Revisiting Alfred Lister: The Noble Art of Self-Defense in China (Part II)
Introduction This is the second half of our two part series on the life and writings of Alfred Lister. A civil servant in Hong Kong during the second half of the 19th century, Lister provided his...
View ArticleThrough a Lens Darkly (59): John S. S. Leong and Southern Kung Fu in 1969.
A Quick Note Last week I noted that I would be taking a short break from blogging to finish off a few projects (conference papers, book chapters and article drafts) with upcoming deadlines. I...
View ArticleZheng Manqing and the “Sick Man of Asia”: Strengthening the Nation through...
Introduction: Zheng Manqing Accepts a Challenge While doing some preliminary historical research on Zheng Manqing, the well-known painter, physician and Taijiquan master, I came across a...
View ArticleResearch Notes: The Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts as Seen on Western...
***Greetings! I have spent the last week putting the finishing touches on my keynote for the (fast approaching) 2019 Martial Arts Studies conference in Los Angeles. In fact, I just finished my...
View Article“Glory Days” and the Twilight of the Guoshu Movement
***My last update hinted at a couple of sources that I will be addressing in my upcoming keynote for this years (quickly approaching) martial arts studies conference. But there is never enough time...
View ArticleA Visual Study of a Set of Transitional Hudiedao
Introduction Some apologies are in order. My professional writing and research has taken me away from the blog for longer than I intended. In the last month I finished an one article draft, wrote...
View Article2019 MAS Conference Report: Martial Arts Studies Comes to America
Paul Bowman and I were recently chatting about milestones. It seems an apt metaphor. Some projects are so large and complex that individual goals don’t capture the scale of the task. That is what...
View ArticleThe Creation of Wing Tsun – A German Case Study
Greetings. After a brief layover in New York I am now back in the air and headed for my second conference of the summer (this one focused on Chinese history, report to follow). As such, I thought I...
View ArticleBook Review: The Martial Arts Studies Reader, by Qays Stetkevych
Greetings! I am still traveling for a conference on Chinese History. Unsurprisingly my paper is an attempt to introduce a new group of scholars to the joys of Martial Arts Studies. Speaking of...
View ArticleMartial Arts Studies at Tel Aviv University
I recently had the opportunity to visit Israel for the first time. It was quite an experience and I would like to share a few details about that trip with the readers of Kung Fu Tea. The occasion...
View ArticleChinese Martial Arts in the News: June 14, 2019: Xu, Soft Power and Women in...
Introduction Its been months (and multiple conference trips) since our last news update, which means that there is no better time to get caught up on recent events! For new readers, this is a...
View ArticleThrough a Lens Darkly (60): The Weapons Rack
A Recent Find Chinese martial arts themed (or simply adjacent) postcards from the pre-WWII era are not very common. These things certainly existed and circulated, but they are now difficult for most...
View ArticleContesting Kung Fu’s Soft Power: What Modern Chinese History Can Teach Us...
Introduction On May 24th I was asked to deliver the closing keynote address for the 2019 Martial Arts Studies meetings at Chapman University. A special note of thanks must be extended to both Andrea...
View ArticleRevisiting Marginality in the Martial Arts
There are a number of popular topics within Martial Arts Studies which suggest the deeply interdisciplinary nature of our project. Sociologists, following in the footsteps of Wacquant’s “Carnal...
View ArticleStickman doh ‘fraid no damom: Stick and machete fighting in the New world –...
What follows is the first part of a short series on New World stick and knife fighting traditions by my friend Dr. Michael J. Ryan (SUNY Oneonta). I first became aware of this vast and fascinating...
View ArticleColumbia and Venezuela: The Political Economy of Stick and Machete Fighting...
Introduction Greetings, and welcome to the second part of Michael J. Ryan's guest series on stick and knife fighting in the Caribbean region. If you missed the first installment of this series I would...
View ArticlePilgrimage and Travel in Martial Arts Training
Bear up under days of cold and heat, withstand exposure to wind, rain, sleet. Walk mountains and difficult paths. Do not sleep under a roof; consider it fundamental to sleep out in the open. Be patient...
View ArticleChinese Martial Arts in the News: July 8, 2019: Summer Fun, and Bruce Lee...
Introduction It is so hot outside that it is almost impossible to think about training, which means that there is no better time to get caught up on news - particularly if some of these stories give...
View ArticleHistory and Myth in Lightsaber Combat
Introduction In the coming months I expect that readers will be seeing a few new blog posts discussing my ongoing work with the Lightsaber Combat community. I have a chapter and conference paper...
View ArticleBook Review: Deconstructing Martial Arts
Paul Bowman. 2019. Deconstructing the Martial Arts. Cardiff: Cardiff University Press. 165 pages. Free to Download. Introduction Summer is typically the time when scholars get caught up on their...
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