Introduction I have been meaning to pull together an updated list of “Top Picks” for a couple of months. Somehow I could never find the time. But with about 290 posts (most of which are longer essays) there is a lot of material sitting in the archives here at Kung…
Month: February 2015
The Invisibility of Kung Fu: Two Accounts of the Traditional Chinese Martial Arts
Introduction: Race and the Invisibility of the Chinese Martial Arts There is some debate as to which statesman can rightfully claim the honor of being the “first” American advisor employed by China’s new Republican government. Obviously a number of foreign military, industrial and economic consultants had been hired by the…
Historical Fact vs. Social Discourse in the World of China’s 19th Century Martial Artists
Introduction: What do historical documents reveal? Students of martial arts studies often investigate the various “discourses” which surround these fighting systems. Such discussions turn to the media (movies, TV programs, video games, internet postings, wuxia novels etc…) to better understand the role of the martial arts within Chinese (and global)…
Yim Wing Chun and the “Primitive Passions” of Southern Kung Fu
Introduction We all know the story (and those who do not may want to quickly review the most popular version of it here). With the destruction of the Shaolin Temple at the hands of a fearful imperial military and a corrupt bureaucracy, China’s martial arts heritage (skills that had come to…
Chinese Martial Arts in the News: February 13th, 2015: Bruce Lee, Martial Arts Studies and the Return of the Kung Fu Panda
Introduction Welcome to “Chinese Martial Arts in the News.” This is a semi-regular feature here at Kung Fu Tea in which we review media stories that mention or affect the traditional fighting arts. In addition to discussing important events, this column also considers how the Asian hand combat systems are portrayed…
Martial Arts Studies: Answering the “So what?” question
“We now come to the most critical yet most prickly of all questions: does any of this matter beyond the martial arts and combat sports, symbolically rich but socially marginal activities after all…The greatest challenge that the fighting scholars leave untackled in this book is that of extending the teachings of their carnal…
Deadliest Hands vs. Deadliest Man: Euhemerism, Donn Draeger, and Count Dante
*** Our Monday update comes in the form of an article by Dr. Jared Miracle hosted at the Martial Arts Studies journal webpage. In it he explores the roles of two individuals, Donn Draeger and John “Count Dante” Keehan, in shaping the emergence of modern American martial arts culture. Head on over and check…
