Introduction Michael J. Ryan has has been kind enough to share with us some of his field notes from a recent hoplology project which he had the good fortune to participate in. The focus of these exchanges, interviews and... Continue Reading →
Introduction No modern civilization enjoys a longer and richer history than China. Yet accessing it can be a challenge for scholars. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the study of martial arts. The oldest existing Chinese hand... Continue Reading →
Introduction Over the last year many Chinese martial arts students in the West have become aware of the replica Han dynasty weapons currently being produced by LK Chen in Guangdong. These high-quality pieces are all the more attractive... Continue Reading →
Introduction Welcome to the third week of our virtual Martial Arts Studies class, "History of East Asian Martial Arts." For those who are new to the series we are reading along with Prof. TJ Hinrichs' course of the same title... Continue Reading →
An Eternal Passion As a martial artists that I work with likes to tell his students, "Hitting someone with a stick is not difficult. Noting getting hit with a stick is...a lot of fun." The history of Western single-stick practice... Continue Reading →
Why is the Katana more popular than the Jian A good friend recently sent me a link for a YouTube video asking why Chinese swords are not as well known in Western popular culture as their Japanese counterparts. ... Continue Reading →
***I am currently preparing for a demonstration and tournament which I will be hosting on Friday. As such, we are turning to the archives for today's post. This essay offers readers a unique look at the nexus between the martial... Continue Reading →
Introduction It seems to be taken as an article of faith in much of the popular writing on the martial arts that these hand combat systems provide not only an avenue for self-actualization, but also the ability to bridge... Continue Reading →
“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 is... Continue Reading →
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