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Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

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Chinese Martial Studies

The Book Club: Chinese Martial Arts by Peter Lorge, Introduction-Chapter 5: Reconstructing China’s Ancient Military Institutions.

  Introduction: A Breakthrough for the Field of Chinese Martial Studies. The “Book Club” is a semi-regular feature at Kung Fu Tea in which we collectively read and discuss important works in the fields of martial studies, history or the... Continue Reading →

Qilin Dancing During the Lunar New Year and Southern Chinese Martial Culture.

Introduction: What is a Qilin and why do they dance? Let me start off by wishing everyone a happy New Year!  The Lunar New Year is the longest and most important festival in the traditional Chinese calendar.  Individuals celebrate it... Continue Reading →

Ritual, Tradition and Memory in Singapore’s Chinese Martial Arts Community.

  Introduction: Chinese Martial Studies, Embodied Knowledge and Identity. In 2011 SUNY (State University of New York) Press released a collected volume (edited by D. S. Farrer and John Whalen-Bridge) titled Martial Arts as Embodied Knowledge: Asian Traditions in a... Continue Reading →

Through a Lens Darkly (7): Selling Swords and Printed Martial Arts Training Manuals in a 19th century Guangzhou Market.

Introduction: Exploring the martial marketplace. It is clear that the traditional Chinese martial arts, as practiced in the Qing dynasty, were many things to many people.  Still, for most of their practitioners they were first and foremost an economic resources. ... Continue Reading →

Butterfly Swords and Boxing: Exploring a Lost Southern Chinese Martial Arts Training Manual.

The Importance of the “Foreign Language Literature” in Chinese Martial Studies It is very hard to pierce the veil of the mid-19th century and to understand what exactly was happening in the development of the popular martial arts between about... Continue Reading →

A Social and Visual History of the Hudiedao (Butterfly Sword) in the Southern Chinese Martial Arts.

    *****An updated and revised edition of this article is now available.  Click here to read more.  Thanks!******   Hudiedao, wu dip do, bat cham do, shuang dao, double short broadswords, butterfly swords......These weapons are known by literally dozens... Continue Reading →

Ip Man and the Prostitute: Female Sexuality as a Weapon in Traditional Chinese Martial Culture.

  Introduction: Masculinity as a Core Value in the Traditional Southern Martial Arts. One of the few facts that everyone seems to “know” about Wing Chun is that the art was created by a female.  Whether this is actually true... Continue Reading →

Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (4): Sun Lutang’s Unified Theory of the Chinese Martial Arts: Daoist Spirituality, Health and Boxing (Part III).

Sun Lutang and the Field of Chinese Martial Studies This post is the third and final installment of our three part review of the life and contributions of Sun Lutang.  Sun was a master of Xingyi, Bagua and Taiji boxing... Continue Reading →

Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (4): Sun Lutang–Secrecy, Reform and the Creation of the Modern Martial Arts School (Part II).

  Introduction: Sun Lutang at the Crossroads of Modernity In the first section of our special series on Sun Lutang we presented an outline of the life and career of a key figure in Chinese martial studies.  Sun has made... Continue Reading →

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