30.kickboxer – Yuen Biao vs Yuen Wah + Others
Yuen Biao made this movie in reply to Tsui Hark as he felt he lied to him during the filming of Once Upon A Time In China and didn’t get chance to shine, but here he certainly does. Here he takes on Yuen Wah and his thugs with Biao delievering some breathtaking kicks and flips, (He also gets rid of 4 guys with just four excellent kicks). After he defeats the thugs, he then faces Wah with both displaying great hand to hand techniques and the unusual “ghost foot” from yuen biao, where he basically has three legs to kick is a great watch. Both are legends in my eyes and both always work so well together.

29.Duel To The Death – Tsui Siu Keung vs Damian Lau
After a couple of minutes frenzied swordplay the two fighters pause and are covered by mist (or dry ice) before the action explodes again. The way they have the fighters on a rocky outcrop with the waves crashing below is really well shot with the fighters flying through the air, which was very well done for the time. We do get to see arms being sliced off and other parts in this great fight scene.

28.Odd Couple – Sammo Hung vs Lau Kar Wing (end fight)
Excellent weapon here as two masters meet up for the final time to see whos style and weapon work is the greatest. We get to see some great hand to hand combat from Leung Kar Yan against the two, with his trade mark movement which made him a legend in his own right. Sammo delievers some great kicking skills and works very well with Lau Kar Wing once again. Sammo Hung is a master at choreography and how he keeps getting better and better is only a good thing for Hong Kong cinema.

27.The Victim – Leung Kar Yan vs Wilson Tong and Chang Yi
After believing his friend (Sammo Hung) had been killed, Leung Kar Yan finally builds up his courage to face his demons and kill his evil brother once and for all. The first fight he takes on Wilson Tong ( ‘Foot Doctor’),where we get to see some nice leg movements and hand to hand combat, (wilson is doubled by Yuen Biao in this scene). As the fight goes on Leung starts to take over with ease and the way he finishes him off with a kneck break is some way to go. Then we see the final fight and its a great showdown with Sammo Hung creating some excellent action and really gets the best out of Leung Kar Yan who just seems as good as any other fighter in the movie (even though he hadn’t studied kung fu before getting into films). One of my favorite sammo films in terms of action and a very well written plot.

26.Fearless Hyena – Jackie Chan vs Spearmen
Ths is Jackie showing us some excellent chroeography as he faces 3 spearmen and shows them all how excellent fighting is performed. The first guy that walks forward is easily beat by jackie, with him using some impressive hand techniques to block and strike with power. When all 3 attack at the same time, jackies ability to flip, land, roll, and perform kung fu without anything hitting him is very very good. Fantastic fight scene from of the top 3 choreographers in the world.

25.Daredevils – warehouse fight scene
Lu Feng, Kuo Chui and Chiang Sheng star in this Shaw Brothers movie and bring there talent alive in the final showdown, where we get to see some very impressive acrobatics with alot of them running and jumping off things which you’d normally see Yuen Biao performing. Also we get to see some good use of different weapons such as a spade and huge metal hooks also not to mention the big sledge hammer one of them fights with. Very enjoyable scene which you wont mind watching a fair few times.

24.Encounters Of The Spooky Kind – Final Fight
Here we see two priest masters who can allow themselves to be possessed by various spirits to defeat each other, Sammo takes on the roll as the Monkey God and we see some brilliant martial arts and choreography that makes sammo one of the all time best. We see him show monkey kung fu to the limits with him also showing us his ability to flip, spin and kick all in one shot. Some very good ideas went into this film which i think is a classic in the Hong Kong horror/kung fu movie scene.

23.Warriors Two – Sammo Hung and Casanova Wong vs Fung Hak On
Excellent wing chun based movie with sammo taking on one of my all time badguys Fung Hak On. Sammo has an amazing 2 vs 1 double swordfight before taking on Fong Hak On and brings to the screen the strange mantis style technique which can also make him float. The kick at the end by casanova wong is a great spin kick in the air over a table (on a wire,but still impressive). Great movie and was the first wing chun by Sammo Hung followed by the classic Prodigal Son.

