Over the years, several films in the martial arts genre have offered truly unbelievable action sequences. While some of the best martial arts films opt for realism, exaggerated moves that would be impossible to pull off in real life have long become a staple of the genre. They may seem silly in certain cases, but when handled correctly, they can add extra levels of excitement to the action.
These moves are particularly common in traditional kung fu films released by studios such as Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers in the 1970s and 1980s. They are often associated with the careers of martial arts stars such as Jackie Chan, Gordon Liu and Alexander Fu Sheng. Sometimes they can lead to a moment of brevity, and in other cases they can be used to execute an epic ending to an intense fight scene.
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The Ten Tigers of Kwantung – Phillip Kwok rips off a bandit’s head
The Ten Tigers of Kwantung was a 1980s kung fu film that brought together several of the Shaw Brothers’ biggest stars for an Avengers-like team. It culminated in a final battle where the villain – after killing one of the heroes – was quickly intercepted by Phillip Kwok’s character. After launching the villain into the air and getting his feet stuck in the ceiling, the hero jumped into the air and literally kicked his opponent in the head.
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The eight-diagram polo wrestler – a monk knocks out two men’s teeth
In The Eight Diagrams Polo WrestlerOne of Gordon Liu’s best films, the title character has to convince peaceful monks to fight their attackers. Unwilling to take a human life, they compromise using the same tactics they employ against wolves; removing teeth. A scene of several bloody teeth attached to a monk’s staff was one of the film’s most memorable moments.
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Detective story – Jackie Chan slides down a lamppost
Dangerous stunts are tied to Jackie Chan’s identity as a martial arts movie star, with Police Story being one of the films that helped create this image for him. In the Hong Kong kung fu classic, there was a scene where Jackie Chan’s character had to slide down a pole. The distance he had to travel alone made it impressive, but what really made this moment so extraordinary was the number of lights attached to the pole. Chan broke each of them when he fell, clearly taking a big risk with this real-life stunt.
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Tom Yum Goong – Tony Jaa kicks a lamppost
In a moment that paid homage to a Bruce Lee scene in Path of the DragonTony Jaa threw an incredible kick at Tom Yum Goong. To intimidate a thug, Jaa jumped into the air and broke the light of a streetlight, which was hanging directly above him. The distance the light was from where he was standing, not to mention the angle, is a testament to the Thai actor’s talent.
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Bloodsport – Jean-Claude Van Damme splits on air
Jean-Claude Van Damme has done his signature move – the splits – numerous times in his martial arts films, with one of the most impressive examples occurring at the end of Blood sport. In the midst of his epic showdown with Bolo Yeung’s Chong Li, Van Damme’s Frank Dux did the splits in the air to dodge an attack and hit his opponent with a devastating attack.
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Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao drive two thugs off their motorcycles
Jackie Chan and his frequent co-star Yuen Biao (an actor equally known for his acrobatic skills) performed a thrilling feat together in Wheels for meals its characters took a stand against two thugs on motorcycles. At the same time, Chan and Yuen jumped and delivered flying kicks, successfully knocking their opponents off their motorcycles.
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Fist of Fury – Bruce Lee takes over an entire dojo
Fights in which one person defends himself against more than a dozen enemies are quite common in martial arts films, but the battle that took place in the Japanese dojo in Fist of Fury occupies a special place in the history of the genre. The speed with which Lee’s Chen Zhen plowed through the karate students cemented its status as one of the best Bruce Lee fight scenes of all time.
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Masked Avengers – Chiang Sheng and Phillip Kwok kill the main villain with four spears
Masked Avengersone of several films starring the acting team that made The five deadly poisonsended in a gravity-defying act. A two-on-two spear fight saw the villain pick up four spears and throw them into the air one by one. Somehow, each of them didn’t fall until the two heroes – played by Phillip Kwok and Chiang Sheng – pinned him down with their weapons, allowing all four spears to fall on him at once.
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Flying Guillotine – The flying guillotine cuts off people’s heads and puts them in baskets
One of the most incredible killing moves comes courtesy of the Flying Guillotine, a weapon designed for execution purposes. Thrown like a Frisbee, the bladed weapon traps the target’s head, decapitates them and leaves their head in a basket. The sinister function of the Flying Guillotine has created some of the bloodiest deaths in the history of kung fu cinema, a pattern that began in 1975. Flying Guillotine.
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White Lotus Clan – Gordon Liu defeats Lo Lieh’s Pai Mei by stabbing him in the hand
Shaw Brothers delivered one of the best kung fu films of the 1970s when they produced Clan of the White Lotus, which told a story in which Gordon Liu’s character had to find the weakness of the seemingly invincible Pai Mei, who was so powerful he could even ignore groin attacks. At the end of the film, the hero chose acupuncture as his best possible weapon against Pai Mei and carefully placed needles all over his body. Pai Mei shockingly forced them out of his body, only to die when one pierced his entire palm, which turned out to be his true weak point.