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Benjamin Judkins

Cornell University, East Asia Program, Visiting Scholar

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Dr Benjamin Judkins earned a doctorate in Political Science from Columbia University. He has taught at the University of Utah where his research and teaching focused on international relations and the political economy of globalization. His book, The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts (State University of New York Press, 2015) examines the various social, economic, political and cultural forces that helped to shape the emergence of southern China's unique fighting systems during the tumultuous 19th and 20th the century. He is also editor of the Chinese Martial Studies Blog, Kung Fu Tea, and co-editor of the journal Martial Arts Studies

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Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Cardiff University

Scott Park Phillips

American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine

DePaul University

The University of Sheffield

Jose Tufy Cairus

Instituto Federal Catarinense

John Whalen-Bridge

National University of Singapore

InterestsView All (8)

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Papers by Benjamin Judkins

Review of Denis Gainty

review of Michael Ryan.pdf

Are Martial Arts Trivial? SHOW, Don'T TELL: MAKING MARTIAL ARTS STUDIES MATTER

CV.Benjmin Judkins.August-13-2018.docx

Creating Wing Chun: Towards a Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts

This paper begins with an examination of two historic accounts of “challenge fights” within the t... more This paper begins with an examination of two historic accounts of “challenge fights” within the traditional Chinese martial arts. While these documents are concerned with many of the same basic themes, they paint very different pictures of the hand combat community during the Late Imperial and Republican periods. They are also representative of the types of puzzles that scholars are faced with when attempting to investigate the development and social setting of these fighting systems. Given such difficulties, why should scholars care about the social history of the Chinese martial arts? Likewise, what can such studies offer practitioners of the Asian martial arts today? This keynote addresses each of these questions with reference to my recent volume, co-authored with Jon Nielson, The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts (SUNY Press, 2015).

Liminoid Longings and Liminal Belonging: Hyper-reality, History and the Search for Meaning in the Modern Martial Arts

Drawing on an ethnographic investigation of a community dedicated to the hyper-real practice of l... more Drawing on an ethnographic investigation of a community dedicated to the hyper-real practice of lightsaber combat, as well as the historically grounded traditional Chinese martial art known as wing chun, the follow paper seeks to explore the various ways in which martial arts create meaning and do social work in the modern world. It begins by asking what type of " martial art " lightsaber combat is, and why individuals might choose to practice it given the many other combat traditions that already exist. To resolve these issues we consider some of the ways that martial arts practice can function as a modern ritual system. A theoretical framework advanced by the well-known American anthropologist Victor Turner is then employed to suggest avenues for understanding why certain individuals might be drawn towards historical (and often liminal) or hyper-real (typically liminoid) practices. This, in turn, offers a new perspective on the wide variety of social functions that the martial arts are expected to perform.

The Seven Forms of Lightsaber Combat: Hyper-reality and the Invention of the Martial Arts

Martial arts studies has entered a period of rapid conceptual development. Yet relatively few w... more Martial arts studies has entered a period of rapid conceptual
development. Yet relatively few works have attempted to define
the ‘martial arts’, our signature concept. This article evaluates
a number of approaches to the problem by asking whether
‘lightsaber combat’ is a martial art. Inspired by a successful film
franchise, these increasingly popular practices combine elements
of historical swordsmanship, modern combat sports, stage
choreography and a fictional worldview to ‘recreate’ the fighting
methods of Jedi and Sith warriors. The rise of such hyper-
real fighting systems may force us to reconsider a number of
questions. What is the link between ‘authentic’ martial arts and
history? Can an activity be a martial art even if its students and
teachers do not claim it as such? Is our current body of theory
capable of exploring the rise of hyper-real practices? Most
importantly, what sort of theoretical work do we expect from
our definition of the ‘martial arts’?

