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The Wing Chun Jo Fen: Norms and the Creation of a Southern Chinese Martial...
Twin Chinese Pagodas in Singapore. Source: Wikimedia. ***I am happy to report that I am making good progress on my current writing project. But it is still an ongoing task, and one that consumed...
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“Fighting Styles” or “Martial Brands”? An economic approach to understanding...
Branding is how you stand out in a crowded marketplace. ***Today’s post continues our discussion of economic markets and modernity in the Chinese martial arts. This essay, first posted in May of...
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Through a Lens Darkly (8): Butterfly Swords, Dadaos and the Local Militias of...
A studio image of two Chinese soldiers (local braves) produced probably in Hong Kong during the 1850s. Note the hudiedao (butterfly swords) carried by both individuals. The individual on the right...
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Song Ring Pommel Straight Dao and the Birth of Modern Chinese Martial Culture
Song Dynasty Soldier with Dao Shi Jin and Chinese Martial Arts It is axiomatic among martial arts studies scholars to assert that the fighting systems that people practice today are not the ancient...
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Read it Now: Martial Arts Studies, Issue 11!
We are happy to announce that the Summer 2021 issue of the interdisciplinary journal Martial Arts Studies has been released and is now available for free download. Click here to see a complete list...
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Hong Kong Martial Artists – A Review
Hong Kong Martial Artists, 2021, by Daniel Amos (Rowman&Littlefield). Daniel Miles Amos. 2021. Hong Kong Martial Artists: Sociocultural Change from World War II to 2020. Rowman & Littlefield....
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A Conversation With Daniel Amos on Ethnography and Hong Kong’s Martial Arts
John S. S. Long training with his teacher, Wong Lei, in Hong Kong, 1960. Source: http://www.seattlekungfuclub.com/ Introduction Regular readers of this blog with be no strangers to work of Daniel...
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Call For Papers: Martial Arts, Tradition and Globalisation
Photo from the Cornell Wushu Club. What are you most looking forward to as international travel normalizes? If you are anything like me it is a return to in-person Martial Arts Studies conferences!...
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The Woyao Dao and Regionalism in History and Martial Studies
LK Chen’s Woyao Dao. Source: LKChensword.com Introduction A package containing two of LK Chen’s fine historical reproductions recently arrived at my door. So, of course, I find myself thinking about...
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A Life in Stone: Images of Weapons During the Han Dynasty
Silent Riddles Our discussion of the origins of modern martial arts is always haunted by twin specters. The first is the claim of great, almost unimageable, antiquity. The second is arguments from...
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Berlin 1936: Chinese Martial Arts on a Global Stage
Ju Ming Tai Chi sculpture in Jinshan, Taipei. Source: by Allen Timothy Chang at Wikimedia. Introduction The Olympics are once again being hosted by China and the eyes of the world are on Beijing....
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Through a Lens Darkly (67): Winter Training in Japanese Martial Arts
Group 1. Yonezawa Industrial School’s Midwinter Training General Meeting. Winter Training In the “before times” some readers will remember that I ran a lightsaber combat club in Ithaca. To say that it...
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Towards a Political Hoplology: Violence and the Construction of Identity in...
Andrea Molle. 2021. Krav Maga and the Making of Modern Israel: For Zion’s Sake. Rowman & Littlefield. 2022. $105 Hardcover, $38 Kindle. “There is also another function of violence, and it is to...
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Chinese Weapons and the Western Gaze
A Collection of Chinese Arms, Published in 1905, posted by Peter Dekker. Spring Cleaning I sat down this morning to work on a project looking at sword aficionados in China, their customers in the...
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Up Next – 50 Years After Bruce Lee
I know that everyone is looking forward to the upcoming Martial Arts Studies conference in Switzerland this summer, but it never too soon to start thinking about that next paper, chapter or plane...
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Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Lightsaber: Fetishism and Material Culture in...
The JQ Pilgrim with black grips. Source: jqsabers.com “The lightsaber has become an important touchstone, both within the films and within our culture…They serve as a source of identification and...
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THE POLITICS OF AN OLYMPIC MEDAL
Sajad Ganjzadeh of Iran, left, is injured while competing against Tareg Hamedi of Saudi Arabia. Introduction We are very pleased to host the following essay on Karate’s appearance in the Tokyo...
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Bringing the Hooked Buckler to Life: Two Views of the Gou-Rang
Mysteries In a post reviewing the portrayal of weaponry in Han Dynasty mortuary art I confessed that I really, really, want to assemble a recreation of the sorts of long, horizontal, weapons racks...
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Where Martial Arts and Religion Meet: A Special Issue from Martial Arts Studies
The “Three Prayers to Buddha” section seen in the Wing Chun set Sui Lim Tao. While many modern interpretations of this art coming out of the Ip Man lineage are essentially secular in nature, the...
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50 Years After Bruce Lee: Asian Martial Arts On-Screen and Off
Call for Papers for our 8th Annual Conference! 50 Years After Bruce Lee: Asian Martial Arts On-Screen and Off 19-21 July 2023, University of Sheffield (UK) On the 50th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s...
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