Introduction In the coming months I expect that readers will be seeing a few new blog posts discussing my ongoing work with the Lightsaber Combat community. I have a chapter and conference paper that will be looking at performance... Continue Reading →
Introduction Greetings, and welcome to the second part of Michael J. Ryan's guest series on stick and knife fighting in the Caribbean region. If you missed the first installment of this series I would suggest clicking here to get caught... Continue Reading →
What follows is the first part of a short series on New World stick and knife fighting traditions by my friend Dr. Michael J. Ryan (SUNY Oneonta). I first became aware of this vast and fascinating body of material when... Continue Reading →
A Recent Find Chinese martial arts themed (or simply adjacent) postcards from the pre-WWII era are not very common. These things certainly existed and circulated, but they are now difficult for most researchers to find. That is one of... Continue Reading →
Introduction Some apologies are in order. My professional writing and research has taken me away from the blog for longer than I intended. In the last month I finished an one article draft, wrote two conference papers and went... Continue Reading →
***Greetings! I have spent the last week putting the finishing touches on my keynote for the (fast approaching) 2019 Martial Arts Studies conference in Los Angeles. In fact, I just finished my slides a few minutes ago. ... Continue Reading →
Introduction Understanding the actual history and use of hudiedao (or Butterfly Swords) reflects the challenges faced by students of martial studies more generally. These short paired swords, with their distinctive D-shaped hand guards, are one of the most commonly... Continue Reading →
Introduction: The Weapons of Wing Chun From time to time I am asked why Wing Chun teaches only two weapons. For those unfamiliar with the system these are the long single-tailed fighting pole, favored by a number of southern Chinese... Continue Reading →
An Unexpected Invitation A friend recently extended an invitation that I couldn’t refuse. A couple of weeks ago Chad Eisner (who some of you may remember from my various lightsaber projects) got in touch and let me know that... Continue Reading →
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