I found that I could not analyze ritual symbols without studying them in a time series in relation to other “events,” for symbols are essentially involved in social process. I came to see performance of ritual as distinct phases in... Continue Reading →
Introduction In September of 1850 a Major in the Imperial Army stationed in Guangdong took his own life. Records indicate that he was older and struggling with a chronic illness. Given the state of medicine in the middle of the... Continue Reading →
****The first leg of my road trip is now complete. I will not be back in my office for a couple of weeks but at this point I do have intermittent internet access. One of the things that I found... Continue Reading →
Introduction Hing Chao has been getting a lot of good press lately. If you keep up with Chinese martial studies and are at all interested in the southern hand combat traditions, you have probably heard his name. He was the... Continue Reading →
Introduction: A Very Brief History of the Wooden Dummy in the Southern Chinese Martial Arts. I have been shopping for a new wooden dummy (Mook Yan Jong). Obviously Wing Chun has a long and fruitful association with the wooden dummy,... Continue Reading →
I propose to speak on fairy-stories, though I am aware that this is a rash adventure. Faerie is a perilous land, and in it are pitfalls for the unwary and dungeons for the overbold. And overbold I may be accounted,... Continue Reading →
Introduction Much of our modern writing on the Chinese martial arts is premised on the examination of difference. Nor is this an abstract categorization of dry facts. Our discussions always seem to run along a similar track. Of all of... Continue Reading →
(**Co-authorship credit for this post goes to my Sifu, Jon Nielson. This post grew out of a conversation that we had about the origins and implications of the Jo Fen almost one year ago.**) Introduction: Defining Community in the Traditional... Continue Reading →
IntroductionThis article was first posted on August 3rd, 2012, making it one of the very first things I ever wrote for Kung Fu Tea. It was also my first review of an academic article, and my first attempt to deal... Continue Reading →
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