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Kung Fu Tea

Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

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Martial Studies

From the Archives: Folklore in the Southern Chinese Martial Arts

    ***I am currently on the road, so we will be dipping into the archives for this weeks Friday update.  I decided that it might be fun to take a look back and to see what I was working... Continue Reading →

Tai Hsuan-chih Remembers “The Red Spears, 1916-1949”

    Introduction   This is the second entry in our ongoing study of the Red Spear movement in northern China during the first half of the twentieth century. For a brief overview of the origins of this movement and... Continue Reading →

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: September 29th, 2014: Protests in Hong Kong, Cotton Boxing in Shanghai and Trouble at Shaolin

  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 the traditional fighting arts.  In addition to discussing... Continue Reading →

1928: The Danger of Telling a Single Story about the Chinese Martial Arts

        1928: What Happened in the World of Kung Fu?   -The Central Guoshu Institute was established by the Nationalist (KMT) government and subsequently held its first national martial arts tournament in Beijing.   -Cheung Lai Chuen... Continue Reading →

The Red Spear Society: Origins of a Northern Chinese Martial Arts Uprising

    Introducing the Red Spear Movement     There can be no doubt that Chinese martial studies has made substantial strides in the last decade. Still, to understand the nature and direction of this research area it is important... Continue Reading →

Kung Fu is Dead, Long Live Kung Fu: The Martial Arts as Voluntary Associations in 20th Century Guangzhou

  Introduction   Daniel M. Amos is one of the less appreciated, but more important, voices in the academic study of the southern Chinese martial arts. In 1983 he deposited a doctoral dissertation at the University of California, Los Angeles,... Continue Reading →

Martial Studies in Latin-America

  ***A few months ago I had the opportunity to exchange emails with William Acevedo regarding his various research projects. As we discussed the growing interest in martial arts studies around the globe we decided that it would be very... Continue Reading →

Death, Taxes and the Inevitability of Change in the Chinese Martial Arts: A Historical Case

    Introduction   How should we understand China’s traditional martial arts? Minimal observation will reveal that these are multifaceted social institutions whose interactions with popular culture are complex and ever changing. Still, as Douglas Wile has noted, when discussing... Continue Reading →

Professor Thomas Green on the Survival of Plum Blossom Boxing, Martial Folklore and the State of Martial Arts Studies

    Introduction   Professor Thomas A. Green (Anthropology, Texas A&M University) has been a critical figure in the promotion of the academic study of the martial arts. Many readers will already be familiar with his edited works (along with... Continue Reading →

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