Search

Kung Fu Tea

Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

Tag

Kung Fu

Recovering Alfred Lister: A Forgotten Observer of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts (Part I)

    ***While never discussed within the Chinese martial studies literature, Alfred Lister may have been the single most important western observer of the Chinese martial arts in the second half of the 19th century.  Over a period of four... Continue Reading →

Pilgrimage, Legitimacy and the Shape of the Global Martial Arts Community

    Introduction   I recently stumbled across a 1930s English language newspaper, printed by some office within the Japanese government, designed to promote American tourism.  Leafing through its pages I discovered a glowing article about recent events at the... Continue Reading →

Defining Wing Chun by What is “Missing”

      An all too Common Conversation     Last week my Sifu and I were discussing the public conversation that surrounds Wing Chun.   “So this guy was trying to tell me that we have no head movement... Continue Reading →

Taoism in Bits

"Taoism in Bits." A guest post by Paul Bowman [1] ***Xīnnián hǎo.  We are fortunate to have a special guest post this week in honor of the Chinese New Year.  This essay, by Prof. Paul Bowman, will help us to... Continue Reading →

Research Notes: An Account of Kung Fu in Hong Kong’s Theaters during the 1860s.

    Introduction   I would like to preface the following research note by dedicating it to any of my readers who enjoy a good Kung Fu comedy.  If you are a fan of Jackie Chan’s work, or maybe Kung... Continue Reading →

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: January 23rd 2017: Global Shaolin, MMA and the Endangered Southern Mantis

  Welcome to “Chinese Martial Arts in the News.”  This is a semi-regular feature here at Kung Fu Tea in which we review media stories that mention or affect the traditional fighting arts.  In addition to discussing important events, this... Continue Reading →

Doing Research (9): The Perils and Pitfalls of Performance Ethnography in the Martial Arts

    Introduction We are fortunate to be able to share the following guest post as part of our ongoing series on fieldwork in martial arts studies.  This essay, by D. S. Farrer, outlines a number of issues and pitfalls... Continue Reading →

Through a Lens Darkly (42): Chinese Martial Arts in the University, 1928

      Introduction   At the end of the last class at the “Central Martial Arts Academy” (the location where I am conducing my current research on lightsaber combat and the “hyper-real martial arts”) we all gathered for an... Continue Reading →

Chinese and European Fight Books: The Value of a Comparative Approach

    Introduction   The Acta Periodica Duellatorum, an academic journal dedicated to the study of the Western martial arts (edited by Daniel Jaquet), has just released it latest issue.  At least two of these articles will be of interest... Continue Reading →

Up ↑