22.Iron Fisted Monk – Final Fight
This final fight involves Sammo Hung, Chen Sing, Fong Hak On and Chin Yiet Sang in a brilliantly choreographed scene. Chen Sing is fighting one group of badguys whilst Sammo faces a swordsman and spearfighter in a brilliant scene that requires excellent timing from all that is involved. It seems Sammo and Chen are getting the better hand but soon as you think this, even more guys come in to help Fong Hak On but after defeating them sammo goes to using his leopard style against Fong Hak On’s mantis. Excellent fight scene which gets better with each watch.

21.Secret Rivals – Hwang Jang Lee vs John Liu and Wong Tao
Excellent kung fu on show here as first off we see John Liu and Wong Tao facing each other with both of them delievering great kicks until John starts to take over the fight and Hwang Jang Lee enters the frame. We see Hwang perform an excellent leg take down on John Liu which you will be rewinding once its over, there are a few flips from hwang (Just to note Yuen Biao once again is on hand for some doubling). It turns to a 2 -1 fight and the way they finish Hwang off with a flying kick is good stuff.

40.Call Me Dragon – Yaskuaki Kurata vs Bruce Liang
Here we get to see fantastic kicking skills and hand to hand combat from both fighters, which ends in a brutal fight. Both show why there excellent at combat and as the fight goes on we also see Kurata take out a Tonfas, so Liang suddenly takes out his nunchakus then we see even more crazy and brilliant attacks. Good watch.

39.Heart Of The Dragon – Car Park Fight
Jackie Chan and his “police” friends fight a bunch of guys inside a car park, we get to see the likes of lee hoi san take on jackie chan, with chan showing how good is hand techniques are with great strikes and blocks. Also chin Kar Lok and Corey Yuen show up in this fight that only lasts around 2 minutes but worth every second, hard hitting fight.

38.Legend Of A Fighter – Final Fight
Here Leung Kar Yan is fighting for Chinese honour against his old Japanese teacher, Chiang-Ho Shan (Yasuaki Kurata) in this brilliant kung fu scene. At first Leung Kar Yan doesn’t want to fight his old teacher, but after him saying the chinese are “scum”, only then does he stand up for his people and take on the japanese fighter. Some great kicking skills in this scene and a few weird moments when Leung can suddenly run around walls and counter attack. Once again Yuen Woo Ping is choreographing the scenes and brings out the best in Leung Kar Yan just like Sammo Hung did in his movies.

37.Thundering Mantis – Final Fight
Leung Kar Yan is a man full of rage destroying many badguys before fighting Eddie Ko in a fantastic showdown. I also love the way the thugs are punching and kicking Leung but he doesn’t feel it and just attacks like mad. The way he finishes off his enemy by breaking his back on his knee and killing him is a great way to finish someone off, the scenery reminds me of the final part of The Victim, another Leung Kar Yan classic.

36.Ninja In The Dragon’s Den – Sanada Hiroyuki vs Conan Lee
Meng Hoi and Corey Yuen choreograph these brilliant fight scenes, this one is my favorite throughout the movie. It starts with the samurai throwing his sword away and taking on Conan with hand to hand combat, high kicks and acrobatics, the movement is fast with some great angels to show to more difficult moves. We also see conan using a cloke to drift into the background so his enemy cannot see him and this is when the fight starts to change.After the fight they decide to team up and go face to face with kicking legend Hwang Jang Lee, great film.

35.Snake And Crane,Art Of Shaolin – Jackie Chan vs 3 Fighters
One of Jackie’s better movies for Lo Wei, and here we see him show some brilliant moves as he easily beats 3 thugs. His style reminds me of his character in Dragon Fist, with very direct and hard hitting punches and kicks. We also see Jackie flip on his head on to a guy lay on the ground then back to his feet (Great move). Also when he faces the spears, the way he jumps in and out of them and moves to avoid being hit is excellent. Jackie Chan is a Hong Kong legend.

