First Taolu World Cup

The first Taolu World Cup was held by International Wushu Federation and attracted more than 200 top Wushu athletes from over 22 countries.  These athletes were “The top 8 placed athletes from the 13^th World Wushu Championships,” which made this a very elite competition. There were 22 individual competitions, including Man’s Taiji Quan, Women’s Jian Shu and so on.

Fuzhou, China, 18^th to 20^th November 2016

 

 

3^RD National Wushu Taiji Quan cup

The 3^RD National Wushu Taiji Quan cup took place after two speculated competitions were held in Qionghai and Ding’an in 2014 and 2015. Many famous Chinese Kung Fu stars such as Jet Li and Ji Chunhua were invited and attended the event. According to Huailiang Liu, who is the president of Hainan Wushu Association, the purpose of this competition was “to emphasize Chinese traditional martial art and grow the influence of Taiji… Also, the core value of Taiji is ‘harmony’ and this event can express our wish of building a harmonious society.”

Hainan, China from December 1^st to 3^rd 2016

 

 

The…

Introduction

Occasionally life takes a turn and one’s personal martial arts training gets moved to the back burner.  The last couple of weeks have been like that as my wife and I have been engulfed in a seemingly unending move.  It certainly could have been worse as on paper it was a just a short hop up the road to a new apartment complex.  Still, one should never underestimate the utter devastation that is unleashed by a stack of cardboard boxes and a U-Haul van.

At times like this I find myself envying Buddhist monks and other individuals who have walked away from the concept of material possessions.  My weakness, unsurprisingly, is books.  And it seems that a very large percentage of these books feature images of martial artists on their covers.

Unfortunately, all of those books are still sitting in neatly labeled, identical, 12 inch by 12 inch moving…

A young TY Wong, right, at the 1928 Central Goushu Institute’s national martial arts demonstration in Nanjing, China. Source: From the Collection of Charles Russo.

Martial Arts Exhibitions, Old and New

Earlier today I saw a Facebook notice reminding me that I am about to miss an event with the lightsaber combat group that I am currently doing an ethnography with.  They have been asked to give an exhibition by a local charity.  The entire thing sounds like a lot of fun, and if I was not in the middle of a move into a new apartment, I would certainly be going.

Nevertheless, an experienced martial artist could probably guess what will be on their agenda, even if you have never seen a lightsaber exhibition before.  A few highly dedicated groups specialize in elaborate staged spectacles that include real scripts, extensive combat choreography, stage direction and special effects.  The late…

Introduction

Prof. Phillip Zarrilli’s  name will already be familiar to many.  His book, When the Body Becomes All Eyes: Paradigms, Discourses and Practices of Power in Kalarippayattu, a South Indian Martial Art (Oxford UP, 2000) was an important landmark in the development of Martial Arts Studies.  It provided readers with both the first ethnographic study of kalarippayattu and new models for the scholarly study of the physical aspects of the martial arts.  Those wanting to learn more about his body of work may want to check out this paper, or watch his keynote address at last years Martial Arts Studies conference.

Recently, I was asked if I would pass along the following note from Professor Zarrilli, and I have done so below.  This could be a great opportunity for any scholar or filmmaker interested in this martial art.  Please feel free to share this request on social media.