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Kung Fu Tea

Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

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Gender

THE POLITICS OF AN OLYMPIC MEDAL

Sajad Ganjzadeh of Iran, left, is injured while competing against Tareg Hamedi of Saudi Arabia. Introduction We are very pleased to host the following essay on Karate's appearance in the Tokyo Olympics by Prof. Stephen Chan. This is an important... Continue Reading →

Yim Wing Chun and Gender: the Stories of Ip Man and Yuen Woo Ping in a Comparative Perspective

Why Talk About Gender in the Chinese Martial Arts? In my years of teaching I have noticed that any discussion of “gender” will usually elicit great interest from a certain percentage of my students, while you can literally watch the... Continue Reading →

Ip Man and the Prostitute: Female Sexuality as a Weapon in Traditional Chinese Martial Culture

  Introduction: Masculinity as a Core Value in the Traditional Southern Martial Arts. One of the few facts that everyone seems to “know” about Wing Chun is that the art was created by a female.  Whether this is actually true... Continue Reading →

Lives of Chinese Martial Artists: Qiu Jin—the Last Sword-Maiden, Part I.

  ***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 →

History of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 5 – Peacetime Bushi and Urban Gangsters

  Introduction Welcome to week five of “History of East Asian Martial Arts.”  This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs’ undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell University.  This is a great opportunity for readers... Continue Reading →

Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (9): Woman Ding Number Seven: Founder of the Fujian Yongchun Boxing Tradition

Introduction: Gender and the History of the Chinese Martial Arts Women are a challenging subject in Chinese martial studies.  One the one hand traditions about female boxers, nuns, bandits and heroes abound in the folklore of the “Rivers and Lakes.” ... Continue Reading →

Research Notes: Judo’s Triple Transformation in The China Press (1932)

  Doing the Homework Students of Martial Arts Studies are the fortunate few.  As research areas go, ours is pretty interesting. Yet as I review the literature (even recent publications from big name academic presses), it is clear that many... Continue Reading →

Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (11): Mok Kwai Lan – The Mistress of Hung Gar.

  ***In honor of the recent celebration of Mother's Day.  Enjoy!***   Introduction This post is the third entry in our series examining the lives of female Chinese martial artists.  While it is the case that the vast majority of... Continue Reading →

Research Notes: No Girls Allowed

    Men fighting men to determine worth (i.e., masculinity) excludes women as completely as the female experience of childbirth excludes men….The female boxer violates this stereotype and cannot be taken seriously—she is parody, she is cartoon, she is monstrous.... Continue Reading →

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