34.Tiger Over Wall – Philip Ko vs Hwang Jang Lee
Philip Ko heads to the place where Hwang Jang Lee is staying but is confronted by a few of his men with wodden poles,(not that it bothers Ko in the slightest). Hwang then suudenly turns up with his “Kwan Do” and starts to get the better of Ko until he disharms him and fight goes fist to fist, the action is very fast paced with some wounderful hand techniques and blocks. Towards the end of the fight we do see more trademark kicks from Hwang with a jumping double back kick to the face, but even thats not enough to win the fight and in the end i think he gets the point.

33.Operation Scorpio – Lau Kar Leung vs Won Jin
Lau Kar Leung and Chin Kar Lok both head to Won Jin’s mansion but are faced by lots of Jin’s thugs who all a taste of Leung’s power from his Hung Gar fist. Then he faces Jin in a fight which will have you reaching for the rewind button, as we see some incredible kicks from Won Jin, who also plays a great badguy. Some crazy movements from Won Jin as he loves performing random splits up a wall, but its all down to fists vs kicks – who will win? But make no mistake its an enjoyable film with a legend in the main role.

32.Born Invincible – Final Fight
Carter Wong stars in this excellent film as a laughing white-haired Chi Kung expert who wreaks havoc in the martial world. He shows he has alot of power behind each punch he throws, the fight is once again directed by legend Yuen Woo Ping, so you know its going to be good. Also the way Carter Wong’s character dies is brutal with a knife threw into his mouth when laughing and coming out the other side.

31.Eastern Condors – Final Fight
Sammo Hung vs Billy Chow, Yuen Biao vs Yasuaki Kurata and Dick Wei is just for starts in this final scene from this epic war movie. It kicks off with alot of gun fire and it isn’t until we see Lam Ching Ying get shot that the fighting really starts, Biao showing us some incredible acrobatic movement as he flips over cars and performs lots of high kicks and stunts. Biao then takes on Yuen Wah but Wah is a bit to much for him so Sammo finally steps in and shows Biao how to do it. Sammo is in excellent form and lost alot of weight for this role (which really does show with flips and high kicks). Great movie with an all star cast which also includes Yuen Woo Ping and Corey Yuen with small roles.

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50.Project A – Final
Get ready for a brawl as the three dragons Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao square off against 40 pirates (maybe more), in this hong kong cinema epic. It starts with Jackie Chan pretending to be a badguy to get close to Dick Wei but when all hell breaks loose he steps in to help Hung and Biao, here we see Biao performing high kicks and sommersaults with Chan also performing a few. The three finally take on Dick Wei and here we see the great choreography with perfect timing as all throw kicks and punches with dick wei blocking and countering. Good fight which ends with a bang.

49.Shanghai Exrpess – Final Fight
Massive cast involved in this film and in this final scene we get to see them all in action and it doesn’t dissapoint. It starts off with Yuen Biao taking on super badguy Dick Wei with Meng Hoi and Hsiao Hou going head to head with Wang Lung Wei. Also at the same time Sammo Hung shows us some brilliant stick fighting with power then takes on Cynthia Rothrock (Here we see sammo doing is excellent Bruce Lee impression).
Hwang Jang Lee, Yasuaki Kurata and Yukari Oshima are also in the mix of things and just when you think its died down, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao take on Hwang Jang Lee (But only lasts for 10 seconds). Great fight scene with superb choreography.

48.Enter The Dragon – Unground Fight
A Bruce Lee masterpiece which is shown all over the world to this day and here we get to see him take on an army full with lightening fast punches and kicks with power you rarely get to see these days.
We see bruce go from kicks to fighting with the staff and then switches to escrima sticks and then takes out the nunchaku’s and destroy’s everyone. Very famous scene in a all time classic.

