Democratization and the Asian Martial Arts
What does it mean to be political? I suspect that very few people in North America experience their weekly trips to the training hall, dojo or public park as inherently political. There are clearly...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 3 – Rise of the Bushi
Introduction Welcome to the third week of our virtual Martial Arts Studies class, "History of East Asian Martial Arts." For those who are new to the series we are reading along with Prof. TJ Hinrichs'...
View ArticleResearch Notes: An Ancient Form of Physical Culture (1955)
Introduction I have been reviewing every issue of China Reconstructs as part of my ongoing research on how successive governments attempted to use martial arts (and traditional culture more...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 4 – Rebels and the Chinese Martial Arts
Introduction Welcome to week four of "History of East Asian Martial Arts." This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs' undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell...
View ArticleChinese Martial Arts in the News: Feb 16, 2020 – Kung Fu in a time of...
It has been way too long since our last news update so now is the perfect time to get caught up on recent events! For new readers, this is a semi-regular feature here at Kung Fu Tea in which we...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 5 – Peacetime Bushi and Urban Gangsters
Introduction Welcome to week five of “History of East Asian Martial Arts.” This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs’ undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell...
View ArticleLK Chen and the Rebirth of the Han Jian
Introduction Over the last year many Chinese martial arts students in the West have become aware of the replica Han dynasty weapons currently being produced by LK Chen in Guangdong. These...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 6 – China and the Qing Era Martial...
Introduction Welcome to week six of “History of East Asian Martial Arts.” This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs’ undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell...
View ArticleEvaluating Swords: A Lost Martial Text from the Han Dynasty
Introduction No modern civilization enjoys a longer and richer history than China. Yet accessing it can be a challenge for scholars. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the study of martial arts....
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 7 – Buddhism and Martial Arts
Introduction I have noticed a persistent tendency by some to strive to maintain an artificial barrier between the physicality of martial arts practice one the one hand, and the myriad ways it is...
View ArticleField Notes: Sticks, Blades and Movement Along the Pacific Rim
Introduction Michael J. Ryan has has been kind enough to share with us some of his field notes from a recent hoplology project which he had the good fortune to participate in. The focus of these...
View ArticleMartial Arts Studies – Issue 9 Release
Introduction At a time when practically everything has been "paused," Paul Bowman and I are thrilled to announce that the ninth issue of Martial Arts Studies has just been published on the Cardiff...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 8 – Lineage, Transmission and...
A Quick COVID-19 Note First off, apologies are in order. My blogging has been irregular and we have gotten behind with our weekly updates on the "History of East Asian Martial Arts" class being...
View ArticleGuest Post: Covid-19 Confessions and Martial Arts Studies
Introduction What follows is the first in a series of guest posts wrestling with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its impact on martial arts, martial artists and Martial Arts Studies. Given the...
View ArticleGiving Boredom a Chance: A View from New York
Introduction This is the second essay in our short series examining the ways that the current health crisis has impacted those of us who sit at the intersection of martial arts practice,...
View ArticleNationalism, Immigration and Identity: The Gracies and the Making of...
***With the ongoing discussion of the very serious COVID-19 situation, it is easy to forget that we just released the ninth issue of Martial Arts Studies. This open issue is packed with an...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 9 – Bushido as Japanese Spirit
Introduction Welcome to week nine of “History of East Asian Martial Arts.” This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs’ undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell...
View ArticleCapoeira in the Age of COVID: An Art of Resilience
Introduction This is the third essay in our short series examining the ways that the current health crisis has impacted those of us who sit at the intersection of martial arts practice, communities...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 10 – Modernization of Chinese...
Introduction Welcome to week ten of “History of East Asian Martial Arts.” This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs’ undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell...
View ArticleCOVID-19 and A Little Change of Plans
"A Little Change of Plans" by Prof. Thomas Green In the beginning… As the news began to arrive about what was eventually labeled Covid-19, I was enjoying my first week of retirement from university...
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