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Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

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Martial Studies

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: December 12th, 2016: The International Edition

  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... Continue Reading →

Reality Fighting and the End of Civilization

      The Debate   Neil Gong’s article, “How to Fight Without Rules: On Civilized Violence in “De-Civilized” Spaces,” (Social Problems, 2015, 0, pp. 1-18) is the sort of work that is sure to find its way onto a... Continue Reading →

Interview with the No Wax Needed Podcast

  I recently had a chance to sit down with Itamar Zadoff who runs the "No Wax Needed" podcast.  Itamar is one of the up and coming martial arts studies scholars who I had the pleasure to meet at our... Continue Reading →

Why do you draw the line? More on Definition in Martial Arts Studies

  ***Paul Bowman recently wrote an essay dealing with attempts to both define the martial arts and to think about the development of martial arts studies as a distinct field.  Given the importance of the points that he raises, and... Continue Reading →

The Immigrant Experience: Asian Martial Arts in the United States and Canada, by Joseph R. Svinth

    ***Happy Thanksgiving!  This is a day when we commemorate the initial act of European immigration to North America.  From that point onward the flow of people and ideas across our borders has never really stopped.  As such, it... Continue Reading →

Research Notes: Foshan’s Kung Fu in 1919.

    First, the Important Stuff   Is it possible to approach history without theory?  I think not.  It is the existence of some sort of preexisting story or framework of understanding that we carry around in our heads which... Continue Reading →

Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Lightsaber: Fetishism and Material Culture in Martial Arts Studies

  “The lightsaber has become an important touchstone, both within the films and within our culture…They serve as a source of identification and identity.  They are the ultimate commodity: a nonexistent object whose replicas sell for hundreds of dollars.  This... Continue Reading →

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: November 14th, 2016: Friends, Nostalgia and New Articles

  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... Continue Reading →

(Insanity and) the Arts of Martial Minds

  ***Today we have a fascinating guest post by Paul Bowman.   It has been reblogged from Martial Arts Studies.  This essay outlines a new research project looking at questions of sanity and insanity within the practice of martial arts.  It... Continue Reading →

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