47.7 Steps Of Kung Fu – Final Fight
Here we have a great two on one fight scene which involves Chai Kai and Cheng Tien Chi taking on Chang Shan in this fast paced finale. We get to see Great hand techniques by all fighters, brilliant kicking skills and acrobatics, Chang Shan is easily in control for most of it until the other two finally get one over on him. Some great choreography which you would find in a Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung film, good stuff.

46.Tiger Cage 2 – Final Fight
Here we see Donnie Yen taking on a western fighter in this final showdown choreographed by legend Yuen Woo Ping. The action is fast paced with Donnie’s hands being chained up for most of it but this doesn’t stop him delievering killer blows and fantastic kicking skills. It starts with him being beaten up and thrown to the ground (Like you would see in a wrestling match), but ends with Yen performing a jumping double back kick knocking the guy way back.Then he takes on Robin Shao, where we get to see some boxing skills and better timing between the fighters. Gun fire also thrown into the mix but good choreography from the master Yuen Woo Ping.

45.Opium And The Kung fu Master – Ti Lung vs Chen Kuan Tai
Legendary Shaw Brothers actor Ti Lung takes on Chen Kuan Tai in this brilliant scene which is very well directed and choreographed. Chen starts by using spears against Ti Lungs fists until he realises he needs to switch to the sword for any chance of winning, this is when Ti Lung is hurt and his son is killed by Chen.A hard hitting scene with fast paced action from the start.

44.Drunken Dragon – Suen Kwok Ming vs Philip Ko Fei
What i like about this fight is the speed in which its fought at,which is extremely fast but for some reason makes it enjoyable with some great slow motion camera work. We have grappling moves, heads smashed through tables, great kicking skills and hand to hand techniques, in this unknown Leung Kar Yan movie.

43.New Shaolin Boxers – Fu Sheng vs Wang Lung Wei
Here we have Shaw Brothers legendary villian Wang Lung Wei taking on Fu Sheng in this bloody and hard hitting finale. Before Wang enters the scene we see Fu Sheng taking on a few knife crazed badguys defeating them with ease, then as he goes outside to face Leung Kar Yan which he beats within seconds. Then we see the the two come face to face,with Fu Sheng having flashbacks to previous training sequences to remember the moves to counter the badguy, then we see Wang Lung Wei use a metal claw against Fu Sheng’s double sword which ends in a bloody mess. Great action in this excellent movie.

42.Boxer From Shantung – Final Fight
Chen Kuan Tai stars in this very bloody final fight scene which he turns up to fight only to discover he is ambushed by aload of thugs.It starts with him taking an axe straight into the stomach but tries to defend himself against it by fighting with it stuck in there, and stricks out with serious power, (Blood going everywhere). There is blood from the waste down all over Chen which could match any movie ending in terms of blood and brutalness, great fight scene.

41.Little Superman – Bruce Liang Vs James Nam
This fight is fast, hard hitting and shows us some great kicking ability and hand to hand techniques. It starts off quick and doesn’t let go until the final blow is thrown, with one guy putting claws on his hand to slice the other fighter, who ends up covered in blood and starts to lose until others finally join in and help him out. It ends with a flying kick to the face followed by three jumping round house kicks, great stuff.

It truly is an art all of its own. Often we talk about dramatic actors and how hard their task is but surely the art of screen fighting is the most impressive form of acting? timing, skill, stunts and the danger – this is what many 21st century audiences want to see.

But with so many martial arts movies how do you pick the best ones? How does the martial arts actor find a way to showcase new skills to an ever evolving audience? What about those new to martial arts movies?

The Official AMP Top 100 onscreen Martial Arts fights should help answer your questions. Over the next few days we will be counting down from 100, the best fights ever put to film. Stick with us over the next few weeks and find out which fight scenes make it into our top 10, and of course use the comments box to the right to discuss any of our choices.

