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 
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
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 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.
80.Spiritual Kung Fu – Jackie vs the Monks
The fight starts with a one-to-one fight which is a good watch with chan vs a monk in a pole fight (which the monk gets the better hand for a while). Then jackie faces about 15 monks armed with the weapon “Tonfas”, he shows great skill and timing to show he can go and defeat the badguys. He shows trademarks were used to seeing today by the way he takes the poles of the monks and flicks the poles back to them. Good fight and did you know Yuen Biao actually plays one of the ghosts that help Jackie train.
79.Vengeance – final fight
David Chiang goes out for revenge against the men who murdered his best friend in this brutal and bloody showdown. As the fight goes along we see Chiang get stabbed alot of times as he battles back and the white suit that he is wearing seems to get more and more blooded by the second. It also shows us Chiang using the stairwell to get more height over the villians, ok the speed isn’t the quickest but it certainly is enjoyable. Also stars Ti Lung.
78.Dragon Fist – End Fight
This is my favorite Lo Wei film with Jackie Chan and here we get to see the serious side to him with moves that are fast, powerful and direct. It starts with Jackie facing a guy using a steel tonfas who is brillaint with them giving jackie a difficult fight, but we do get to see great hand techniques by chan and even a few backflips thrown in. After defeating him we see another guy jump in which is more hand to hand combat, showing chan deliever some killer blows with such speed even Bruce Lee would approve off.
77.Way Of The Dragon – Nunchuaku fight
Fight starts when Bruce Lee is led to the back of the shop by a guy with a gun but suddenly hits him then grabs a pole facing two other guys. After knocking them out more come running out thats when we see him use the nunchuks, fast, powerful and gets rid of them rather quickly. One shot is when a guy is holding two knifes and bruce knocks one out his hand, kick to the shin, nunchuck to the face followed by a roundhouse kick. quality.
76.Fists and Guts – Gordon Liu vs Lo Lieh
Great exhibition of traditional wushu weapons as we see Gordon Liu (Nunchuakus) take on Lo Lieh (Sword) in this gripping fight scene.
The fight starts off quickly then enter the sand bags hanging from the ceiling making it harder for both fighters to perform.
It then turns more to hand to hand combat and the use of the head from the shaolin fighter ducking low and counter attacking, then gordon liu ends it with a classic leg break.
75.Shanghai,Shanghai – Sammo Hung vs Yuen biao
Fantastic fight scene between two legends of the kung fu world and this makes up for a rather dull film. Sammo plays the badguy and at the end of the movie we finally get to see them square off, the hand combat is excellent with wing chun style moves and blocks thrown in there with a mix of high kicks and brillaint timing.
Who wins the fight? you’ll have to grab a copy to find out.
74.Miracles – End Fight
Jackie faces a tough battle after being caught by the local traids and taken to a factory, here he first faces super villian Billy Chow with both of them hitting fast and hard (billy getting the upper hand). Chan decides to run and then incomes atleast 15 fighters to attack him, we see him perform some great stunts and his stunt team do a great job falling from 30ft to the ground in one shot.
He wraps it up with a jump spin kick followed by a low spin kick then roundhouse to the face. class fight.
73.Armour Of God – Jackie vs 4 women
Yep jackie faces his toughest test to date (maybe not) fighting against 4 women after just defeating aload of monks, who give him a run for his money. The women actually have some muscle on them and as the fight progresses yes there is some heavy doubling going on but its still brilliant to watch Jackie against 4 women and just hitting them like you’d see in a Sammo hung movie. Jackie hits out with power until he punches one of the womens breasts and says “sorry” before beating them all up.
72.Above The Law – Yuen Biao vs Melvin Wong
After defeating Cynthia Rothrock melvin wong faces legend yuen biao in a battle to survive and bring wong to justice. Biao delievers excellent kicking skills and shows this when he performs a double spin kick to wongs face knocking him to the floor. Wong tries to escape in his aeroplane this is when biao shows us how good a stuntman he is by hanging from the side of it thousands of feet in the air then falling into the sea. Yes he did it before Jackie Chan in Police Story 3, good fight.
71.Pantyhose Hero – End Fight (Factory)
The film isn’t sammos greatest film by any means but the final showdown with him and Alan Tam (Armour Of God) facing aload of gangsters is well worth a watch. When the fight starts both sammo and Alan run off in different ways and cuts inbetween the two but Sammo’s scenes are excellent showing him take on a few guys with a metal pole going one to another and taking them down. We see brilliant weapon work from the master before he gets into a fight with the main guy, this guy can kick very well and delievers some brutal kicks to sammo (one that hits him in the throat and he falls back into a ditch falling through wood). The fight is great but the only thing id change is the annoying girl who doesnt stop screaming throughout it all.
