Introduction My ongoing research on the public diplomacy of the Chinese martial arts has taken a decisive turn. The Second World War is one of those historical calamities that defines an era, and I now find myself venturing... Continue Reading →
Denis Gainty. 2013. Martial Arts and the Body Politic in Meiji Japan. London and New York: Routledge. 208 pages. $55 USD. Reviewed by Benjamin N. Judkins. The passing of Denis Gainty in 2017 robbed the martial arts studies... Continue Reading →
Paul Bowman and I are happy to announce that the sixth issue of Martial Arts Studies (an imprint of Cardiff University Press) has been published and is now available. This interdisciplinary academic journal is free to read or download by any individual... Continue Reading →
A History of Desire When thinking about the diffusion of the Asian fighting arts to the West, we must distinguish between the history of the martial arts as they were practiced, and their evolution as symbols within... Continue Reading →
Of Boy Scouts and Kendo A recent post focused on the role of the global scouting movement in promoting the spread of the Asian martial arts during the first half of the 20th century. In that essay I mentioned... Continue Reading →
***On November 19th at 4 pm I will be taking part in a live-chat (broadcast on YouTube) on ethnographic research in the martial arts and lightsaber combat. This is exciting as a number of very interesting people will be joining... Continue Reading →
The Nation and the Sword Seki Juroji may be one of the most important pioneers of the traditional Asian martial arts who no one has ever heard of. Gainty (2013) notes that Seki was a successful farmer and swordsmanship... Continue Reading →
Introduction Occasionally life takes a turn and one’s personal martial arts training gets moved to the back burner. The last couple of weeks have been like that as my wife and I have been engulfed in a... Continue Reading →
Introduction Today’s post is the result of a happy coincidence. As regular readers will be aware, I occasionally collect and share vintage images of the Chinese martial arts. Many of these come from the sorts of ephemera... Continue Reading →
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