70.The Young Master – Jackie Chan vs Whang In Sik
Maybe this would be in someones top 20 and maybe it deserves to but although i like the fight its to much like a street fight than anything else. This fight scene lasts about 20 minutes on a mountain top and Chan gets put through a world of pain against someone with excellent kicking techniques and grappling. Jackie needs the help once again and turns to alcohol which gives him super human strength and manages to come back performing anything he can weather its a jumping head butt to flipping to the ground about 5 times in a row. Crazy fight but also very enjoyable.

69.The Mystery of Chess Boxing – Jack Long + Li Yi Min vs Mark Long
Get ready for atleast 15 minutes of non stop action. It starts with Jack Long and Mark Long performing great techniques with grace and poise whilst the pace of the action increases by the minute, then we see Li Yi Min enter the fight to save his teachers life. Li starts to lose and gets countered all the time by Long this is when his teacher thinks back and remembers certain ways to defend against these strikes and try to win. One of the funniest parts is when Mark Long gets his arms broken right at the end and they dangle which is clearly so false but its a great watch.

68.Two On The Road – Leung Kar Yan and Philip Ko vs Wang Lung Wei
fantastic fight scene here from Leung Kar Yan, Its fast and powerful with a small amount of wirework, and some mad sound effects for Phillip Ko’s horse boxing technique. Ive always liked watching Leung Kar Yan when he’s performing hand to hand techniques but he also throws in some good kicking skills and timing and when Philllip Ko joins in they show us how good 2 on 1 fights can really be. To me Leung Kar Yan is very under-rated.

67.Two Toothless Tigers – (Samo Hung and Yuen Hsin Yi vs Johnny Wang)
Sammo Hung displays a dodgy tash but the fight certainly makes up for it with fast paced action. The fight starts in a teahouse where we see Villian Johnny Wang showcase some excellent kicking skills with speed and power with the other two trying to gang up on him. This shows great combat with Sammo and Johnny going toe to toe in parts with brilliant hand to hand combat, timing and movement. Sammo ends the fight with a kick to the groin(The same as Bruce Lee did to Bob Wall in Enter The Dragon).Sammo truely is one of the best choreographers ever showing us time and time again how its really done. Legend.

66.Dirty Tiger,Crazy Frog – End Fight
It took me a while to get hold of this film and although its not as good as Odd Couple or Warriors Two, it still has great fight scenes involving Masters Sammo Hung and Lau Kar Wing. Here they take on Lee Hoi San who cannot be hurt due to his metal armour, so they have to team up and take him down anyway they can. At the start Hoi San is in control and the other two dont know how to deal with him until Sammo sees some of his Armour starting to come loose so he starts pulling at it as Lau Kar Wing delievers lots of punches and kicks until he can no longer stand anymore. Very enjoyable film and another note is that all the flips and high kicks from Lau Kar Wing are actually Yuen Biao.

65.Fearless – Teahouse Fight
Jet li challenges a rival kung fu master to a fight but it all gets out of hand and nearly costs his characters life. The setting for the fight is my favorite part bringing back the old school feel with Yuen Woo Ping choreographing the fights. It starts with them both using swords and the place gets trashed (tables flying everywhere), also some great slow motion shots showing the power of both fighters. It then turns to hand to hand combat and this is when we see Jet taking control, a good fight scene.

64.Fist Of Fury – End Fight
Every moment of this is choreographed & shot perfectly with great pacing & suspense showing Bruce Lee deliever some incredible kicks and punches with power. He fights a guy with a dodgy tash and you can see the difference in skill between the two, with Bruce hitting him with a perfect high kick to the face followed by a chop to the kneck. He then fights the Japanese master who is using a samurai sword by this doesn’t bother Bruce as he intercepts and kicks him like 10 yards through a wall (The guy who gets kicked is actually Jackie Chan, at that time was the longest throw using a wire). Good stuff.

63.Hitman In The Hand Of Buddah – Hwang Jang Lee vs Eddie Ko
When the fight begins we get to see Hwang Jang Lee using alot more hand techniques showing us he has other skills than just amazing kicks. Hwang also shows us the Eagle Claw technique and the camera really focuses on the movement but then Hwang turns to his kicking skills and delievers some great blows, one where Hwang repeatedly crescent kicks his opponent in the face, A great fight with Corey Yuen choreographing the scenes.

