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Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (8): Gu Ruzhang-Northern Shaolin Master and...
An image of a now famous postcard that Gu Ruzhang sent to his students. Most images of Gu appear to be taken from this mailing. Introduction Gu Ruzhang is one of the best known martial artists of the...
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Red Boats of the Cantonese Opera: Economics, Social Structure and Violence...
A watercolor on pith image of a river vessel of the same or a similar type which was eventually adopted for the “Red Boats.” Likely painted in Guangzhou during the mid 19th century. Source: Author’s...
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Disenchanting Jianghu (Rivers and Lakes): Historical Experience and the Kung...
Introduction I am happy to report that all of the conference papers and book chapters I have been working on for the last month are now finished. Unfortunately, my blogging sabbatical must continue...
View ArticleA Lost Kung Fu Manual and the Nature of “Chinese Boxing”
Introduction This is my keynote address from the recent (Nov. 9-10th, 2017) conference on fightbooks held at the German Blade Museum in Solingen. A full report on this event is coming soon, but I am...
View ArticleRebellion and the Chinese Martial Arts
Rebel Yell Its hard to deny that there is something a bit subversive about the martial arts. Or maybe that’s not quite right. Dutiful law enforcement officers and loyal soldiers spend as much time...
View ArticleQilin Dancing During the Lunar New Year and Southern Chinese Martial Arts
Introduction: What is a Qilin and why do they dance? Let me start off by wishing everyone a happy New Year! Since multiple holidays fall on the same weekend this year, I am current away from the...
View ArticleQuanzhou Taizuquan – An Encyclopedia of Southern Kung Fu Culture
Zhou Kun Min. 2017. Quanzhou Taizuquan: The Art of Fujian Emperor First Kung Fu. Tambuli Media. 241 pages. $32.95 USD. I recently hosted a round table discussion focused on the state of the martial...
View ArticleRegional Histories, Localization and the Chinese Martial Arts
Regulating Kung Fu in Canton The brave new world of electronic databases and digital humanities is certainly opening many doors to new and exciting types of research. Increasingly scholars can sit...
View ArticleLives of Chinese Martial Artists (11): Mok Kwai Lan – The Mistress of Hung Gar.
***In honor of the recent celebration of Mother's Day. Enjoy!*** Introduction This post is the third entry in our series examining the lives of female Chinese martial artists. While it is the...
View ArticleJingwu and the Creation of the “Kung Fu” Brand
Rethinking the Conventional Wisdom Our daily conversations are made up of innumerable facts drawn from what might be termed, “the conventional wisdom.” The contents of this warehouse of social...
View ArticleLabor Unions, the Growth of Kung Fu and the Survival of Wing Chun
National boxing is very popular in Fatshan city. It is reported that there are some eight national boxing schools which are directed by well-known national boxers. School fees are only from two to...
View ArticleMatthew Polly on Bruce Lee and The Art of Writing a Life
Matthew Polly. 2018. Bruce Lee: A Life. New York: Simon and Schuster. 656 pages. $35 USD. Introduction Matthew Polly is perhaps the best known and most popular author writing on the martial arts...
View Article1920: Jingwu Brings Kung Fu to Guangzhou’s Public Schools
It goes by many names. Organization, bureaucracy…”hard work”… It’s the sort of social effort that defines modern industrialized life. Weber famously termed it the “iron cage” of rationality. We so...
View ArticleThe Purpose of “Place” in Wing Chun and the Chinese Martial Arts
A Sense of Purpose I was taking notes when I heard one of the most interesting comments to come up in the session. “I am not just another person, I have a purpose.” I wasn’t part of this......
View ArticleRemembering Macau Wing Chun
“Echoes of Memories” It is the elusiveness of memory that captivates us. People tend to think of their memories as a personal hard drive, always running in the background, silently backing up...
View ArticleSpreading the Gospel of Kung Fu: Print Media and the Popularization of Wing...
Introduction: Wing Chun Enters its Esoteric Phase This is the third and final installment of our short series on the earliest printed publications to discuss Wing Chun in English. These books and...
View ArticleRethinking Wing Chun’s Opera Rebels
***After a quick return to the blog earlier this week, I have directed my attention back to my other ongoing project. The good news is that this manuscript chapter just a couple of days from...
View ArticleThrough a Lens Darkly (56): New York City’s Kung Fu and the Roaring 1920s
Introduction While I have a few connections in New York City’s TCMA community, it has always been my experience that one turns up different sorts of insights by getting out and exploring the...
View ArticleOf Pens and Swords: Jin Yong’s Journey
The Loss of Heroes The Chinese martial arts community has lost two giants. The death of Raymond Chow (who was instrumental in jumpstarting Bruce Lee’s martial arts films) and Louis Cha (who wrote...
View ArticleThe Modern Roots of ‘Ancient’ Martial Arts
I have just arrived back in Ithaca after spending Sunday driving rather than typing. Still, I have two items that I want to share. The first is a short interview I did with the Rochester Review after...
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