My Short Kung Fu Comedy Film, and About Martial Arts in Films
One of the tragedies of my life is that ever since I started learning Kung Fu, I haven’t been involved in a single fight, so I don’t really know kitne paani mein hoon (translation: how much water I’m in). I’d rather not be, either, not because I believe in non-violence but because I’m not too thrilled about permanent injury, of which I’ve seen quite a few cases.
Here’s a short Kung Fu comedy I put together. It’s called ‘Wing Chun Kung Fu & The Junior Goonda’. We made it with a made-in-China digicam and edited it on Windows Movie Maker, so it’s all very basic stuff. We’ve tried to keep the fights as realistic as possible, and fun at the same time.
Wing Chun Kung Fu & The Junior Goonda
This here is a demonstration of some techniques of Wing Chun Kung Fu. The instructor is my uncle, who has trained in Singapore under Sifu Phillipe Zhuang and Sifu Michael Tan.
Nomenclature
I’d like to clarify a misconception that people have about the martial arts. People tend to say Judo-Karate-Kung-Fu as if they’re the same thing. They’re not. There are several different martial arts – Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Jiujitsu, Ninjutsu, Aikido, Hapkido, etc etc. And within each of them, several different styles exist. For example, some of the styles of Karate are Shotokan, Goju-ryu, