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Kung Fu Tea

Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

Through a Lens Darkly (67): Winter Training in Japanese Martial Arts

Group 1. Yonezawa Industrial School's Midwinter Training General Meeting. Winter Training In the "before times" some readers will remember that I ran a lightsaber combat club in Ithaca. To say that it was a lot of fun would be an... Continue Reading →

Berlin 1936: Chinese Martial Arts on a Global Stage

Introduction The Olympics are once again being hosted by China and the eyes of the world are on Beijing.  Martial arts don't really play any role in the Winter Games, but there seems to be more political discussion surrounding this... Continue Reading →

A Life in Stone: Images of Weapons During the Han Dynasty

Silent Riddles Our discussion of the origins of modern martial arts is always haunted by twin specters. The first is the claim of great, almost unimageable, antiquity.  The second is arguments from silence.  We have explored at length all of the cultural,... Continue Reading →

The Woyao Dao and Regionalism in History and Martial Studies

LK Chen's Woyao Dao. Source: LKChensword.com Introduction A package containing two of LK Chen’s fine historical reproductions recently arrived at my door. So, of course, I find myself thinking about the importance of “regionalism” within martial arts studies.  The connection between... Continue Reading →

Call For Papers: Martial Arts, Tradition and Globalisation

Photo from the Cornell Wushu Club. What are you most looking forward to as international travel normalizes? If you are anything like me it is a return to in-person Martial Arts Studies conferences! Our 2022 Conference is back and bigger... Continue Reading →

A Conversation With Daniel Amos on Ethnography and Hong Kong’s Martial Arts

John S. S. Long training with his teacher, Wong Lei, in Hong Kong, 1960. Source: http://www.seattlekungfuclub.com/ Introduction Regular readers of this blog with be no strangers to work of Daniel Amos. He has previously contributed guest posts to Kung Fu... Continue Reading →

Hong Kong Martial Artists – A Review

Hong Kong Martial Artists, 2021, by Daniel Amos (Rowman&Littlefield). Daniel Miles Amos. 2021. Hong Kong Martial Artists: Sociocultural Change from World War II to 2020. Rowman & Littlefield.  230 pages. $115 HC/$38 Kindle Some years ago, one of my younger brothers married... Continue Reading →

Read it Now: Martial Arts Studies, Issue 11!

  We are happy to announce that the Summer 2021 issue of the interdisciplinary journal Martial Arts Studies has been released and is now available for free download. Click here to see a complete list of articles. The 11th issue... Continue Reading →

Song Ring Pommel Straight Dao and the Birth of Modern Chinese Martial Culture

Song Dynasty Soldier with Dao Shi Jin and Chinese Martial Arts It is axiomatic among martial arts studies scholars to assert that the fighting systems that people practice today are not the ancient creations that so many modern students, in... Continue Reading →

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