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Kung Fu Tea

Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

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Martial Studies

Our Fist is Black: Martial Arts, Black Arts, and Black Power in the 1960s and 1970s

***It is my very great pleasure to present the following guest post by Maryam Aziz.  A doctoral student at the University of Michigan, I first had the opportunity to meet her at the 2015 Martial Arts Studies conference at the... Continue Reading →

A Quick Announcement and the Unexpected Role of Secrecy in the Success of the Traditional Chinese Martial Arts

A pair of Japanese Komuso or “Monks of Emptiness.” Original Source: Unknown. Introduction I am currently in the middle of writing a short introduction that I was asked to contribute to a forthcoming volume.  As such we will be revisiting... Continue Reading →

Research Notes: Foreign Attitudes towards Kung Fu in Colonial Hong Kong

  The TCMA as a Perpetual Revival Movement   Kung Fu has an odd relationship with the past. It seems that for the last century (at least) each generation has discovered the beauty of the Chinese martial arts only to... Continue Reading →

Letting ‘Real’ Kung Fu Die: Paradoxes of the Traditional Chinese Martial Arts as Intangible Cultural Heritage

  ...When I asked why he was not more active teaching himself, he answered in a gravelly voice: In my opinion, the world has changed. I never teach my son and grandson. People ask me to teach, but people’s minds... Continue Reading →

A Year in the Chinese Martial Arts: The Stories and Events that Shaped 2015

  Happy New Year! New Years is a good time to sit back and reflect on recent accomplishments and events.  2015 has been a huge year for the field of martial arts studies.  Things had been picking up for a... Continue Reading →

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: December 28th 2015: Wing Chun, Taiji and Sanda goes Pro

    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 →

Doing Research (1): Fieldwork Methods in Martial Arts Studies by D. S. Farrer

  Introduction It is my distinct pleasure to introduce the first entry in a new series of guest posts titled "Doing Research."  Compared to other fields of scholarly inquiry, Martial Arts Studies has a distinctly democratic flavor.  This stems from... Continue Reading →

Research Notes: Spirit Possession in the Southern Chinese Martial Arts

    Introduction Spirit possession is a fascinating but rarely discussed aspect of the traditional Chinese martial arts.  Reformers in the field of physical culture spent much of the 20th century attempting to erase the national embarrassment of the Boxer... Continue Reading →

History, Mythology, Technique and Philosophy: Finding the “True” Origins of the Asian Martial Arts

  Introduction   History is difficult. It goes beyond gaining access to appropriate sources, records and languages. The challenges that we face are often more basic and conceptual. At the present moment there is a lot of interest, both in... Continue Reading →

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