Introduction The martial arts can speak to a number of important questions, but perhaps to none as directly as popular attitudes towards violence. Much of my recent research has looked at what the organization of martial arts groups... Continue Reading →
Introduction While many of the vintage images introduced in this series have focused on martial themes, characters or weapons, few of them have attempted to reveal scenes of martial artists simply practicing their craft. And the vast... Continue Reading →
The Creation of Beijing's Police Given that this is a holiday weekend, what follows is brief but topical. Labor Day is an ideal time to look back and remember some of the hard working individuals who helped... Continue Reading →
Through a Lens Darkly In this occasional series I turn to photographs, postcards, slides or other forms of ephemera both as a source of information about the Chinese martial arts and as a witness to the many... Continue Reading →
Warning: Speculation Ahead No topic surrounding Wing Chun elicits more interest than its deep historical origins. Did the art really originate at the southern Shaolin Temple? Was it connected to late Qing revolutionary groups? Did Leung Jan actually learn... 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 →
Introduction There are a number of different ways of observing a community. One of the most frequently overlooked is to pay attention to their physical culture. What sorts of objects do individuals invest their scarce time... Continue Reading →
Introduction I have been meaning to pull together an updated list of "Top Picks" for a couple of months. Somehow I could never find the time. But with about 290 posts (most of which are... Continue Reading →
The Kukri in Three Symbolic Registers As regular readers will know, I have a keen interest in both the history of bladed weapons and vintage postcards. The kukri, a type of fighting knife from... Continue Reading →
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