MARTIAL ARTS STUDIES EDITORS THE INVENTION OF MARTIAL ARTS

by George Jennings and Benjamin Judkins

Xilam is a modern Mexican martial art that is inspired by pre-Hispanic warrior cultures of ancien... more Xilam is a modern Mexican martial art that is inspired by pre-Hispanic warrior cultures of ancient Mesoamerica, namely the Aztecs (Mexica), Maya and Zapotec cultures. It provides a noteworthy case study of a Latin American fighting system that has been recently invented, but aspires to rescue, rediscover and relive the warrior philosophies that existed before the Spanish Conquest and subsequent movements beginning in 1521. Using the thought-provoking work of anthropologist Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, México Profundo, I aim to analyse the Xilam Martial Arts Association through the way that they represent themselves in their three main media outlets: The official webpage, the Facebook group and the YouTube channel. I argue that their portrayal of the art as a form of Mesoamerican culture and wisdom for current and future generations of Mexicans is contrasted to contemporary Mexico, a Western (Occidental) project that is far removed from the foundations of this diverse country. Overall, the data suggests that certain elements of Mesoamerican civilisation may be transmitted to young Mexicans through a mind-body discipline, which in turn acts as a form of physical (re)education. Overall, xilam is both an invented tradition (in a technical sense) and a reinvented tradition (in a cultural sense) that provides lessons on the timeless issues of transformation, transmission and transcendence.
Keywords: Mexico Profundo; Mesoamerica; pre-Hispanic; martial arts cultures; warrior philosophies.

6850: Field Seminar in International Relations

Partisanship, Trade Policy, and Globalization: Is There a Left-Right Divide on Trade Policy?

International Studies Quarterly, 2004

Is there a noticeable difference among political parties in a country in their trade policy posit... more Is there a noticeable difference among political parties in a country in their trade policy positions? Do left parties advocate different trade policies than right parties? In the advanced industrial countries where labor tends to be scarce, are left parties more protectionist than right ones, which represent capital owners? Political institutions within these democratic countries may affect the role of partisanship. We also investigate whether increasing globalization has led to more or less partisan polarization over trade policy. We examine 25 developed countries from 1945-98 to see how their parties have competed over trade policy. Controlling for various factors, partisanship matters. In terms of position taking, right parties consistently take more free trade stances than do left ones. Globalization and other international forces have also shaped both the nature and the extent of the debate domestically over exposure to international trade.

Partisanship and Trade Policy: is there a left-right divide on trade policy?

Is there a noticeable difference among political parties in a country in their trade policy posit... more Is there a noticeable difference among political parties in a country in their trade policy positions? Do left parties advocate different trade policies than right parties? In the advanced industrial countries where labor tends to be scarce, are left parties more protectionist than right ones, which represent capital owners? Political institutions within these democratic countries may affect the role of partisanship. We also investigate whether increasing globalization has led to more or less partisan polarization over trade policy. We examine 25 developed countries from 1945-98 to see how their parties have competed over trade policy. Controlling for various factors, partisanship matters. In terms of position taking, right parties consistently take more free trade stances than do left ones. Globalization and other international forces have also shaped both the nature and the extent of the debate domestically over exposure to international trade.

Inventing Kung Fu

‘Kung fu’ has become synonymous with the traditional Chinese martial arts in the popular imaginat... more ‘Kung fu’ has become synonymous with the traditional Chinese martial arts in the popular imagination. Yet some practitioners and writers object to this usage, insisting instead on the adoption of other labels such as ‘wushu.’ Increasingly authors in both the academic and more serious popular literatures are moving away from ‘kung fu’ as it is perceived as both inauthentic and ahistorical. But is this really the case? The following article examines the use of ‘kung fu’ in both the Chinese and English language literatures on the martial arts from the middle of the 19th century to the 1960s. It finds that the term’s adoption as a descriptor of a set of martial practices is older than is generally acknowledged. There are also specific regional and social reasons why certain Chinese martial artists have chosen to adopt and promote this term in describing their own practice. Like the traditional Chinese martial arts themselves, the term kung fu has meant many things to various practitioners in different times and places. By studying the evolution and spread of this terminology, students of martial studies can gain insight into the changing nature of the Chinese martial arts.

