Seeking Identity with a T-Shirt: Uniforms in the Martial Arts
The Varieties of Uniformity My Monday evening study-group just passes a milestone. Somehow it never even occurred to me that this was on the horizon, though I was the one who (inadvertently) set...
View ArticleSalvaging History and Saving the Martial Arts
This weekend has been a blur of activity. Friday evening was consumed by the first “open mat” sparring night at the Central Lightsaber Academy (which was a blast), Saturday was devoted to a day-long...
View ArticleWho “Killed” Kung Fu: Habermas and the Legitimization Crisis within...
Zombies The air is distinctly crisp, the end of October is upon us, and Halloween rapidly approaches. Clearly, it is time to talk about zombies. We seem to go through periods of collective...
View ArticleChinese Martial Arts in the News: Oct. 22 2018: Archery, Kung Fu Villages and...
Introduction It has been a busy weekend, so this news update will be brief. Nevertheless, I wanted to comment on some of the more interesting stories that have been floating around. For new...
View ArticleMartial Classics: The Complete Fist Cannon in Verse
Translator’s Note Here is the full translation of the Qi Jiguang’s Fist Method as it appears in the Wubei Zhi, offered as a follow-up to my initial discussion of the challenges of translating this...
View ArticleThrough a Lens Darkly (56): New York City’s Kung Fu and the Roaring 1920s
Introduction While I have a few connections in New York City’s TCMA community, it has always been my experience that one turns up different sorts of insights by getting out and exploring the...
View ArticleOf Pens and Swords: Jin Yong’s Journey
The Loss of Heroes The Chinese martial arts community has lost two giants. The death of Rey Chow (who was instrumental in jumpstarting Bruce Lee’s martial arts films) and Louis Cha (who wrote...
View ArticlePerformance Ethnography and the Martial Arts Studies Reader
As the indomitable Professor Farnsworth would say, good news everyone! The long anticipated Martial Arts Studies Reader (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018) is now shipping. Weighing in at 244 pages,...
View ArticleThe Last Shall be First: Finding Meaning in the Martial Arts
Barnum’s Daughter I was recently watching the news when I saw a brief segment on “the last” Japanese swordsmith. The whole things is a little overwrought as there are lots of individuals making...
View ArticleSwords, Visuality and the Construction of China
Deciphering an Icon Recently I came across a few of Harrison Forman’s wartime photos, probably taken in the early 1930s, but circulated to newspapers and (re)published in 1938. While his photos of...
View ArticleResearch Notes: Judo’s Triple Transformation in The China Press (1932)
Doing the Homework Students of Martial Arts Studies are the fortunate few. As research areas go, ours is pretty interesting. Yet as I review the literature (even recent publications from big name...
View ArticleBruce Lee: Memory, Philosophy and the Tao of Gung Fu
***I am off visiting family over the holiday weekend, so we are headed back to the archives. Since our (American) readers have just celebrated Thanksgiving, I though it would be appropriate to...
View ArticleThe Modern Roots of ‘Ancient’ Martial Arts
I have just arrived back in Ithaca after spending Sunday driving rather than typing. Still, I have two items that I want to share. The first is a short interview I did with the Rochester Review after...
View ArticleWabi-Sabi: Martial Arts in a Warming World
Martial Arts and Politics: The Big Picture The latest (dire) global warming report produced by US government scientists is inspiring conversations everywhere. I overheard a particularly...
View ArticleVarieties of “Tradition”: Work, Play and Leisure in Martial Arts
A Different Kind of Race Horse races are strongholds of pageantry and tradition, but when it comes to medieval texture, few can compare with the Palio di Siena. Oddly, any footage of the event...
View ArticleChinese Martial Arts in the News: Dec 10, 2018: Young Masters, Colorful...
Introduction Its official, holiday madness is upon us. Still, I wanted to comment on some of the more interesting stories that have been floating around. For new readers, this is a semi-regular...
View ArticleBringing Northern Styles South: A Brief History of the Lianguang Guoshu...
Transforming Southern Martial Culture How did Taijiquan, now ubiquitous, establish itself in Southern China? What about the other northern Shaolin systems? I would think that the lion’s share of...
View ArticleLocal Resistance and Guoshu: The Foshan Zhong Yi Martial Arts Athletic...
Guoshu in the Pearl River Delta In a recent post I attempted to move away from the triumphalist rhetoric that accompanies many popular discussions of the Guoshu movement and ask how its...
View ArticleSeasons Greetings!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of Kung Fu Tea’s readers! Thanks so much for your support and feedback over the last seven years. I think that Santa left me one or two martial arts...
View ArticleEvents and Trends that Shaped the Chinese Martial Arts in 2018
This is the time of year when it is only natural to pause and reflect on where we have been and what may be coming next. 2018 has been a busy year in the Chinese martial arts. Progress has......
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