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Kung Fu Tea

Martial Arts History, Wing Chun and Chinese Martial Studies.

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Wing Chun Origins

“Fighting Styles” or “Martial Brands”? An economic approach to understanding “lost lineages” in the Chinese Martial Arts.

  ***Today's post continues our discussion of economic markets and modernity in the Chinese martial arts.  This essay, first posted in May of 2013, was one of my first attempts at hashing out these questions as they related to advertising... Continue Reading →

Bruce Lee, Globalization and the Case of Wing Chun: Why do Some Chinese Martial Arts Grow?

Introduction: Wing Chun and the Haters You do not have to be involved with the Chinese martial arts for very long to discover that Wing Chun has the potential to be a highly polarizing topic of conversation.  Those within in... Continue Reading →

An Updated and Revised Social History of the Hudiedao (Butterfly Swords)

  In January of 2013 I posted an essay titled "A Social and Visual History of the Hudiedao (Butterfly Sword) in the Southern Chinese Martial Arts." As a student of Wing Chun I have always been fascinated by these weapons, and... Continue Reading →

Yim Wing Chun and Gender: the Stories of Ip Man and Yuen Woo Ping in a Comparative Perspective

Why Talk About Gender in the Chinese Martial Arts? In my years of teaching I have noticed that any discussion of “gender” will usually elicit great interest from a certain percentage of my students, while you can literally watch the... Continue Reading →

Ip Man and the Prostitute: Female Sexuality as a Weapon in Traditional Chinese Martial Culture

  Introduction: Masculinity as a Core Value in the Traditional Southern Martial Arts. One of the few facts that everyone seems to “know” about Wing Chun is that the art was created by a female.  Whether this is actually true... Continue Reading →

Forgetting about the Gun: Firearms and the Development of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts

***Its my birthday!  To celebrate we are taking a second look at an early photograph with one of my favorite pictures of a Japanese samurai.  And essay that comes with it is decent as well.  Enjoy!***   Giving Up the... Continue Reading →

Ip Man and the Roots of Wing Chun’s “Multiple Attacker” Principle, Part 2

Introduction and Review This is the second part of an extended article on Ip Man's career in law enforcement, and the subsequent emphasis on "ambush" and "multiple attacker" scenarios that later developed in his lineage of Wing Chun.  See here... Continue Reading →

Ip Man and the Roots of Wing Chun’s “Multiple Attacker” Principle, Part 1

Law Enforcement and the Martial Arts in Republican China The intersection between law enforcement and the development of the modern Chinese martial arts is a fascinating topic that deserves a lot more attention than it normally gets.  In many ways... Continue Reading →

Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (3): Chan Wah Shun and the Creation of Wing Chun

Chan Wah Shun and his Place in the Modern Wing Chun Community One of the biggest problems in researching the history of the martial arts is the martial artists themselves.  They love their styles (or the businesses that they support)... Continue Reading →

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