Martial arts Films in Recent history

I am a huge fan of the Martial Arts and the movies that represent them. For most of Martial Arts history, it has been seen as a mystical thing, and not just by the western world. Martial Arts have been secret tricks and powers that the easterner would never share with anyone else. Because of this mysticism, the film community amplified that perspective by having characters that can fly, shoot energy or kill a man with a single touch. Of course, this is only an expression of an idea and I wouldn't say what's right or wrong but I would say that the closer to honesty the better. The first break from this "unrealistic" style of movie was Bruce Lee, who wanted to make a fight as realistic as possible, to the point of hurting some of the cast in order to get a full feel for impact. Very few have tried to continue this ideal with the exception of Jackie Chan, making sure to keep his fighting as realistic as possible. Jackie had his choreography reflect a very realistic world of fighting, his character was never the superhero that Bruce usually played but a good guy that got mixed up in bad things and just happened to win. Jackie's characters always ended up taking a beating, regardless of how good he was. He always used the environment extensively, just as most would if being attacked by multiple assailants. One of my favorite thinks Jackie did with his choreography was that he didn't fight one man at a time while five others made themselves look busy in the background, he attacked each one just quick enough as to buy himself enough time as to continue to the next and so on, something his predecessor Bruce began. I wouldn't dare sell his competition short; Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, or the new Tony Jaa, these men are amazing athletes and skilled martial artists. I will say that they don't invest as much as Jackie does. Donnie Yen has surprised me recently with his new success in the Yip Man movies (one and two), Yip Man was an astonishing movie that tried to represent the times of a nation and abilities of an amazing style called Wing Chun. His performance as an actor was just as complete as his ability as a Martial Artist.

Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do is a philosophy that is based on constant evolution of the mind and training your body to be able to handle any possibility. Your mind is to be like flowing water, never stagnant. The second that you put up an absolute in your mind; that there is only one way to do something you WILL eventually find something that will contardict or impede that thought. With the "Fluid Mind" you allow yourself to be a mirror, to only take in information and react to it, not to settle or dwell on it.
One example of this is in religion, not to take one religion as absolute but find the core principles that are important and not to be too rigid in your idea of YOU being right. Often people forget about the possibility of them being wrong because it would forever wound their visage of themselves, facing it would be too hard.
Constantly training yourself, continuing to better yourself in every way possible is what Jeet Kune Do stands for. If you find a fear, a lacking, a part of yourself that isn't honest with the rest of the world, then you work to correct it. Constant Honesty with yourself, which is incredibly hard, is the root to honest expression. In the most simple terms, Jeet Kune Do is Honest self-expression. The mind has several ways of coping with problems that take effort to get over, its harder but far more worth it in the long run, and also if you commit to it enough, life becomes much easier. The world moves with you inside it to watch and its easier to be confident in yourself when you loose the fear of failure.

Jun Fan (Bruce Lee)

My personal hero and philosophical sifu is the late and great Bruce Lee, a man whose legacy turned him into a cliche in some respects. This was a man who tried to better himself in all aspects of his life. I feel Bruce lived his life for the betterment of himself and thusly the betterment of all around him. Bruce began a philosophy and theory for Martial Arts called Jeet Kune Do. This philosophy revolves around constant evolution in oneself in order to find the most economical way to any task, whether is be self-defence motion or a common interaction. Bruce was well known for his fighting prowess but the extent of his abilities are far less well know. Bruce had the ability to strike from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second. Lee could take in one arm a 75 lb barbell from a standing position with the barbell held flush against his chest and slowly stick his arms out locking them, holding the barbell there for 20 seconds. Lee's combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film for clear slow motion replay using the traditional 24 frames per second of that era, so many scenes were shot in 32 frames per second for better clarity. In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person's open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind. Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer. Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks. Lee could thrust his fingers through unopened cans of Coca-Cola. (This was when soft drinks cans were made of steel much thicker than today's aluminum cans). Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger. Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups. Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick. Lee could cause a 200-lb (90.72 kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.Lee performed a sidekick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150 lb (68 kg) punching bag. In a move that has been dubbed "Dragon Flag", Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge of a bench and suspend his legs and torso horizontal midair. This was a man who committed himself to perfecting every muscle and every possible motion. I admire that kind of dedication to anything, but the dedication to everything is unique to the world. Great people throughout history have devoted themselves to one or two aspects of their lives but I feel none of them devoted themselves to a point to involve all aspects of there life.


(Done under some Rum influences)