History of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 4 – Rebels and the Chinese Martial Arts
Introduction Welcome to week four of "History of East Asian Martial Arts." This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs' undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell...
View ArticleChinese Martial Arts in the News: Feb 16, 2020 – Kung Fu in a time of...
It has been way too long since our last news update so now is the perfect time to get caught up on recent events! For new readers, this is a semi-regular feature here at Kung Fu Tea in which we...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 5 – Peacetime Bushi and Urban Gangsters
Introduction Welcome to week five of “History of East Asian Martial Arts.” This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs’ undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell...
View ArticleLK Chen and the Rebirth of the Han Jian
Introduction Over the last year many Chinese martial arts students in the West have become aware of the replica Han dynasty weapons currently being produced by LK Chen in Guangdong. These...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 6 – China and the Qing Era Martial...
Introduction Welcome to week six of “History of East Asian Martial Arts.” This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs’ undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell...
View ArticleEvaluating Swords: A Lost Martial Text from the Han Dynasty
Introduction No modern civilization enjoys a longer and richer history than China. Yet accessing it can be a challenge for scholars. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the study of martial arts....
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 7 – Buddhism and Martial Arts
Introduction I have noticed a persistent tendency by some to strive to maintain an artificial barrier between the physicality of martial arts practice one the one hand, and the myriad ways it is...
View ArticleMartial Arts Studies – Issue 9 Release
Introduction At a time when practically everything has been "paused," Paul Bowman and I are thrilled to announce that the ninth issue of Martial Arts Studies has just been published on the Cardiff...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 8 – Lineage, Transmission and...
A Quick COVID-19 Note First off, apologies are in order. My blogging has been irregular and we have gotten behind with our weekly updates on the "History of East Asian Martial Arts" class being...
View ArticleGuest Post: Covid-19 Confessions and Martial Arts Studies
Introduction What follows is the first in a series of guest posts wrestling with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its impact on martial arts, martial artists and Martial Arts Studies. Given the...
View ArticleGiving Boredom a Chance: A View from New York
Introduction This is the second essay in our short series examining the ways that the current health crisis has impacted those of us who sit at the intersection of martial arts practice,...
View ArticleHistory of East Asian Martial Arts: Week 10 – Modernization of Chinese...
Introduction Welcome to week ten of “History of East Asian Martial Arts.” This series follows the readings being used in Prof. TJ Hinrichs’ undergraduate course of the same name at Cornell...
View ArticleCOVID-19 and A Little Change of Plans
"A Little Change of Plans" by Prof. Thomas Green In the beginning… As the news began to arrive about what was eventually labeled Covid-19, I was enjoying my first week of retirement from university...
View ArticleTechnique and Belief in Martial Arts Studies
Answering their Questions COVID-19 has badly disrupted our world. Both jobs and lives have been lost. Professional commitments have been put on hold and training schedules transformed. Yet the...
View ArticleThriving in Pandemictown and Its Guilt
Introduction Welcome to the seventh guest post (by Adam Frank) in our ongoing series examining the ways that the current health crisis has impacted those of us who sit at the intersection of...
View ArticleChinese Martial Arts in the News: May 22, 2020 – Epidemic, Closure and The...
Introduction It has been way too long since our last news update. We are fortunate to have had such a rich series of guest posts exploring the ways that COVID-19 has impacted both our personal...
View ArticleHow 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...
View ArticleInvest in Loss: Hope for Traditional Martial Arts
It was the best of times…. I like going to the gym. My reasons are not overly complicated. Nice treadmills are surprisingly expensive and running outside in the dead of winter (or the dog days of...
View ArticleLives of Chinese Martial Artists (23): Fu Zhen Song – Southbound Tiger
History as the cure for Ideology Everyone has a personal mental image of the Chinese martial arts. The detail may vary, but there are some undeniably common elements. Grainy photos, complex...
View ArticleThrough a Lens Darkly (64): Military Exercise Among the Chinese
Photography vs Illustration There was just some discussion on the Kung Fu Tea Facebook page of a 19th century illustration generously shared by Scott M. Rodell. The scene showed half a dozen soldiers...
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