62.Killer Army – Kuo Chui vs 4 spearmen
Ok you will know this guy from the five venom movies and in this film he doesn’t dissapoint as he takes on 4 spearmen showing us fantastic timing and skill, something we’d see in maybe a Sammo Hung movie.
The final scene is about 20+ minutes long and its worth every second as the fight gets better and better and also with alot more blood and violence. In the end he gets a little help and they overcome the badguys, good film from Shaw Brothers.

61.Fatal Move – Wu Jing vs 3
This was supposed to be 3 on 3 fight but as Wu Jings clan cannot defeat the first fighter Wu Jing himself has to step in and show what he’s made off. The first guy he faces is the muscle behind the 3 and uses oil so that Jings kicks and punches slide off, this doesn’t last long as he delievers some excellent kicks and an arm lock to defeat him. The next guy uses nails in his boots and gloves to cut Wu Jing and the fight turns alittle bloody with him looking like Bruce Lee at the end of “Enter The Dragon”. After defeating him the next guy appears showing us some close combat and some wire work, Jing uses elbows to get in close then delievers an incredible kick with a high jump kick followed by a jump spin kick to the chest. Excellent viewing.

Top 100 Martial Arts Fights – Continued!

Over the last few days we have been counting down from 100, the best fights ever put to film. Stick with us over the next few weeks and find out which fight scenes make it into our top 10, and of course use the comments box to the right to discuss any of our choices.

100 – 91

Rosa – End Fight
The fight between Yuen Biao and villian Dick Wei is a great watch with fast paced action mixed with great comedy. Biao at first beats a few bad guys with high kicks and flips then steps up Dick Wei, the choreography is very well done with them going toe to toe delievering powerful moves. The fight turns to comedy when they both get stuck in a freezer and have to take parts of each others clothing to stay warm. Great watch.

Dance Of The Drunken Mantis – Yuen Siu Tin vs Hwang Jang Lee
Yuen Siu Tien plays his famous character of Sam Seed and faces Hwang Jang Lee (Long white hair) in a great fight scene. The fight starts off with them both sitting at a table talking then it erupts, hwang shows some great movements in the mantis style flipping Sam Seed over and delievering hard punches. Yuen Siu Tien shows us a bit of the Drunken Fairy style which is a great watch and both trying to steal the Beer and get drunk shows great timing.

Drunken Tai Chi – Donnie Yen vs Wong Tao
This fight scene shows Donnie Yen perform some brilliant acrobatic and weaponry abilities against Wong Tao. This is Yens first film and in this fight scene we see great close combat from the two with donnie showing his kicking ability, also Donnie’s use of the Plum Flower Chain is great viewing.

Fist Of Legend – Jet Li vs Yasuaki Kurata
This is just one of many great fights in this classic movie, showing Japanese martial art master Kurata take on Wu Shu champ Jet li toe to toe. Jet starts of using alot of knees and punches which seems to be getting the upper hand, but when the wind picks up the Japanese master cannot see so they go use blindfolds to finish the fight. Both throw stones to confuse each other and attack but ends with both on the ground and calling it a draw.

Kiss Of The Dragon – Dojo Fight
A little nod to the fist of legend scene when jet enters a dojo and takes on about 30 guys at one time. The fight only lasts over a minute or so but shows high energy martial arts from jet li using a police batton to get rid of the bad guys before the others come blasting their way in.

Eagles Claw – End Fight
Hwang Jang Lee is back with his long white hair and eyebrows this time taking on 3 people, We see him perform his usual high impact kicks but also front flips and great hand techniques. He also shows good use of the pole (well rather a big looking walking stick) before the others start to get a upper hand against him.

