Clik here to view.
Bodhidharma: Historical Fiction, Hyper-Real Religion and Shaolin Kung Fu
A now iconic image of Bodhidharma as imagined by the Japanese Woodblock Artist Yoshitoshi, 1887. Source: Wikimedia. ***For the Friday post we will be revisiting a classic (and very popular) article...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chinese Martial Arts in the News: March 14th 2016: Ip Man, Wing Chun and...
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....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is Lightsaber Combat a Martial Art? (Episode I)
A meeting of the Golden Gates Knights. Instructor Alain Block (right) leads a class. Source: Associated press, image by Jeff Chiu. ***This is the first half of two part article. However, readers may...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Five Social Dimensions of Lightsaber Combat as a Martial Art (Episode II)
***This is the second half of our exploration of lightsaber combat as a martial art. Reader who have not yet read Part I are strongly encouraged to do so before going on. In the last essay we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Doing Research (5): Lies I Have Told About Martial Artists
Breaking ceramic action figure by Martin Klimas. Source: http://www.whudat.de/exploding-porcelain-action-figures-by-martin-klimas-7-pictures/ Introduction Welcome to the fifth entry in our series...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (16): Yu Chenghui – Realizing Swordsmanship...
Yu Chenghui with one of his painting. While a martial artists he was also an accomplished poet and calligrapher. Source: chinadaily.com.cn Introduction: The Shadow of History None of the short,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“What’s your style?”– Bringing the Training Hall to the Lecture Hall
Sumatran Tiger. By Nichollas Harrison – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Introduction: “What’s your style?” A couple of months ago a conversion emerged between a few of my colleagues...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chinese Martial Arts in the News: April 4th, 2016: Taijiquan, Shaolin and New...
Gerda Geddes and Sophia Delza. Source: Fightland/Charles Russo Introduction Welcome to “Chinese Martial Arts in the News.” This is a semi-regular feature here at Kung Fu Tea in which we review...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Conference Report: Kung Fury – Contemporary Debates in Martial Arts Cinema
Introduction A few months ago I decided to make a more concerted effort to report on academic conferences and seminars happening within the field of martial arts studies. My hope is to promote...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thinking About Failure in the Martial Arts
The Meaning of a Bruised Elbow I have been working on a couple of projects that have taken me away from blogging in recent days. These are the sorts of commitments that should bear fruit for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It is a bad idea to fall in love in a Kung Fu story. Honestly.
A classic postcard, circa 1920s. Kung Fu and the Marriage Market Love and Kung Fu simply do not mix. At least that is the strongly implied message to be found on the pages (and silver screens) of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Research Notes: The Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts as Seen on Western...
“Chinese Reoccupy Great Wall Area.” 1933. Still taken from Vintage Newsreel. “In the west, Asian martial arts are everywhere. They are part of the texture of popular consciousness. Nonetheless I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Star Wars: An American Martial Arts Film Franchise?
The Seven Form of Lightsaber Combat “When there is a fake—hippopotamus, dinosaur, sea serpent—it is not so much because it would not be possible to have the real equivalent, but because the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chinese Martial Arts in the News: April 25th, 2016: Tourism, Weapons Based...
Source: http://tribune.com.pk 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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Martial Arts History, Without Chronology
An astronomical clock in Prague. Photo by Andrew Shiva. Source: wikimedia. Your mission, should choose to accept it… Recently I have been invited to contribute chapters to a number of upcoming...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Creation of Wing Chun – Now in Paperback!
The Creation of Wing Chun by Judkins and Nielson. I recently received a letter from SUNY Press letting me know that The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Doing Research (6): Working the Beat – One Journalist’s Efforts at Perfecting...
A young TY Wong, right, at the 1928 Central Goushu Institute’s national martial arts demonstration in Nanjing, China. Source: From the Collection of Charles Russo. Introduction Welcome to the sixth...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Professor and His Students: Taijiquan’s Complicated Journey to the West
Zheng Manqing, with sword, possibly on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The Professor: Tai Chi’s Journey West. First Run Films. 2016. Directed by Barry Strugatz. 72 minutes....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who “Owns” Kung Fu? Intangible Cultural Heritage, Globalization and the...
The Pagoda Forest at the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province. Source: cnn.com “Inoue said the Japanese style of judo traditionally focused more on quantity rather than quality, trying to instill a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chinese Martial Arts in the News: May 17th, 2016: Kung Fu Art, Brawling and...
25-year-old master Zhong Siyuan practices martial art at the Yuhuang Temple in Luzhou city, southwest China’s Sichuan province. Source: china.com.cn Introduction Welcome to “Chinese Martial Arts in the...
View Article