Becoming Ip Man, in all the Wrong Ways On a Saturday morning in 2011 I found myself running an “open session” for my Sifu’s Wing Chun school. The weekday classes were always structured affairs in which learners worked... Continue Reading →
Introduction 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... Continue Reading →
Wushu Comes to America Today’s post has two goals. The more important of these is an announcement. But first I hope to draw you into a discussion on my next book project. With the daily... Continue Reading →
By George Jennings (Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK) and Anu Vaittinen (Newcastle University, UK) Reference to conference presentation: Jennings, G. & Vaittinen, A. (2016). Mediated transformation: Interconnections between embodied training and multimedia resources in Wing Chun.... Continue Reading →
Introduction: A Secret Book We have all seen the movie. We have all had this dream. A mysterious Kung Fu manual, purporting to relate the secrets of past masters, falls into your possession. What will you find... Continue Reading →
By Charles Russo, author of Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America (University of Nebraska Press, 2016). So it Begins At some point in late 1961, James Lee stormed out of the... Continue Reading →
Introduction Some of the most popular posts at Kung Fu Tea have examined vintage images of traditional martial artists. These are also among my favorites to research. Yet it seems that I have neglected this subject with all of... Continue Reading →
Introduction In a recent post we explored the life and career of Xiang Kairan (1890-1957), a seminal figure in the creation of the modern, media driven image, of the traditional Chinese martial arts. Born to a wealthy... Continue Reading →
Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (18): Xiang Kairan – Imagining the Traditional Chinese Martial Arts
“When the Nanjing Martial Arts Institute was opened, I was in Hankou [in eastern Hubei], where I noticed in a newspaper that they were dividing their curriculum into two schools – Wudang and Shaolin – and appointing specialists for... Continue Reading →
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