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Kung Fu Tea

Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

Paul Bowman visits Kung Fu Tea and helps us to see Beyond Bruce Lee.

  Introduction July 20th is the 40th anniversary of the death of Bruce Lee.  Prof. Paul Bowman, an expert on both his life and cultural influence, has been kind enough to sit down with us to discuss Lee's continuing significance. ... Continue Reading →

Taming the Little Dragon: Symbolic Politics and the Translation of Bruce Lee.

My Definite Chief Aim I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an... Continue Reading →

Hing Chao Discusses Southern Boxing, White Crane and the “Eastern Theory” of Wing Chun’s Origins.

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 →

Through a Lens Darkly (14): Archery Practice in Late Imperial China

Introduction: Archery and the Traditional Chinese Martial Arts I have recently been reading Stephen Selby’s book Chinese Archery (2000, Hong Kong University Press).  It is a very important contribution to the Chinese martial studies literature and one of the few... Continue Reading →

The Soldier, the Marketplace Boxer and the Recluse: Mapping the Social Location of the Martial Arts in Late Imperial China.

Introduction How should we understand the traditional Chinese martial arts?  Are these practices really intended to be a form of practical self-defense, or are they actually some other sort of social performance? Are the arts that we practice today “authentic?”... Continue Reading →

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: July 1, 2013: New Documentaries, “Enter the Dragon” Turns 40 and Ip Man Comes out on Top.

Introduction Welcome to another edition of Chinese Martial Arts in the news.  This is a semi-regular feature in which we review a roundup of media stories dealing with the martial arts over the last three to four weeks.  We try... Continue Reading →

Reevaluating the “Theater of Combat”: A Critical Look at Charles Holcombe, Popular Religion and the Traditional Chinese Martial Arts.

Kung Fu and Religion: The Emergence of the Modern Debate. For most of the 20th century western academics paid little attention to the Chinese martial arts.  Popular culture did not elicit much interest from scholars who were more engaged with... Continue Reading →

The Story of Ip Man’s Wooden Dummy

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 →

Ming Tales of Female Warriors: Searching for the Origins of Yim Wing Chun and Ng Moy.

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 →

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