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Black Karate in the Chicago Ghetto, Localizing an Art
Matilda Haywood on the cover of Jet magazine. She seems to have led many of the classes at Meek’s Dravidian karate and self-defense school. Introduction Like so many others, I currently find it...
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Chinese Martial Arts in the News: July 13, 2020: The Summer Martial Arts...
Introduction Welcome to Chinese Martial Arts in the news! For new readers, this is a semi-regular feature here at Kung Fu Tea in which we review media stories that mention the traditional fighting...
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Guest Post: The Meaning and Origin of Taolu in Chinese Martial Arts
A faded image of a martial arts performance at a marketplace in Shanghai. Note the double dao and spear. Source: Huan Fei Hung Museum. Introduction Like many of you, I am currently recovering from...
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2020 MAS Conference: Martial Arts vs. Martialité
Shūkongōjin, painted clay, 733; in the Hekkedō (Sangatsudō), Tōdai Temple, Nara, Japan. Height 1.739 metres.Sakamoto Photo Laboratory, Tokyo Introduction This week saw the successful completion of the...
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Recreating the Han Dao and Battles on Bridges
The Emergence of the Dao “The Chinese martial arts that we practice today tend to be a recent phenomenon.” This is something that I have said on this blog many times, but what does it actually mean?...
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“Jesus Didn’t Tap”: Sixt Wetzler and the Connection of Religion and Martial Arts
I fundamentally dislike to the term “myth busting.” It reminds me of an American television program that gained great popularity by deconstructing urban legends and popular wisdom through the...
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Research Note: China’s Red Spears
The Significance of the Red Spears If one were to ask a group of history students what the most successful Chinese hand combat movement of the early 20thcentury was, my bet is that the conversation...
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Martial Arts and World Peace
Peace Park in Salt Lake City, UT. Source: Photo by Benjamin Judkins. Never let it be said that I was afraid to go big in a title. But in all seriousness, we need to talk about the international global...
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Through a Lens Darkly (65): Filipino Knifes, Imperialism and the Asian...
Vintage Postcard. Source: Author’s Collection It sometimes seems as though I am only Wing Chun aficionado who doesn’t have a sideline in the Filipino martial arts. On a cultural level we can thank...
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The Maiden of Yue and the Magnificent Chu
LK Chen’s Magnificent Chu Jian. Source: LKChenswords.com Rediscovering a Lost Sword Culture A single puzzle piece is useless on its own. Sometimes it takes one mystery to illuminate another. Such...
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Chinese Martial Arts in the News: August 19, 2019: Kung Fu and Summer Fun
Introduction There is so much heavy stuff going on in the world today. Sadly, it doesn’t look like things will be letting up soon, and they may even get worse as we head into the fall semester. So...
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Top Five Changes in Martial Arts: 2020 Edition
Introduction I was scrolling through Facebook the other day and came across a “Top Five” list…of other “Top Five” lists. It was a wonderfully meta idea and it made me realize how long it had been...
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Research Note: General Ma Liang’s ‘New Wushu’ Comes to America (1924)
“Russo/Chinese War Scenes.” Chinese soldiers drill with Pudao. Vintage Newsreel. 1929. Introduction I am always on the look out for vintage newspaper accounts of Chinese martial arts for my database....
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In Pursuit of Double Dragons: A Sui Dynasty Dao
A closeup of the hilt of the Mackay Sui Dao from the collections of the Met. Note that the hilt of this sword is not actually broken, its image was manipulated for this photo. The Archeology of...
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Epistemic Viciousness: Taking Martial Arts Seriously
Red Pyramid by Stanislov and Jaroslava (1993). Corning Museum of Glass. Martial Arts Studies blogging is a hard habit to break. No sooner had I resolved to step away from more academic questions and...
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Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (24): Wen Shengcai, Wing Chun’s Assassin
A Cantonese Opera performance in San Francisco, circa 1900. On Legends and their Grains Not all legends contain a grain a truth. Such an assertion is wishful thinking and sells short the remarkable...
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Through a Lens Darkly (66): The Dramatic Aspect of Chinese Martial Arts
Introduction We must thank Joseph Svinth for this post. He came across the following photo essay during his research and was kind enough to share it with me. It was clear that this needed to be...
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Earliest Published Photograph and References to Wing Chun
The Problem with Being “First” I am distrustful of attempts to locate the “first” instance of anything popular or famous. Generally speaking, these quests misunderstand the way that the social world...
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Knight Errantry and the Soaring Sky
The Soaring Sky. Source: LKChenswords.com. For ten years I have been polishing this sword; Its frosty edge has never been put to the test. Now I am holding it and showing it to you, sir: Is there...
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Research Note: A Challenge Match in Hong Kong, 1890
Vintage Postcard (undivided back) dating to the late Qing dynasty. Source: Author’s personal collection. Today’s post comes courtesy of Joseph Svinth who shared an intriguing, if brief, find with me...
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