Over 80 of the world's greatest martial artists demonstrate techniques and discuss philosophy in this fascinating account of the martial arts phenomenon and its increasing global popularity. See rare footage of some of the world's greatest kick boxers. Witness the stars training and analyze their techniques. Learn about competitions such as K-1, the world's most popular martial arts competition. Discover what separates the sports styles and the spiritual style of martial arts.
08-20-2002
56 min
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Main Cast
Movie Details
Production Info
Director:
Peter Spirer
Writer:
Karyn Bryant
Budget:
$350,000
Key Crew
Producer:
Peter Spirer
Locations and Languages
Country:
US
Languages:
en
Main Cast
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo (Chinese: 洪金寶, born Hung Kam-Po, 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, producer and director, known for his work in many kung fu films and Hong Kong action cinema. He has been a fight choreographer for, amongst others, Jackie Chan, King Hu, and John Woo. Hung is one of the pivotal figures who spearheaded the Hong Kong New Wave movement of the 1980s, helped reinvent the martial arts genre and started the vampire-like Jiang Shi genre. He is widely credited with assisting many of his compatriots, giving them their starts in the Hong Kong film industry, by casting them in the films he produced, or giving them roles in the production crew. In East Asia, it is common for people to address their elders or influential people with familial nouns as a sign of familiarity and respect. Jackie Chan, for example, is often addressed as "Dai Goh", meaning Big Brother. Hung was also known as "Dai Goh", until the filming of Project A, which featured both actors. As Hung was the eldest of the kung fu "brothers", and the first to make a mark on the industry, he was given the nickname "Dai Goh Dai", meaning, Big, Big Brother or Biggest Big Brother.
Was a member of the"Seven Little Fortunes" in Yu Jim-Yuen's China Drama Academy's Peking Opera School.
Li Lianjie (李连杰, born April 26, 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese martial artist, actor, film producer, wushu champion, and international film star who was born in Beijing, China, and who has currently taken up Singapore citizenship.
After three years of intensive training with Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. After retiring from wushu at age 17, he went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple (1982). He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films, most notably the Once Upon A Time In China series, in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung.
Li's first role in a Hollywood film was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), but his first Hollywood film leading role was in Romeo Must Die (2000). He has gone on to star in many Hollywood action films, most recently starring beside Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom (2008), and as the title character villain in The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (2008) opposite Brendan Fraser. Recently, he appeared in the 2010 film The Expendables.
Bruce Jun Fan Lee (Lee Siu Lung) was born on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, CA while his parents were on tour with the Chinese Opera. Ultimately raised in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee was a child actor appearing in more than 20 films. At the age of 13, Bruce took up the study of wing chun gung fu under renowned wing chun master, Yip Man. Bruce left Hong Kong at the age of 18, came to the United States and made his way to Seattle, Washington where he worked in the restaurant of a family friend. He soon enrolled in the University of Washington where he pursued a degree in philosophy. Bruce began to teach gung fu in Seattle and soon opened his first school, the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. Two more schools followed in Oakland and Los Angeles. Concurrently Bruce married his wife, Linda and had his two children, Brandon and Shannon. In the mid sixties, Bruce was discovered while doing an exhibition at the Long Beach Internationals and a role as Kato in the tv series The Green Hornet soon followed. During this time, Bruce was also developing his own martial art, which he ultimately named Jeet Kune Do (translated: the way of the intercepting fist). Bruce's art was steeped in a philosophical foundation and did not follow long held martial traditions. Instead it had at its core the ideas of simplicity, directness and personal freedom. After The Green Hornet series was canceled, Bruce encountered resistance while working in Hollywood and so headed to Hong Kong to pursue a film career. In Hong Kong he made 3 films, which consecutively broke all box office records and showcased martial arts in an entirely new way. Hollywood took notice and soon Bruce was making the first Hollywood / Hong Kong coproduction with a film called Enter the Dragon. Unfortunately, Bruce Lee died in 1973 before this film was released. This film catapulted him to international fame. Today Bruce Lee’s legacy of self expression, equality, and pioneering innovation continues to inspire people all around the world.
Cynthia Rothrock (born March 8, 1957) is an American martial artist and actress in martial arts films. She holds black belt rankings in seven styles of martial arts and was a high-level competitor in martial arts before becoming an actress. In 2014, she was inducted into the International Sports Hall Of Fame. In 2016, Martial Arts History Museum bestowed Rothrock the official title of "The Queen Of Martial Arts."
Rothrock was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and began training in martial arts at the age of 13. She quickly rose through the ranks, winning numerous championships in karate, kickboxing and taekwondo. In 1981, she was named World Champion in Forms and Weapons.
In 1985, Rothrock made her film debut, alongside Michelle Yeoh, in the Hong Kong action film "Yes, Madam!" The film was a box office success and made Rothrock a star in Asia. She went on to star in several more Hong Kong films, including "Millionaires' Express" (1986), "Magic Crystal" (1986), "Righting Wrongs" (1986) and "Lady Reporter" (1989).
Rothrock would return to the United States to further her acting career in many more martial arts films, including two "China O'Brien" movies in 1990, as well as "Lady Dragon" (1992), "Rage And Honor" (1992) and "Sworn To Justice" (1996).
In 2024, Rothrock co-wrote, produced and starred in a crowd-funded martial arts western, entitled "Black Creek," for which there's also an accompanying graphic novel.
Along with teaching martial arts, Rothrock is also a successful businesswoman, with her own line of martial arts clothing and accessories.
David Carradine (born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series Kung Fu, playing Kwai Chang Caine, a peace-loving Shaolin monk travelling through the American Old West. He also portrayed the title character of both of the Kill Bill films. He appeared in two Martin Scorsese films: Boxcar Bertha and Mean Streets.
David Carradine was a member of the Carradine family of actors that began with his father, John Carradine. The elder Carradine's acting career, which included major and minor roles on stage, television, and in cinema, spanned more than four decades. A prolific "B" movie actor, David Carradine appeared in more than 100 feature films in a career spanning more than six decades. He received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for his work on Kung Fu, and received three additional Golden Globe nominations for his performances in the Woody Guthrie biopic Bound for Glory (1976), the television miniseries North and South (1985), and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 2, for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Throughout his life, Carradine was arrested and prosecuted for a variety of offenses, which often involved substance abuse. Films that featured Carradine continued to be released after his death. These posthumous credits were from a variety of genres including action, documentaries, drama, horror, martial arts, science fiction, and westerns. In addition to his acting career, Carradine was a director and musician. Moreover, influenced by his Kung Fu role, he studied martial arts. On April 1, 1997, Carradine received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Description above from the Wikipedia article David Carradine, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
