Southern China – Kung Fu Tea

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 the credit must go to the Jingwu Association... Continue Reading →

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 institutional limitations (rather than its... Continue Reading →

Introduction Friday morning posts are usually written the day before, and it just so happens that this week’s Thursday falls on Valentine’s Day. That complicates things for reasons that are both understandable and a few which are a little... Continue Reading →

Introduction I hope that everyone enjoyed their Lunar New Year. Its always a time of many public exhibitions and celebrations. They, in turn, generate an uptick in news coverage of local martial arts practices and well as Lion... Continue Reading →

***We have now come to the point in the semester that I call "deadline season." As such, we will be dipping into the archives over the next few weeks to give me some additional time to work on... Continue Reading →

Introduction This is the second half of our two part series on the life and writings of Alfred Lister. A civil servant in Hong Kong during the second half of the 19th century, Lister provided his readers with some... Continue Reading →

A Quick Note Last week I noted that I would be taking a short break from blogging to finish off a few projects (conference papers, book chapters and article drafts) with upcoming deadlines. I haven’t worked my way through... Continue Reading →

Introduction: The Weapons of Wing Chun From time to time I am asked why Wing Chun teaches only two weapons. For those unfamiliar with the system these are the long single-tailed fighting pole, favored by a number of southern Chinese... Continue Reading →

Introduction Understanding the actual history and use of hudiedao (or Butterfly Swords) reflects the challenges faced by students of martial studies more generally. These short paired swords, with their distinctive D-shaped hand guards, are one of the most commonly... Continue Reading →

Note: this article originally appeared as a guest post at "Wing Chun Geeks." Ng Chung So: Looking Beyond the “Three Heroes of Wing Chun” The origins of Wing Chun are shrouded in mystery. We seem to like it that way. ... Continue Reading →

Introduction Some apologies are in order. My professional writing and research has taken me away from the blog for longer than I intended. In the last month I finished an one article draft, wrote two conference papers and went... Continue Reading →

“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” Niels Bohr (among others). With Trepidation I would like to outline three quick points about the current situation in Hong Kong, particularly as it relates to (and sometimes sidesteps)... Continue Reading →

Introduction Its been a long hot month with lots of Chinese martial arts news. That means that now (before the start of the new semester) is the perfect time to get caught up on recent events! For new readers,... Continue Reading →

I was recently invited to contribute an article to a forthcoming volume on the history and development of Wing Chun. The catch was that it had to be less than five thousand words. I have literally written hundreds of... Continue Reading →

Given that many of the readers of Kung Fu Tea come to this blog to read about the history or development of traditional fighting systems, I am willing to bet that each and every one of us has complained... Continue Reading →

Introduction: Gender and the History of the Chinese Martial Arts Women are a challenging subject in Chinese martial studies. One the one hand traditions about female boxers, nuns, bandits and heroes abound in the folklore of the “Rivers and Lakes.” ... Continue Reading →

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 postures, exotic weapons, strangely vigorous old men. The... Continue Reading →

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 is the case with the following text and sword. Historians... Continue Reading →

On Legends and their Grains Not all legends contain a grain a truth. Such an assertion is wishful thinking and sells short the remarkable faculty that is the human imagination. Still, grains manifest frequently enough that they keep historians... Continue Reading →

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 works. We all stand on the shoulders of... Continue Reading →

Bringing Northern Styles South: A Brief History of the Liangguang Guoshu Institute

Local Resistance and Guoshu: The Foshan Zhong Yi Martial Arts Athletic Association

A Short List of Women Who Shaped the Southern Chinese Martial Arts

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: February 16th, 2019: All the World’s a Stage

Revisiting Alfred Lister: A Forgotten Observer of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts (Part I)

Revisiting Alfred Lister: The Noble Art of Self-Defense in China (Part II)

Through a Lens Darkly (59): John S. S. Leong and Southern Kung Fu in 1969.

Butterfly Swords and Long Poles: A Glimpse into Singapore’s 19th Century Martial Landscape

The 19th Century Hudiedao (Butterfly Sword) on Land and Sea

Ng Chung So – Looking Beyond the “Three Heroes of Wing Chun”

A Visual Study of a Set of Transitional Hudiedao

Three Thoughts on Hong Kong, Social Dislocation and the Fog of War

Chinese Martial Arts in the News: August 19, 2019: Hong Kong, Bruce Lee and New Books!

The History and Global Transmission of Wing Chun (In Less than Five Thousand Words)

Kung Fu Documentaries and Their Discontents

Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (9): Woman Ding Number Seven: Founder of the Fujian Yongchun Boxing Tradition

Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (23): Fu Zhen Song – Southbound Tiger

The Maiden of Yue and the Magnificent Chu

Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (24): Wen Shengcai, Wing Chun’s Assassin

Earliest Published Photograph and References to Wing Chun