve Afrikan Intangible Cultural Heritage — Abibitumi.com