***It is May the 4th, everyone's favorite Star Wars themed, merchandise based, holiday! As regular readers know I occasionally write about the Lightsaber Combat Community. Here is an essay touching on the importance of rhythm in the practice of various... Continue Reading →
Zhou Kun Min. 2017. Quanzhou Taizuquan: The Art of Fujian Emperor First Kung Fu. Tambuli Media. 241 pages. $32.95 USD. I recently hosted a round table discussion focused on the state of the martial arts publishing industry in... Continue Reading →
Kai Filipiak. 2012. “'Saving Lives'—Lu Kun’s Manual on City Defense.” Journal of Chinese Military History. 139-188. Introduction Winter is a great time to catch up on one’s reading. And if you run a blog that means... Continue Reading →
Introduction Happy New Year! And welcome to Kung Fu Tea's annual "awards show." The New Year post is a great time to take a look back and celebrate some of the achievements of the last year. It is... Continue Reading →
Introduction Earlier this morning I was faced with a choice. Should I write about Nietzsche (and a certain martial art), or Robert Putnam (and an entirely different fighting system). Its hard to sit down and read the news these... Continue Reading →
Introduction Greetings from my short writing sabbatical! There are two subjects that have been on my mind. The first is Korea as I spent much of the day editing a 15 page conference presentation down to a svelte 7... Continue Reading →
David S. Nisan and Liu Kangyi. 2016. The General Tian Wubeizhi: the Bubishi in Chinese Martial Arts History. Taipei: Lionbook Martial Arts Company. 136 pages of text, plus 128 pages of facsimile reprint. $47.95 USD. Introduction Given... Continue Reading →
Venezuelan Stick Fighting: What can we learn from the modernization of a vernacular fighting system?
Introduction The release of the Summer 2017 issue of Martial Arts Studies is fast approaching. Paul and I have been quite busy over the last few weeks preparing the various articles and reviews for publication. The contents... Continue Reading →
Paul Bowman. 2017. Mythologies of Martial Arts. London and New York: Rowman & Littlefield. 184 pages. Professor Paul Bowman’s latest book sets a new standard for exploring the cultural, sociological and ideological criticism of the martial arts... Continue Reading →
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