The Kukri in Three Symbolic Registers As regular readers will know, I have a keen interest in both the history of bladed weapons and vintage postcards. The kukri, a type of fighting knife from... Continue Reading →
Hsu-Ming Teo. 2011. “Popular History and the Chinese Martial Arts Biopic.” History Australia. Vol. 8 No. 1: 42-66. Introduction Technology is a double edged sword. Electronic databases and fancy search tools promise a near omniscient... 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 →
***This will be the concluding post in our brief series on the role of southern China's maritime environment on the development and spread of the traditional martial arts. Please see the end of this post for a complete list of... Continue Reading →
Introduction: Hong Kong, Regionalism and the Martial Arts It is hard to think of any state with such robust and diverse group of regional identities as China’s. Much of my research is focused on the development... Continue Reading →
Introduction: Zheng Manqing Accepts a Challenge While doing some preliminary historical research on Zheng Manqing, the well-known painter, physician and Taijiquan master, I came across a fascinating account of a challenge match that he was involved with during... Continue Reading →
Introduction No topic within the study of the modern martial arts is more burdened with nationalist myths and legends than military fencing. By the middle of the 20th century blades were supposed to have become obsolete on the battlefield. Yet... Continue Reading →
William Acevedo with translations by Mei Cheung. 2014. “Republic Period Guoshu Periodicals.” Classic Fighting Arts. Vol 2. No. 26 Issue 49. pp. 56-68. Introduction: The Traditional Chinese Martial Arts and the Printed Word Despite frequent assertions to the contrary,... Continue Reading →
Introduction Classification remains one of our central problems in the study and analysis of the traditional Chinese martial arts. When thinking about the origin and relationship of these fighting systems most efforts begin with an attempt to create groups of... Continue Reading →
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