10. The Magnificent Butcher – Yuen biao vs Lam Ching Ying

Amazingly complex choreography, beautiful technqiues, unbelievable timing. This is it folks. When Sammo and Yuen or Jackie get together the results are usually explosive!

Yuen Biao is in perfect form here and its just a crying shame that this guy did not go on to be as successful internationally as his brothers Jackie and Sammo did.

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9. Warriors Two – End Fight

IMO the Greatest Wing Chun movie Ever Made and also one of the best Kung Fu Movies. There was a very good reason why Donnie Yen picked Sammo to do the fight choreography for the Ip Man film and this is it.

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8. Flashpoint – Donnie Yen

The only film to make are top 20 which was released in the 21st Century! What makes this fight scene so special is that Donnie here is trying to build a new style of screen fighting. By combining the fighting with more complex Judo/MMA, what we have here is a fight which for the first time ever shows the devastating onscreen potential of grabbling. Previously grabbling/ floor fighting at not been used much on screen as many felt it would not excite audiences, but given the success of MMA/UFC in recent years; many audiences are now more observant to the complex moves used on the floor. The soundtrack also adds that extra hump to every hit. It truly hits the spot. Donnie is back kicking just as good now as he did 20 years ago if not BETTER!

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7. Legendary weapons of kung fu/China – lau kar leung vs lau kar wing

Brotherly love is out of the window here as real life brothers Lau Kar Leung and Lau Kar Wing go against each other in the best weapon based fight of all time. Now when we say weapons WE MEAN WEAPONS! I literally lost count of the number of weapons used in this fight scene. Each one expertly used to defend against the other, attack followed by count attack followed by another attack. Weapon fighting DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS.

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6. Police Story 1 – Jackie Chan vs The MALL!

Man this was a hard decision. For many this could easily have been number 1 but after weeks of discussions we came to the conclusion that we had to put Police Story at number 6 (given the movies we have above it). For alot of fans this was their first exposure to Jackie Chan and what a introduction this is! Jackie Chan almost single handledly destroys a mall! This was also the movie that refined glass! and breaking glass! Glass is broken everywhere and by everything. By Bikes, by Punches, by Faces! by kicks, by bodies being completely thrown at glass. WOW! One of the reasons we had to put this down to number 6 is because you could argue that the scene is more famous for the stunt work over the actual hand to hand combat which whilst great is completely overshadowed by what Jackie was able to do to the mall.

Enjoy!

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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.

60.Ip Man – Donnie Yen vs Lots

After the death of his master Donnie Yen demands a fight with 10 of the black belts from the japanese school. Donnie yen is so fast its untrue, he delievers lightening quick punches, great take downs and is so brutal against the japanese is why this makes my top 100, It only last 30 seconds or so but is a good watch.

59.Miracles – Teahouse Fight

Great fight scene from Jackie Chan and the JC stunt team as they really do get to shine with people being thrown from the top floor to the ground, one gets thrown down some spirual stairs and jackie flipping back under a spinning fan then back to his feet is a great watch,Few minutes of fast action, love it.

58.Sha Po Lang – Donnie Yen vs Wu Jing

Donnie Yen and Wu Jing finally come face to face in this bloody encounter which will have you rewinding straight after its finished. Throughout the movie we get to see both in some great fights but this one is the best with Wu Jing using the Knife against Donnie’s police batton, the fight is fast with both delievering killer blows before donnie starts to take control.The bloodsplatter right at the end of the fight against the wall is like from a old school kung fu flick. excellent.

57.The Victim – Leung Kar Yan + Sammo Hung vs Many

One of Leung Kar Yan’s best movies, again starring next to action legend Sammo Hung for this bloody encounter. Here we see Leung’s older brother trying to steal his wife off him by surrounding him with thugs ordered to kill him. We get to see him fight a dozen men using a pole delievering killer strikes, but it doesnt go all his own way as he is injured during it leaving sammo to take a few on and there forced to leave the girl behind. Fantastic fight scene and the movie is one of my favorites with a great story and twist which will leave you guessing until the very end.

56.Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon – Final Fight

Sammo Hung is back once again paying homage to Bruce Lee and in my opinion is by far the best Bruce Lee impersonator as we see him beat up aload of thugs and then take on the legendary Lau Kar Wing. We see Sammo defend himself against axes by using the nunchuks with power blows showing you how it should be done, then we see him performing high spin kicks, backslips and in the end just leaves Lau Kar Wing to “hang around”.

55.Hapkido – Final Fight

Whang In Sik and Angela Mao come face to face with a classful of Japanese martial artists and kicks off with Whang performing a great kick which takes out a few guys which then leaves Angela to take down some of the rest. Here Angela shows us once again her kicking skills throughout the film but once you see Whang’s amazing kicks you cant really look past that. Good movie which also stars Sammo Hung and cameos from Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao.

54.Fist Of Legend – Jet li vs Chin Siu Ho

Jet li stars in this Fist Of Fury remake and i have to say its brilliant. This fight happens because Li is dating a japanese girl which his school and fellow chinese dont approve off. As the fight starts chin siu ho comes forward and throws most the moves as Jet doesn’t want to fight back and hurt him. After a few minutes we finally see jet come to life and we see fast hand techniques and some great kicking skills by both fighters. I also feel Chin Siu Ho is very under-rated, why? im not to sure.

53.Once Upon A Time In China 2 – Jet Li vs Donnie Yen

This is the first time both legends come face to face in a movie, with a cracking pole fight between the two performed at breakneck speed. Both fighters seems to be in control until they have to fight with smaller poles, thats when the action gets better with them taking the action to a narrow alleyway where we see Donnie using the ‘cloth staff’ technique. The fight is a good watch and as always it ends in a very bloody way.

52.Prodigal Son – Lam Ching Ying vs Frankie Chan

Whilst sitting for their dinner, Lam Ching Ying is offered a challenge by Frankie Chan to see whos the best fighter and although the fight is few minutes long (if that) we see some great skill from both fighters. Lam Ching Ying is superb as Leung Yee Tai and his opera skills and wing chun really do shine with his relentless power and speed, im just gutted they never got a second fight to see who was really the best.

51.Shanghai 13 – Ti Lung vs Chen Sing

Throughout the film we get to see some great fights, but this one is the best with Ti Lung taking on Chen Sing at a dockside with great skill and timing showing just how good they both are. Chen comes at him using a knife against Ti Lungs pole, the scene is really fast paced and packs a big punch and even though Chens acrobatics are great to watch it does get him into a bit of bother.

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.

Lau Kar Leung stars in this excellent kung fu piece which many people regard as not only one of the best shaw brothers movies but one of the greatest kung fu movie ever made.

In bizarre rituals kung fu masters all meet to compare their powers against there deadlist enermy – the gun.  When they stand there and go against the gun, all the masters stand still and even start to smile then suddenly all of them drop dead,(not what you want). Only one master refuses to be defeated and that is Lei Kung (lau lar leung),who suddenly makes a break for it and leaves everything behind.

Other schools in the area want Kung dead and send three hitmen after him, one of them being kar leungs real life brother (lau kar wing), in a 20+minutes fight scene both using every single weapon you could ever think off and also magic.

Theres one scene when a fake martial artist goes into the village and uses guys with fake blades to attack him, until it all turns nasty and his insides actually come out of his stomach(so he ties it up).

Everything about the film i love, great characters, the plot is well done and ofcourse the outstanding fight choreography by the lau brothers. Hsiao Hou is also in the movie and to me is just behind yuen biao for the most flexable martial arts star, but also holds his own as a fantastic stuntman.

I give this movie 10/10

[Rating:10/10]

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