Introduction Are the martial arts good? I think that most people who spend a lot of time practicing any of these systems would reflexively answer “Yes.” I know that I would. Fewer of us would pause to ask... Continue Reading →
Looking over my posts from the last few months I realized that it has been too long since we discussed new (to us) images of the Chinese martial arts. In this post our friend Sidney Gamble will help to... Continue Reading →
Introduction For someone who doesn’t read classical Chinese, I spend a lot of time in seminars listening to presentations on ancient texts. Cornell regularly invites visiting scholars to discuss their work. While none of these individuals has ever given... Continue Reading →
For ten years I have been polishing this sword; Its frosty edge has never been put to the test. Now I am holding it and showing it to you, sir: Is there anyone suffering from injustice? -"The Swordsman" by Jia Dao (Tang... Continue Reading →
Given that it is a holiday weekend, I will be keeping this research note brief. Still, the subject matter is quite interesting. China’s Republic era dadao, or big knives, generate a good deal of interest among both historians and... Continue Reading →
The Nation and the Sword Seki Juroji may be one of the most important pioneers of the traditional Asian martial arts who no one has ever heard of. Gainty (2013) notes that Seki was a successful farmer and swordsmanship... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
Introduction I would like to begin today’s post by noting that Joseph Svinth (whom most of you will already know from his many contributions to Martial Arts Studies) really deserves to be listed as a co-author on this... Continue Reading →
Introduction One of my on-going projects is a co-authored study of Wing Chun’s history (and social meaning) within the German martial arts community. I will admit that in the crush of competing papers and presentations this topic, while... Continue Reading →
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