19th century Chinese painting. This image is part of a larger set that shows scenes of a gentry led militia in training. Special thanks to Gavin Gaving Nugent (www.swordsantiqueweapons.com/) for sharing these images. I am happy to announce that a... Continue Reading →
Chan Wah Shun and his Place in the Modern Wing Chun Community One of the biggest problems in researching the history of the martial arts is the martial artists themselves. They love their styles (or the businesses that they support)... Continue Reading →
Martial Arts and Globalization in late 19th and early 20th century China. In my previous post I proposed a framework for using globalization and the liberalization of China’s economy in the 1980s and 1990s to understand the progressive “medicalization”... Continue Reading →
The rhinoceros-hide armor was of seven folds or links, one over another; the wild-buffalo's-hide armor was of six folds or links; and the armor, made of two hides together was of five folds or links. The rhinoceros-hide armor would endure... Continue Reading →
***Alex Gillis was the very first special guest ever interviewed on Kung Fu Tea. His book, A Killing Art, remains one of the most readable and engaging histories of an Asian martial art ever written. Be sure to check it... Continue Reading →
***Greetings! This was my first entry in the long running "Lives of Chinese Martial Artists" series. Rather than just profiling the most famous martial artists I attempted to look at the actual life experiences of a wide range of... Continue Reading →
The idea of reading old books tends to conjure romantic images of dusty tomes and arcane libraries. As martial artists we imagine ourselves clustered around forgotten Ming dynasty manuals, decoding the secrets of the ancient. Sadly, those are not the... Continue Reading →
***Greetings! Here is one of my earlier attempts to talk about the topic of theory within martial arts studies (from back in 2012, when there was a lot less of it). It is one area where my thinking has... Continue Reading →
***Greeting readers, and thank you for your continued patience. Today we are going to revisit a review of a Wing Chun documentary that I wrote back in the Fall of 2012. This turned out to be one of two... Continue Reading →
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