Errata: The reference to James Lee on page 17 should read "James Wing Woo."

Books by Benjamin Judkins

MARTIAL ARTS STUDIES, issue two: THE INVENTION OF MARTIAL ARTS

by Paul Bowman and Benjamin Judkins

Martial Arts Studies, issue two - Spring 2016

Martial Arts Studies journal, issue 1

by Paul Bowman, Benjamin Judkins, Sixt Wetzler, DS Farrer, Jared Miracle, Kyle Barrowman, Wayne Wong, and Scott Park Phillips

Martial Arts Studies Autumn 2015 Issue 1 Table of Contents Editorial • Paul Bowman and Benjami... more Martial Arts Studies

Autumn 2015
Issue 1

Table of Contents

Editorial
• Paul Bowman and Benjamin N. Judkins

Articles
• Paul Bowman, Asking the Question: Is Martial Arts Studies an Academic Field?
• Sixt Wetzler, Martial arts studies as Kulturwissenschaft: A possible theoretical framework
• D. S. Farrer, Efficacy and Entertainment in Martial Arts Studies: Anthropological Perspectives
• Jared Miracle, Imposing the Terms of the Battle: Donn F. Draeger, Count Dante, and the Struggle for American Martial Arts Identity
• Alexander Hay, The Art and Politics of Fence: Subtexts and Ideologies of Late 16th Century Fencing Manuals

Review Article
• Kyle Barrowman, History in the Making: Martial Arts between Planet Hollywood and Planet Hong Kong

Book Reviews
• The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts. 2015. Benjamin Judkins and Jon Nielson. State University of New York Press. 364 Pages. $90/£59.29. Reviewed by Douglas Wile

• Jet Li: Chinese Masculinity and Transnational Film Stardom. 2015. Sabrina Yu. Edinburgh University Press. 224 Pages. $34.95/£19.99. Reviewed by Wayne Wong

• Demonic Warfare: Daoism, Territorial Networks, and the History of a Ming Novel. 2015. Mark R. E. Meulenbeld. University of Hawai’i Press. 288 Pages. $57/£36.43. Reviewed by Scott P. Phillips

• Martial Arts Studies: Disrupting Disciplinary Boundaries. 2015. Paul Bowman. Rowman & Littlefield International. 208 Pages. $32.95/£22.95. Reviewed by Adam Frank

The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts

This book explores the social history of southern Chinese martial arts and their contemporary imp... more This book explores the social history of southern Chinese martial arts and their contemporary importance to local identity and narratives of resistance. Hong Kong’s Bruce Lee ushered the Chinese martial arts onto an international stage in the 1970s. Lee’s teacher, Ip Man, master of Wing Chun Kung Fu, has recently emerged as a highly visible symbol of southern Chinese identity and pride. Benjamin N. Judkins and Jon Nielson examine the emergence of Wing Chun to reveal how this body of social practices developed and why individuals continue to turn to the martial arts as they navigate the challenges of a rapidly evolving environment. After surveying the development of hand combat traditions in Guangdong Province from roughly the start of the nineteenth century until 1949, the authors turn to Wing Chun, noting its development, the changing social attitudes towards this practice over time, and its ultimate emergence as a global art form.

Benjamin N. Judkins holds a doctoral degree in political science from Columbia University. Jon Nielson is chief instructor at Wing Chun Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Conference Presentations by Benjamin Judkins

Imagining Ip Man: Globalization and the Growth of Wing Chun Kung Fu

This is a recording of the keynote address that I delivered at the 2015 Martial Arts Studies held... more

Interviews by Benjamin Judkins

Does Lightsaber Combat Qualify as a Martial Art?

by Benjamin Judkins and Megan Logan

Inquiring Jedis want to know

The Modern Roots of ‘Ancient’ Martial Arts

Chinese martial arts—popular among Americans and prized for their ancient roots— owe much to mode... more

Book Reviews by Benjamin Judkins

"The Professor in the Cage:" Can Gottschall Bring Science to the Study of Violence?

