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Kung Fu Tea

Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

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Martial Arts and Religion

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: November 19th, 2012: Ip Man, the UFC and Kung Fu Buddhists

Welcome to the November edition of "Chinese Martial Arts in the News."  This is part of a regular series of posts that present us with an opportunity to discuss recent developments in the news and popular culture.  If you know... Continue Reading →

Through a Lens Darkly (6): China Rediscovers the Shaolin Temple, Igniting a Kung Fu Craze.

Accepting the“traditional” Chinese martial arts as a product of the modern world. If I were to conduct a pole and ask the average student of the Chinese martial arts when the “Golden Age” of Kung Fu was, what sort of... Continue Reading →

How Yoda Helped to Invent Kung Fu: Star Wars and the Martial Arts in the Western Imagination.

Introduction: The only Star Wars post on WordPress this week not about Disney or Lukas. Admit it, you have all done it.  At one point or another each of you has looked at your Sifu or Sensei and thought “Its... Continue Reading →

The Book Club: The Shaolin Monastery by Meir Shahar: Introduction and Chapters 1-2.

Welcome to the Chinese Martial Studies Book Club This is the first post in new experimental series here at Kung Fu Tea. The goal of the “book club” is to introduce readers to some of the classic works on martial... Continue Reading →

Does Wing Chun need a “spiritual” center? Is it Confucianism?

Spiritual Kung Fu Revisited I recently read something by a somewhat prominent writer on the martial arts that made me sit up and take notice.  The author (who remains nameless as I am about to criticize him) noted that a... Continue Reading →

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: October 29th, 2012: Commercialization, Authenticity and Bruce Lee.

Welcome to the "Frankenstorm" edition of "Chinese martial arts in the news."  Every few weeks I update readers about recent events and important developing trends.  If you have suggestions for a story that I should be watching feel free to... Continue Reading →

Why Religion Needs to Play a Greater Role in Chinese Martial Studies than it does in the Chinese Martial Arts.

  Lately I have been thinking about the role of religion in the Chinese martial arts and the different (though related) question of its place in Chinese martial studies.  I blame Stanley Henning. I should preface this post by saying... Continue Reading →

Can Southern Chinese Kung Fu Ever be “Internal?”

Defining Neijia Not knowing any better, one might think that there is a social hierarchy in the Chinese martial arts.  In the world of popular (or folk) styles there are a variety of schools and approaches.  Some of the most... Continue Reading →

Spiritual Kung Fu: Can Wing Chun be a Secular Religion?

  George Jennings, David Brown and Andrew Sparkes. “It can be a Religion if you Want: Wing Chun Kung Fu as a Secular Religion.” Ethnography.  11(4). 2010. Pp. 533-557. I have been meaning to read this paper for some time... Continue Reading →

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