Kung Fu Tea

Paul Bowman and I are happy to announce that the first issue of the new interdisciplinary journal Martial Arts Studies has arrived. It is free to download, read or share by anyone with an internet connection. Best of all, the journal has sharp new look to compliment its cutting edge content.

Readers of this this issue can expect to see a variety of papers, original research, review articles and book reviews contributed by both young scholars and some of the most respected names in the field.

Our goal for the first issue was to explore what “martial arts studies,” as an academic research area, really is. What does its study entail? What methods or approaches might its students employ? What sorts of questions does it touch on?

Obviously we have only just begun to think about these issues, and I am sure that over the course of the coming weeks and months we will have ample opportunities to explore the arguments of the authors in much greater detail. Still, even at this early stage one thing is clear. Martial arts studies is a field with immense promise. We currently find ourselves standing at the most exciting point of any great adventure, the beginning!

Paul and I both hope that you find much of interest in the pages of this issue, and we encourage you to share it with friends and colleagues. It has been a privilege to be able to work on this project. None of this would have been possible without the generous contributions of our authors, reviewers, editorial advisory panel and most especially the tireless efforts of both our Assistant Editor Kyle Barrowman and the journal’s designer, Hugh Griffiths. To everyone who contributed to this issue we offer our most profound gratitude and thanks.
Click here to read the Autumn 2015 Issue of Martial Arts Studies.