A review of Jonathan Gottschall's "The Professor in the Cage: Why Men Fight, and Why we Like to W... more

Reviews of D. S. Farrer by Benjamin Judkins

Benjamin Judkins | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the Anti Witch: Martial Arts as Therapy

by DS Farrer and Benjamin Judkins

Kung Fu Tea

Review of Denis Gainty

review of Michael Ryan.pdf

Are Martial Arts Trivial? SHOW, Don'T TELL: MAKING MARTIAL ARTS STUDIES MATTER

CV.Benjmin Judkins.August-13-2018.docx

Creating Wing Chun: Towards a Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts

This paper begins with an examination of two historic accounts of “challenge fights” within the t... more This paper begins with an examination of two historic accounts of “challenge fights” within the traditional Chinese martial arts. While these documents are concerned with many of the same basic themes, they paint very different pictures of the hand combat community during the Late Imperial and Republican periods. They are also representative of the types of puzzles that scholars are faced with when attempting to investigate the development and social setting of these fighting systems. Given such difficulties, why should scholars care about the social history of the Chinese martial arts? Likewise, what can such studies offer practitioners of the Asian martial arts today? This keynote addresses each of these questions with reference to my recent volume, co-authored with Jon Nielson, The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts (SUNY Press, 2015).

Liminoid Longings and Liminal Belonging: Hyper-reality, History and the Search for Meaning in the Modern Martial Arts

Drawing on an ethnographic investigation of a community dedicated to the hyper-real practice of l... more Drawing on an ethnographic investigation of a community dedicated to the hyper-real practice of lightsaber combat, as well as the historically grounded traditional Chinese martial art known as wing chun, the follow paper seeks to explore the various ways in which martial arts create meaning and do social work in the modern world. It begins by asking what type of " martial art " lightsaber combat is, and why individuals might choose to practice it given the many other combat traditions that already exist. To resolve these issues we consider some of the ways that martial arts practice can function as a modern ritual system. A theoretical framework advanced by the well-known American anthropologist Victor Turner is then employed to suggest avenues for understanding why certain individuals might be drawn towards historical (and often liminal) or hyper-real (typically liminoid) practices. This, in turn, offers a new perspective on the wide variety of social functions that the martial arts are expected to perform.

The Seven Forms of Lightsaber Combat: Hyper-reality and the Invention of the Martial Arts

Martial arts studies has entered a period of rapid conceptual development. Yet relatively few w... more Martial arts studies has entered a period of rapid conceptual
development. Yet relatively few works have attempted to define
the ‘martial arts’, our signature concept. This article evaluates
a number of approaches to the problem by asking whether
‘lightsaber combat’ is a martial art. Inspired by a successful film
franchise, these increasingly popular practices combine elements
of historical swordsmanship, modern combat sports, stage
choreography and a fictional worldview to ‘recreate’ the fighting
methods of Jedi and Sith warriors. The rise of such hyper-
real fighting systems may force us to reconsider a number of
questions. What is the link between ‘authentic’ martial arts and
history? Can an activity be a martial art even if its students and
teachers do not claim it as such? Is our current body of theory
capable of exploring the rise of hyper-real practices? Most
importantly, what sort of theoretical work do we expect from
our definition of the ‘martial arts’?

