Yuen Siu Tien trained in traditional the Peking opera role of Wu-Shen, and when his first acting role came it was in a Wong Fei Hung film to star Kwan Tak Hing, Story of Huang Feihong (1949).

In 1978 Drunken Master proved to be the most successful film to feature Jackie Chan, it shown Wong Fei Hung as a young and mischievous rascal always getting into trouble and drinking which is alot different to the old portrait of Wong Fei Hung played by Kwan Tak Hing. The movie was a surprise international hit, and greatly helped to boost the career of the then 66 year old actor.

He then came back to the role of The Beggar So for three other films, Dance Of The Drunk Mantis, Story Of Drunken Master and a cameo in World Of The Drunken Master. He was supposed to be in the movie The Magnificent Butcher starring Sammo Hung and directed by his son Yuen Woo Ping, but a few weeks into filming he sadly passed away and was replaced by Fan Mei Sheng.

Heres a selection of movies starring the legend that is Yuen Siu Tien:
Drunken Master
Snake In The Eagles Shadow
Sleeping Fist
Little Tiger of Canton
Drunken Fist Boxing
Ol’ Dirty & the B*stard
The Buddhist Fist
Heroes Of The East
Peculiar Boxing Tricks and Master
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

If you have not seen any of these films then please make sure you get yourself a few, sit back and enjoy.

Also Yuen Siu Tien had alot of children and most of them got into the HK movie scene in some way or another, heres a list of them and what they do:

1. Yuen Woo-ping – director and action director
2. Yuen Cheung Yan – actor and action director
3. Yuen Shun Yi aka Sunny Yuen – actor and action director
4. Yuen Yat Chor – actor
5. Yuen Chun Yeung aka Brandy Yuen – actor, stuntman and action director
6. The 6th son, who has worked as an actor in a small number of films is Yuen Lung Chu.
7. In addition, Yuen had two further sons and three daughters.

Also did you know The rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard took his name from one of Yuen Siu Tien’s movies Ol’ Dirty & The Bastard. ODB was a member of the Wu-Tang Clan rap group until his death in 2004. His lyrics were often inspired by 1970s Kung Fu films.

I done this feature of Yuen Siu tien because i dont feel there is alot about him on the internet which is a shame, as he has been in some great movies and also to me the character “Beggar So” was excellently played by him and feel nobody can do it better, I hope you enjoyed this and do get time to watch some of the movies mentioned earlier.
Here is the trailer to Drunken Master.

Click here to view the embedded video.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuen_Siu_Tien

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.