Broken Oath – Chan Wai Man vs Bruce Liang
Angela Mao is the star of this movie and While Angela is fighting against Sammo Hung (with a beard), Chan Wai Man and Bruce Liang also face off in this great fight scene. Bruce Liang is a great kicker and delievers some great techniques against Wai Man whilst angela then just watches from the side and only gets involved in the last second. The setting is great and although there is no music when they fight, this seems to work and build the fight up.

Last hurrah for chivalry – Wei Pai vs Fung Hak On
Fung Hak On is one of my all time favorite badguys and in this scene he squares off against Wei Pai, the fight starts with both using the sword showing us great timing with long shots without the camera changing.
Both are getting the better of each other and the fight does turn bloody, and the way Wei Pai finishes Fung Hak On off is brutal.

The Buddhist Fist – End Fight
Classic film directed by the legend Yuen Woo Ping and his magic shows off in this movie with some great fight scenes. Tsui Siu Ming faces Yuen Shun Yee who were seperated when they were younger but have to fight at the end of the movie and its got some great hand to hand combat thrown in, the monk randomly will perform a stance (like a pose) to make the other fighter miss. The part when the monk starts climbing all over him and performing strikes is a good watch. The end result could have been different but one of them realise its not worth it and drops to the ground.

Enter The Fat Dragon – Film extra Fight Scene
Sammo arrives as an extra on the set of a bruce lee (lookalike) movie and because hes a massive fan of Bruce in the movie he hates the guy playing him and quicly lets him know about it.
They square off and sammo blocks every counter from the fighter in the style of bruce lee, and when he gets the upper hand all the extras decide to join in. Sammo shows us fantastic kicking skills, the way he takes down one after another only the way Bruce Lee could do, he’s fast, powerful and direct. This show how he is the ultimate Bruce Lee impersonator himself.

The art of screen fighting

It truly is an art all of its own. Often we talk about dramatic actors and how hard their task is but surely the art of screen fighting is the most impressive form of acting? timing, skill, stunts and the danger – this is what many 21st century audiences want to see.

But with so many martial arts movies how do you pick the best ones? How does the martial arts actor find a way to showcase new skills to an ever evolving audience? What about those new to martial arts movies?

Where do beginners start in order to find the best screen fighting artists around?

The Official AMP Top 100 onscreen Martial Arts fights should help answer your questions. Over the next few days we will be counting down from 100, the best fights ever put to film. Stick with us over the next few weeks and find out which fight scenes make it into our top 10, and of course use the comments box to the right to discuss any of our choices.

New Legend Of Shaolin – Beginning Fight

This fight starts quick with Jet Li being attacked by a load of ninja’s led by the main bad guy, Jet uses a spear to disguard some of the foe sticking through about 4 at a time.
There is some wire work (which i’m not always pleased with), but it seems to work, the setting is very similar to the fight in Once Upon A Time In China with the burning fire and the fight being at night. A hard hitting fight in a movie all will truly enjoy.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon – Michelle vs Zhang
The camera takes us to the heart of the action one moment and then pulls away to let you appreciate the complexity of the movements on display. Both fighters are very impressive, with great weapon work, fantastic timing and movement and this is one film where wire work actually works. Good fight and a shining example of wirework used correctly.

Righting Wrongs – Yuen Biao vs Cynthia Rothrock
When I first saw these two go head to head I thought damn Cynthia can fight, she has great kicking skills and she puts it to test against a legend in the kicking field Yuen Biao. The fight isn’t very long but it does show some fast action with Biao flipping from one chair to the next and Rothrock trying to arrest him using any move possible. Both do great in the scene with Biao performing an impressive jump from a balcony at the end.

Game Of Death – Bruce lee vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
This was Bruce’s tallest ever Opponent and he has to find different ways to defeat this giant. After getting a beating in the early stages of the fight (which leaves him with a huge footprint on the front of his clothes) Bruce switches to grappling his opponent to the floor and apply a head lock. Great to see a small man defeat such a bigger man. This fight is not only well executed but also showcases how martial arts can be used to defend a real life opponent.

