Ip Man and the Roots of Wing Chun’s “Multiple Attacker” Principle, Part 2
Introduction and Review This is the second part of an extended article on Ip Man's career in law enforcement, and the subsequent emphasis on "ambush" and "multiple attacker" scenarios that later...
View ArticleForgetting about the Gun: Firearms and the Development of the Southern...
***Its my birthday! To celebrate we are taking a second look at an early photograph with one of my favorite pictures of a Japanese samurai. And essay that comes with it is decent as well. Enjoy!***...
View ArticleA Brief History of Nostalgia and the Future of the Martial Arts
That Special Time of Year It must be that time of year again. December is the season in which Disney unleashes a new Star Wars movie on an eager public, complete with a weaponized marketing...
View ArticleIp Man and the Prostitute: Female Sexuality as a Weapon in Traditional...
Introduction: Masculinity as a Core Value in the Traditional Southern Martial Arts. One of the few facts that everyone seems to “know” about Wing Chun is that the art was created by a female....
View ArticleYim Wing Chun and Gender: the Stories of Ip Man and Yuen Woo Ping in a...
Why Talk About Gender in the Chinese Martial Arts? In my years of teaching I have noticed that any discussion of “gender” will usually elicit great interest from a certain percentage of my students,...
View ArticleAn Updated and Revised Social History of the Hudiedao (Butterfly Swords)
In January of 2013 I posted an essay titled "A Social and Visual History of the Hudiedao (Butterfly Sword) in the Southern Chinese Martial Arts." As a student of Wing Chun I have always been...
View ArticleBruce Lee, Globalization and the Case of Wing Chun: Why do Some Chinese...
Introduction: Wing Chun and the Haters You do not have to be involved with the Chinese martial arts for very long to discover that Wing Chun has the potential to be a highly polarizing topic of...
View ArticleLives of Chinese Martial Artists (6): Ng Chung So – Looking Beyond the “Three...
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...
View ArticleThe Wing Chun Jo Fen: Norms and the Creation of a Southern Chinese Martial...
***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 much of my weekend. As such our post for this Monday...
View Article“Fighting Styles” or “Martial Brands”? An economic approach to understanding...
***Today's post continues our discussion of economic markets and modernity in the Chinese martial arts. This essay, first posted in May of 2013, was one of my first attempts at hashing out these...
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