Chinese Martial Arts in the News: May 22, 2020 –
Epidemic, Closure and The Loss of Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine
Introduction
It has been way too long since our last news update. We are fortunate to have had such a rich series of guest posts exploring the ways that COVID-19 has impacted both our personal training and the field of Martial Arts Studies. That series has not yet concluded, but I thought that it might be a nice change of page to get caught up with the news. For new readers, this is a semi-regular feature here at Kung Fu Tea in which we review media stories that mention the traditional fighting arts. In addition to discussing important events, this column also considers how the Asian hand combat systems are portrayed in the mainstream media. As one might expect, many of the martial arts stories published over the last month centered on the global disruption of the novel coronavirus. Still, it is fascinating to note the wide variety of ways that it is being discussed with reference to the martial arts.
While we try to summarize the major stories over the last month, there is always a chance that we may have missed something. If you are aware of an important news event relating to the TCMA, drop a link in the comments section below. If you know of a developing story that should be covered in the future feel free to send me an email.
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The Impact of COVID-19 on the Chinese Martial Arts
Calculating the cost of a catastrophe is never easy. In the case of the TCMA these losses can be seen in the slow attrition of the schools, institutions and infrastructure that support our community. Perhaps the greatest of these institutional losses has been the closure of Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine. The entire magazine industry has been in decline for decades, but in this case the current epidemic was the final straw. Gene Ching, the magazine’s former publisher (and before that editor), has been an important friends to the growing field of Martial Arts Studies and I have had the pleasure to work with him on several small projects over the years. This must have been a devastating blow for him and the entire production team. At the same time, Kung Fu Tai Chi served as an important unifying voice in an area so diverse and riven with factionalism that simply keeping up with current developments is a real challenge.
Newsstand martial arts magazine had a profound impact on me as I grew up in a small, relatively isolated, town. They created an image of martial practice that was almost intoxicating to my young and impressionable mind. The loss of KFTC Magazine feels like losing another slice of my younger self. All created things must end, and it has been a good 28 year run.
COVID-19 is not only impacting the martial arts in North America. While Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Peoples Republic of China seem to have come out on the other side of their respective curves, the effects of the pandemic on their economies, and martial arts communities, continues to be dire. Particularly interesting was an article in Bloomberg titled “Hong Kong’s Economic Crisis Just Keeps Getting Worse,” which opens and closes with the struggles of one of the city’s many Wing Chun schools. Of course, the ongoing civil unrest in Hong Kong adds an extra hurdle for that city’s economy.
“Passing on this cultural touchstone to the next generation is proving to be Lam [Shu-shing]’s biggest challenge yet as the number of students has dwindled to a handful. “This is the toughest moment in the past 40 years that I am teaching Kung Fu,” said Lam, who at almost 70 had to give up his gym when he couldn’t afford the rent. “I don’t see any improvement in Hong Kong any time soon.”
As in North America, some Chinese schools have found new opportunities as they continue to negotiate long-term shutdowns. I found a fun photo essay in the China Daily titled “Martial arts master turns to online classes for global students.” The physical and highly personal nature of instruction has made the martial arts sector resistant to any sort of consolidation (something that we have seen in other areas of the fitness industry). One wonders how resilient the new networks of students and teachers being formed now will prove to be, and whether they might be a harbinger of change in the future.
“Martial arts master Yu Danqiu is teaching apprentices around the world online after his club was closed by the COVID-19 outbreak. On May 9, Yu, chairman of the Ming He Quan, or the Calling Crane Fist Research Association of the Fujian Martial Arts association in Jianxindongling village of Cangshan district, in Fuzhou, East China’s Fujian province, taught fist forms remotely to apprentices from five countries, including Russia, Australia, and the United Kingdom.”
