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Kung Fu Tea

Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

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sword

Song Ring Pommel Straight Dao and the Birth of Modern Chinese Martial Culture

Song Dynasty Soldier with Dao Shi Jin and Chinese Martial Arts It is axiomatic among martial arts studies scholars to assert that the fighting systems that people practice today are not the ancient creations that so many modern students, in... Continue Reading →

Reconstructing the Tang Dao: Regionalism and Cultural Exchange

  Introduction Regionalism has been all the rage in certain academic circles for at least a decade, though no field demonstrates the potential and challenges of this approach more fully than martial arts studies. The central concept of this paradigm... Continue Reading →

How to get Stabbed with a Sword in China

  A Thought Experiment I suspect that anyone with even a passing interest in Chinese martial arts history has already compiled a mental list of the past masters and personalities that they would most like to visit on the off... Continue Reading →

Through a Lens Darkly (61): The Shifting Social and Economic Value of Traditional Chinese Weapons

    One of the most notable trends over the last decade has been the rapid appreciation of prices for antique Chinese weapons.  There is more variability in markets for antique objects than one might think.  Simply being rare was... Continue Reading →

A Social and Visual History of the Hudiedao (Butterfly Sword) in the Southern Chinese Martial Arts.

    *****An updated and revised edition of this article is now available.  Click here to read more.  Thanks!******   Hudiedao, wu dip do, bat cham do, shuang dao, double short broadswords, butterfly swords......These weapons are known by literally dozens... Continue Reading →

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