MARTIAL ARTS STUDIES EDITORS THE INVENTION OF MARTIAL ARTS

by George Jennings and Benjamin Judkins

Xilam is a modern Mexican martial art that is inspired by pre-Hispanic warrior cultures of ancien... more Xilam is a modern Mexican martial art that is inspired by pre-Hispanic warrior cultures of ancient Mesoamerica, namely the Aztecs (Mexica), Maya and Zapotec cultures. It provides a noteworthy case study of a Latin American fighting system that has been recently invented, but aspires to rescue, rediscover and relive the warrior philosophies that existed before the Spanish Conquest and subsequent movements beginning in 1521. Using the thought-provoking work of anthropologist Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, México Profundo, I aim to analyse the Xilam Martial Arts Association through the way that they represent themselves in their three main media outlets: The official webpage, the Facebook group and the YouTube channel. I argue that their portrayal of the art as a form of Mesoamerican culture and wisdom for current and future generations of Mexicans is contrasted to contemporary Mexico, a Western (Occidental) project that is far removed from the foundations of this diverse country. Overall, the data suggests that certain elements of Mesoamerican civilisation may be transmitted to young Mexicans through a mind-body discipline, which in turn acts as a form of physical (re)education. Overall, xilam is both an invented tradition (in a technical sense) and a reinvented tradition (in a cultural sense) that provides lessons on the timeless issues of transformation, transmission and transcendence.
Keywords: Mexico Profundo; Mesoamerica; pre-Hispanic; martial arts cultures; warrior philosophies.

6850: Field Seminar in International Relations

Partisanship, Trade Policy, and Globalization: Is There a Left-Right Divide on Trade Policy?

International Studies Quarterly, 2004

Is there a noticeable difference among political parties in a country in their trade policy posit... more Is there a noticeable difference among political parties in a country in their trade policy positions? Do left parties advocate different trade policies than right parties? In the advanced industrial countries where labor tends to be scarce, are left parties more protectionist than right ones, which represent capital owners? Political institutions within these democratic countries may affect the role of partisanship. We also investigate whether increasing globalization has led to more or less partisan polarization over trade policy. We examine 25 developed countries from 1945-98 to see how their parties have competed over trade policy. Controlling for various factors, partisanship matters. In terms of position taking, right parties consistently take more free trade stances than do left ones. Globalization and other international forces have also shaped both the nature and the extent of the debate domestically over exposure to international trade.

Partisanship and Trade Policy: is there a left-right divide on trade policy?

Is there a noticeable difference among political parties in a country in their trade policy posit... more Is there a noticeable difference among political parties in a country in their trade policy positions? Do left parties advocate different trade policies than right parties? In the advanced industrial countries where labor tends to be scarce, are left parties more protectionist than right ones, which represent capital owners? Political institutions within these democratic countries may affect the role of partisanship. We also investigate whether increasing globalization has led to more or less partisan polarization over trade policy. We examine 25 developed countries from 1945-98 to see how their parties have competed over trade policy. Controlling for various factors, partisanship matters. In terms of position taking, right parties consistently take more free trade stances than do left ones. Globalization and other international forces have also shaped both the nature and the extent of the debate domestically over exposure to international trade.

Inventing Kung Fu

‘Kung fu’ has become synonymous with the traditional Chinese martial arts in the popular imaginat... more ‘Kung fu’ has become synonymous with the traditional Chinese martial arts in the popular imagination. Yet some practitioners and writers object to this usage, insisting instead on the adoption of other labels such as ‘wushu.’ Increasingly authors in both the academic and more serious popular literatures are moving away from ‘kung fu’ as it is perceived as both inauthentic and ahistorical. But is this really the case? The following article examines the use of ‘kung fu’ in both the Chinese and English language literatures on the martial arts from the middle of the 19th century to the 1960s. It finds that the term’s adoption as a descriptor of a set of martial practices is older than is generally acknowledged. There are also specific regional and social reasons why certain Chinese martial artists have chosen to adopt and promote this term in describing their own practice. Like the traditional Chinese martial arts themselves, the term kung fu has meant many things to various practitioners in different times and places. By studying the evolution and spread of this terminology, students of martial studies can gain insight into the changing nature of the Chinese martial arts.

Errata: The reference to James Lee on page 17 should read "James Wing Woo."

