Category: Martial Studies
Ma Liang’s “New Wushu:” Modernizing and Militarizing the Traditional Chinese Martial Arts
Asking “What if?” Few things are more difficult to research than historical events that did not happen. This is especially true for social scientists who approach the question of theory creation and hypothesis testing from a more empirical or positivist angle. Yet difficult is not the same as “impossible.” Nor am I sure…
The Five Tiger Stick Society: Pilgrimage, Local Religion and the Martial Arts
An Unexpected Lunch A friend from graduate school called during one of one of those terrible afternoons that only the month of February can conjure. I was sitting in my windowless office at the University of Utah, ostensibly writing lectures for the semester’s new course preparations. Half an hour later I found myself…
Chinese Martial Arts in the News: August 4, 2017: MMA, Shaolin and Wong Jack Man
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 in the mainstream media. While…
Five Years of Kung Fu Tea: Making Martial Arts Studies Matter
Happy Birthday Attentive readers may have noticed a few changes here at Kung Fu Tea. This blog launched its first post five years ago, on July 27th 2012. Since that point we have published well over 500 posts. Looking back at my drafts this adds up to over 2,500 pages of single…
Looking Forward and Looking Back: The 2017 Martial Arts Studies Conference
Conference Report I recently had the chance to attend (and deliver a keynote at) the 3rd Annual Martial Arts Studies conference, held at the Cardiff University. Having also attended the 2015 and 2016 conferences I can state with confidence that the field continues to move from strength to strength. Each of these…
On the 44th Anniversary of Bruce Lee’s Death: Cult (Film) Icon
Introduction My original plan for the day included writing a conference report on the recent Martial Arts Studies gathering at Cardiff University (which, as always, was a blast). However, when I opened my email this morning I found a note from Paul Bowman reminding me that today is the 44th anniversary of…
Read it Now: Summer 2017 Issue of Martial Arts Studies!
Get the Issue Now! The last week has been a whirlwind of travel, fieldwork and conferences. I am now back and cannot wait to tell you more about it. But before we delve into conference discussions and after-action reports, I have some very exciting news. The latest issue of the interdisciplinary journal Martial Arts…
Lightsaber Combat and Wing Chun: The Search for Meaning in the Modern Martial Arts
***I am current on the road for the annual Martial Arts Studies conference at Cardiff University in the UK. As soon as I return home I will be posting a full report of the event and sharing the text and slides from my keynote (titled “Show, Don’t Tell: Making Martial Arts Studies Matter.”) In…
Imagining Ip Man: Globalization and the Growth of Wing Chun Kung Fu
***I am current on the road for the annual Martial Arts Studies conference at Cardiff University in the UK. As soon as I return home I will be posting a full report of the event and sharing the text and slides from my keynote (titled “Show, Don’t Tell: Making Martial Arts Studies Matter.”) In…
The Soldier, the Marketplace Boxer and the Recluse: Mapping the Social Location of the Martial Arts in Late Imperial China.
***As I mentioned earlier this week, I am currently preparing for the upcoming Martial Arts Studies conference in Cardiff. As such I have decided to revisit one of the earlier major essays that I wrote for this blog (all the way back in 2013). Kung Fu Tea was just starting to grow at that…
Li Pei Xian and the Evolution of Modern Chinese “Martial Arts”
***Greetings! I am currently preparing for the upcoming Martial Arts Studies conference in Cardiff. As such we will be taking a deep dive into the archives for today’s post. This essay and biographical sketch was first published four years ago in our “Lives of Chinese Martial Artists” series. While not well known in the…