Once Upon A Time In China – Opera House Fight
I know some people might have this fight higher in the list and although I enjoyed it I couldn’t get it out of my head that Jet gets doubled alot throughout this and the movie (He broke his leg). Apart from that the fight is good to watch with the use of hand techniques, weapon work and kicking skills to get rid of the foreign invasion. The scene is quiet harsh with the killing of innocent people but the fight makes up for it with Yuen Biao also popping up in the scene and Kent Cheung.

HERO- Jet Li vs Donnie Yen
This is the only action scene in the film where Kung Fu is the focus and not cinematography or flashy editing. Also this is the second fight between both guys (OUATIC 2 being the first).
When Donnie and Jet do face each other though the results are great, although the fact they are fighting each other in their minds and not physically is a shame. Its a good scene with both fighters using wepons more than anything else.

Warrior King – Tony Jaa verses 100
After getting beat up for a bit and then a stabbing Jaa finally starts to fight back with a new kind of brutality not seen on screen before. Every person that comes towards him he must break a part of their body with some brutal moves.

Hells Wind Staff – Meng Hoi and Meng Yuan Man vs Hwang Jang Lee
First of all Meng Hoi finishes off a henchman without too much difficulty but then he comes face to face with super kicker Hwang Jang Lee and his devastating ‘Hellz Wind Staff’.
Hwang does perform some great pole fighting with some amazing kicks but the intensity only increases when Meng Yuan Man joins in. Brilliant 2 on 1 fight scene from the man they call Hwang Jang Lee.

Invincible Armour – John Liu & Tino Wong vs Hwang Jang Lee
Yes people another Hwang Jang Lee fight scene and this one again doesn’t fail to impress. Hwang brings the style of Eagles Claw to the screen and in this fight we see Tino Wongs character not being able to defeat the eagles claw. Then we see John Liu turn up and it all changes from there, with great kicking techniques from the fighters and also what i really liked was the fact it would show a egg being crushed when someone would get hit in a certain part, (Have a think) ha. Its a fast paced scene with great timing and skill.

Last Hero In China – End Fight
Yuen Woo Ping choreographes the fight scenes and you can certainly tell as he pushes Jet to the max. We actually get to see him using Drunken Boxing and although not as good as Jackie Chan it still looks good on screen, there is once alot of wire work throughout the movie (someone that would later become a trademark of Jet Li films) and some doubling involved but seeing Jet use this style to defeat his opponent with the Wong Fei Hung theme playing behind is a great watch.

90 – 81 coming soon

Kung fu comedy was here to stay with Drunken Master following the huge success of Snake In The Eagles Shadow and this movie is even better than the first outing from jackie chan and yuen woo ping. After these two movies kung fu movies had found a new king to take over from bruce lee fater his death in 1973, it took 5 years then came Jackie Chan.

Chan plays the legendary hero Wong Fei Hung who cant stop getting himself into trouble, after two fights one morning and the rival school turning up at fei hungs fathers, he decides to send fei hung to his uncles for punishment, played by Yuen Siu Tien. Sam The Seed is known for crippling his students with his brutal training and teaching, when fei hung discovers this he tries to run away from sam the seed but is always found and beaten once again.

This is when the training really starts (i should i say torture training), putting fei hung through some painful sequences. Fei hung once again tries to run away but then comes face to face with a hired assassin (hwang jang lee) who gives fei hung a major beating, which sends him back to his master to improve his skills.

The final scene is incredible which matches the end fight from snake in the eagles shadow with jackie and hwang jang lee going kick for kick with chan showing the eight drunken fists which nobody has matched before or since. Jackie mixes kung fu and comedy brilliantly which is why he has forever since been named the kung fu/comedy king.

But everybody had to wait 16 years until 1994 for the sequel of this outstanding film, the follow up was every bit as good as the first. Excellent movie with great performances.

[Rating:10/10]

10/10

*NOTE* – This movie outgrossed snake in the eagles shadow in its first run making HK$8,000,000. Yuen woo ping and jackie chan had created there own blend of kung fu and comedy and changed the genre forever.

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