Top 5 Martial Arts Fights of All Time

Who doesn’t love a good movie? Who doesn’t like a good fight scene? There are few things as great as a fun martial arts movie to motivate an aspiring martial artist to practice, practice and practice.

In between all that practicing, grab a snack and watch some of these great martial arts movies from my very own Top five list of Best Martial Arts Movies. The martial arts actors and at the same time masters are more or less the same ones we knew since childhood. I was always inspired by Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Steven Seagal till Jackie Chan stunts.

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5. Enter The Dragon (Hong Kong, 1973)

Famous Bruce Lee vs Chuck Norris scene, this fight is the most legendary! The film was shot on location in Hong Kong. All scenes were filmed without sound: dialogue and sound effects were added or dubbed in during post-production. Bruce Lee, after he had been goaded or challenged, fought several real fights with the film's extras and some set intruders during filming. The scenes of Han's Island were filmed at a residence known as Palm Villa near the coastal town of Stanley in Hong Kong.

Bruce Lee with legendary master Ip Man

Bruce Lee's martial art training with Master Ip Man in Hong Kong

4. Fist of Legend (Hong Kong, 1994) Jet Li vs Japanese General

Later films have also been influenced by Fist of Legend. Hitman also has a scene involving him using a belt as a weapon as seen previously. The more realistic and less wire-driven fight choreography seen in Kiss of the Dragon was a result of fan criticism of Corey Yuen's choreography in Romeo Must Die and preference for the style seen in Fist of Legend.

3. The Big Boss (Hong Kong, 1971) Bruce Lee

The Big Boss is a 1971 Hong Kong martial arts action film written and directed by Lo Wei, with assistance from Bruce Lee, and was Lee's first major film. It stars Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien and Tony Liu. Originally written for Tien, the leading role was given to Lee instead when the film's original director, Ng Kar-seung, was replaced by Lo. The film was a critical success and excelled at the box office. Lee's strong performance overshadowed Tien, already a star in Hong Kong, and made Bruce Lee famous across Asia.

2. Best of the Best (USA, 1989) 

Best of the Best is a 1989 American martial arts film directed by Bob Radler and produced by Phillip Rhee, who also co-stars in the film. The film also starred Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, and Chris Penn. The plot revolves around a team of American martial artists facing a team of South Korean martial artists in a karate tournament. Several subplots pop up in the story - moral conflicts, the power of the human spirit triumphing over adversity and the meaning of life are some themes. Set and filmed in Los Angeles, California, and Seoul, South Korea, between February 13 and April 6, 1989, Best of the Best was released on November 10, 1989.

1. Bloodsport Frank Dux vs Paco (USA, 1988) 

Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold. It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, and Bolo Yeung. The film is partly based on unverified claims made by martial artist Frank Dux. It sold well at the box office, grossing $65 million on a budget of $2.3 million. Bloodsport was one of Van Damme's first starring films and showcased his athletic abilities. It has since become a cult film. Van Damme plays Frank Dux, a man who goes AWOL from the U.S. Army to compete in the Kumite martial arts tournament. The character and story are purportedly based on the real-life Frank Dux. He is also credited in Bloodsport as the fight coordinator — who claims to have served in the military in Southeast Asia.

Two legends, Bruce Lee and J.C. Van Damme (fictional picture)

Life’s work of Pat Morita

As we remember him, he will always be our Mr. Miyagi that we miss seeing on-screen for many years. I do really miss Pat Morita, he was a great actor that inspired countless martial artists around the world. In an article titled “Goodbye to Pat Morita, Best Supporting Asian,” Lawrence Downes of the New York Times said, “The movie and TV industry has never had many roles for Asian-American men, and it seemed for a while that they all went to Mr. Morita. Whenever a script called for a little Asian guy to drive a taxi, serve drinks or utter wise aphorisms in amusingly broken English, you could count on Mr. Morita to be there.

Born in Isleton, California, Morita was sent to a Japanese-American internment camp as a child. After a long bout with spinal tuberculosis and a stint as a computer programmer, Morita became a popular stand-up comic, which led to his role on TV's '70s hit Happy Days as Arnold, the malt shop owner. That in turn led to The Karate Kid.

To me, Mr. Morita was more than just a small actor. His star was shining brightly over Hollywood and people tend to recognize Mr. Morita's efforts in performing trues martial arts (e.g. The Karate Kid) many years after he departed. 

Already an experienced actor and stand-up comic (sometimes billed as Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, usually as Pat Morita), he was particularly known for his portrayal of the excitable Arnold, owner of the drive-in malt shop in the television series Happy Days (1975-76 and 1982-83), and he was the first Japanese American to star in a television series (Mr T and Tina, 1976). But it was as the diminutive "Miyagi sensei" to Ralph Macchio's "Daniel-san" that he achieved international fame - the film was a huge box-office success and Morita starred in three sequels, two with Macchio and the last with a female pupil played by Hilary Swank.

A small glimpse in Pat Morita's life

When he left the hospital at the age of 11, it was after Pearl Harbor, and he was sent to join his family who, along with 110,000 other Americans of Japanese ancestry, had been put in an internment camp:

I was picked up at the hospital by an FBI agent wearing dark glasses and carrying a gun. I think back to the ludicrous nature of it all: an FBI man escorting a recently able-to-walk 11-year-old to a place behind barbed wire in the middle of nothing!

After the Second World War, his family eventually settled in Sacramento and opened a restaurant serving Chinese food (because of lingering Japanese prejudice). After graduation, he joined an aerospace company, but at the age of 30 decided to pursue a career in comedy. Billed as "The Hip Nip", he gained a reputation in clubs, then was asked to fill in for an ailing headliner at a Hawaiian theatre. Finding an audience of war veterans, many disabled, observing the 25th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, he began by telling them he wanted to apologize, on behalf of his people, for screwing up their harbor. The audience roared with laughter and cemented the comic's reputation.