MARTIAL ARTS STUDIES, issue two: THE INVENTION OF MARTIAL ARTS

by Paul Bowman and Benjamin Judkins

Martial Arts Studies, issue two - Spring 2016

Martial Arts Studies journal, issue 1

by Paul Bowman, Benjamin Judkins, Sixt Wetzler, DS Farrer, Jared Miracle, Kyle Barrowman, Wayne Wong, and Scott Park Phillips

Martial Arts Studies Autumn 2015 Issue 1 Table of Contents Editorial • Paul Bowman and Benjami... more Martial Arts Studies

Autumn 2015
Issue 1

Table of Contents

Editorial
• Paul Bowman and Benjamin N. Judkins

Articles
• Paul Bowman, Asking the Question: Is Martial Arts Studies an Academic Field?
• Sixt Wetzler, Martial arts studies as Kulturwissenschaft: A possible theoretical framework
• D. S. Farrer, Efficacy and Entertainment in Martial Arts Studies: Anthropological Perspectives
• Jared Miracle, Imposing the Terms of the Battle: Donn F. Draeger, Count Dante, and the Struggle for American Martial Arts Identity
• Alexander Hay, The Art and Politics of Fence: Subtexts and Ideologies of Late 16th Century Fencing Manuals

Review Article
• Kyle Barrowman, History in the Making: Martial Arts between Planet Hollywood and Planet Hong Kong

Book Reviews
• The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts. 2015. Benjamin Judkins and Jon Nielson. State University of New York Press. 364 Pages. $90/£59.29. Reviewed by Douglas Wile

• Jet Li: Chinese Masculinity and Transnational Film Stardom. 2015. Sabrina Yu. Edinburgh University Press. 224 Pages. $34.95/£19.99. Reviewed by Wayne Wong

• Demonic Warfare: Daoism, Territorial Networks, and the History of a Ming Novel. 2015. Mark R. E. Meulenbeld. University of Hawai’i Press. 288 Pages. $57/£36.43. Reviewed by Scott P. Phillips

• Martial Arts Studies: Disrupting Disciplinary Boundaries. 2015. Paul Bowman. Rowman & Littlefield International. 208 Pages. $32.95/£22.95. Reviewed by Adam Frank

The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of the Southern Chinese Martial Arts

This book explores the social history of southern Chinese martial arts and their contemporary imp... more This book explores the social history of southern Chinese martial arts and their contemporary importance to local identity and narratives of resistance. Hong Kong’s Bruce Lee ushered the Chinese martial arts onto an international stage in the 1970s. Lee’s teacher, Ip Man, master of Wing Chun Kung Fu, has recently emerged as a highly visible symbol of southern Chinese identity and pride. Benjamin N. Judkins and Jon Nielson examine the emergence of Wing Chun to reveal how this body of social practices developed and why individuals continue to turn to the martial arts as they navigate the challenges of a rapidly evolving environment. After surveying the development of hand combat traditions in Guangdong Province from roughly the start of the nineteenth century until 1949, the authors turn to Wing Chun, noting its development, the changing social attitudes towards this practice over time, and its ultimate emergence as a global art form.

Benjamin N. Judkins holds a doctoral degree in political science from Columbia University. Jon Nielson is chief instructor at Wing Chun Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Imagining Ip Man: Globalization and the Growth of Wing Chun Kung Fu

This is a recording of the keynote address that I delivered at the 2015 Martial Arts Studies held... more

Does Lightsaber Combat Qualify as a Martial Art?

by Benjamin Judkins and Megan Logan

Inquiring Jedis want to know

The Modern Roots of ‘Ancient’ Martial Arts

Chinese martial arts—popular among Americans and prized for their ancient roots— owe much to mode... more

"The Professor in the Cage:" Can Gottschall Bring Science to the Study of Violence?

A review of Jonathan Gottschall's "The Professor in the Cage: Why Men Fight, and Why we Like to W... more

Benjamin Judkins | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the Anti Witch: Martial Arts as Therapy

by DS Farrer and Benjamin Judkins

Kung Fu Tea

Benjamin Judkins | Martial Mastery and Olympic Glory: A Winning Combination? | Kung Fu Tea

by DS Farrer and Benjamin Judkins

Flyer for Martial Arts Studies issue 4

by Paul Bowman and Benjamin Judkins

Flyer for issue 4 of Martial Arts Studies