We are happy to announce that the Winter 2016 Issue of Martial Arts Studies is now available, free of charge, to any reader or institution. This open source, peer reviewed, interdisciplinary journal is an imprint of Cardiff University Press.
Simply click the cover image, or this link, to download a complete copy. You can also click here to find PDFs of individual articles or to search our archives. The current issue features something for practically any student of martial arts studies. This includes seven original research articles and four reviews of recent and significant publications.
That is a lot of new material, about 115 pages in total. Wondering where to start? For an overview of the contents of this issue, readers should see our opening editorial.
If you want to get right to the action, be sure to start with Paul Bowmans’ discussion of why theory must come before definition in the development of martial arts studies and his thoughts on how this problem may help to explain the mixed fortunes of hoplology and other past iterations of our project.
Students of the traditional martial arts, and anyone who has ever done “forms practice,” will want to read Daniel Mroz’s exploration of taolu in the Chinese martial arts. Be sure to watch for the embedded video and other links in his text.
Looking for something to read? Why not start with Colin P. McGuire’s review of The Fighting Art of Pencak Silat and Its Music: From Southeast Asian Village to Global Movement, edited by Uwe U. Paetzold and Paul H. Mason (Brill, 2016).
Are you interested in contributing to Martial Arts Studies? If so, see our Call for Papers. And as always, please feel free to share any of these links on your social media accounts. Let your colleagues and friends know that a new issue of Martial Arts Studies is now available!
Lastly, Paul Bowman and I would like to extend our most sincere thanks to all of our contributors, our distinguished Editorial Advisory Panel, editorial assistant Kyle Barrowman, designer Hugh Griffiths, and all at Cardiff University Press, especially Alice Percival and Sonja Haerkoenen. Without your hard work this journal would not be possible.