Miyagi-Do Karate Kid T-shirt

Morita made his screen début in the pastiche of Twenties musicals Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), playing (with Jack Soo) one of two Orientals assisting Beatrice Lillie (as a white slave trader) in her nefarious activities. More than 20 other films preceded his casting in The Karate Kid, including Midway (1976), in which he played a Rear-Admiral indecisive about whether to arm his planes with bombs or torpedoes. He auditioned five times for his star-making role, which he won despite the producers' wanting a Japanese rather than Japanese American actor - they were considering Toshiro Mifune. To make him sound more ethnic on the credits, they asked Morita to use his given name, Noriyuki, rather than his stage name of Pat.

He proved perfect casting, catching the enigmatic character's endearing quirkiness (in one scene he teaches Macchio how to catch flies with chopsticks) and vulnerability (in a memorable drunk scene - partially written by Morita - he confesses his enduring sorrow that his wife and child both died during the child's birth at an ill-equipped internment camp). Morita lost the Oscar to the Cambodian actor Haing S. Ngor (for The Killing Fields).

Morita, who earned an Oscar nomination for “The Karate Kid,” died Nov. 24 at his Los Angeles home of natural causes. He was 73. We truly miss him!

Kung Fu - The Nature of Evil

In the popular movie series Kung Fu, Master Po (Keye Luke) appeared in many episodes as master Po. A touching movie series that most of us will never forget. In one particular Kung Fu episode master Po explained what is the nature of evil. The greatest scenes of wisdom were portrayed in countless scenes throughout the episode of Kung fu recorded in 1974 with legendary actor David Carradine. For three seasons, David Carradine starred as a half-Chinese, half-Caucasian Shaolin monk, Kwai Chang Caine, on the ABC hit TV series Kung Fu (1972–1975) and was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for the role. The show, which took place in the Old West, helped to popularize martial arts and Eastern philosophy in the West and immortalized the character of Kwai Chang Caine, also referred to as "Grasshopper", in popular culture. David Carradine was certainly the most talented martial arts actor in that era of movie-making. Keye Luke's legacy is a testament to his pioneering efforts to promote diversity and representation in the entertainment industry. He helped pave the way for future generations of Asian American actors and left an indelible mark on the history of film and television.

Luke was born in Canton, China, to a father who owned an art shop, but grew up in Seattle. He was part of the Luke family, a relative of Wing Luke, for whom Seattle's Wing Luke Asian Museum was named. He had four siblings who all emigrated from China to California during the Depression. His younger brother Edwin Luke also became an actor in the Charlie Chan series. Keye Luke became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1944—in a moment fictionally recreated in Lisa See's novel Shanghai Girls.

Before becoming an actor he was a local artist in Seattle and, later, Hollywood, working on several of the murals inside Grauman's Chinese Theatre. He did some of the original artwork for the 1933 King Kong press book. Luke also painted the casino's mural in The Shanghai Gesture. He published a limited edition set of pen and ink drawings of The Rubiyat of Omar Khayyam in the 1950s. Other art done by Luke included the dust jackets for books published in the 1950s and 1960s. It was through his studio artwork that he was recruited for his first movie roles. 

Grasshopper: Master?!

Po: I am here.

Grasshopper: I looked deep into myself. And I saw something that frightened me.

Po: What did you see, Grasshopper?

Grasshopper: I saw dark and fearful shadows in motion. Shadows that shunned the light.

Po: Did you put a name to these shadows?

Grasshopper: I called them evil.

Po: And what is the nature of evil?

Grasshopper: I do not know.

Po: Do you sometimes feel love, Grasshopper, and joy? Do you sometimes feel pride in what you have accomplished?

Grasshopper: Often, Master.

Po: And do you sometimes feel good?

Grasshopper: Try.

Po: But the threads that make up our human nature are two-ended. There is no capacity for feeling pride, without an equal capacity for feeling shame. One cannot feel joy, unless one can feel despair. We have no capacity for good, without an equal capacity for evil.

Grasshopper: Must we not then fear evil?

Po: Shall we fear our own humanity?

Grasshopper: Must we not fight evil?

Po: Who can defeat himself? For what is evil, but the self-seeking to fulfill its own secret needs. All that is necessary is that we face it, and choose.

Complete Collection - David Carradine

The Actor David Carradine

Born John Arthur Carradine on December 8, 1936, in Hollywood, California. Carradine was born into an acting dynasty; his father was the noted American actor John Carradine.

From a young age, Carradine was interested in becoming a fine artist. Learning from his father, who was a sculptor before becoming an actor, the young David started creating his own sculptures at the age of four. Despite his color blindness, Carradine persisted with art and was constantly painting, sculpting and drawing as a youth. But while he dreamed of becoming a full-time artist, he also found he had a knack for acting. On June 4, 2009, Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok, Thailand, hotel room. Early reports say the actor hung himself in a closet, using a curtain cord as a noose. He was in the city to shoot his latest film, Stretch. Carradine was 72 years old at the time of his death.

Carradine was married five times and had two daughters, Calista and Kansas. His most recent marriage was in 2004 to Annie Bierman.

Japanese Av Star

Life after death according to Master Kan

This clip is taken from the episode called "The Soul is the Warrior" in Season 1 of the 1970s TV program "Kung Fu". It stars David Carradine as Caine, Philip Ahn as Master Kan, and Pat Hingle as General Thoms.