Introduction: The Butterfly Swords and Southern Martial Arts Defend the Nation I recently ran across two photographs that I think students of the southern Chinese martial arts may find very enlightening. They speak to interesting tactical and cultural questions. On... Continue Reading →
***Is there any topic more beloved by modern students of Chinese martial arts history than the dadao? I can't think of one. Enjoy!*** Rediscovering the Dadao: A Forgotten Legacy of the Chinese Martial Arts. Any review of the history... Continue Reading →
The Significance of the Red Spears If one were to ask a group of history students what the most successful Chinese hand combat movement of the early 20thcentury was, my bet is that the conversation would turn into a... Continue Reading →
Chinese Officer and Soldier with Ring Hilted Sabers Today's post is an early Christmas gift. When I first decided that it would be wise (for research purposes) to collect and catalog images of period martial artists, I was... Continue Reading →
Introduction This is the second entry in our ongoing study of the Red Spear movement in northern China during the first half of the twentieth century. For a brief overview of the origins of this movement and... Continue Reading →
***One of the questions that I have been attempting to tackle in my more recent writing is the degree to which we should be thinking about the "traditional" Chinese martial arts as a quintessentially modern activity. From the perspective... Continue Reading →
Introduction The old adage states that a picture is worth a thousand words. After having reviewed hundreds of potential images for this series of posts, and writing over a dozen entries, I can now state with some certainty that this... Continue Reading →
Introduction It is dangerous to make sweeping statements about the development of the traditional Chinese martial arts during the early 20th century. This was an important period for the hand combat community. Between 1900 and 1949 the complex of behaviors... Continue Reading →
Introduction I recently came across a very interesting photograph. It was taken by the important (if under-appreciated) combat photographer Sha Fei sometime between 1938 and 1940. At that point in time he was documenting the progress of the 8th Route... Continue Reading →
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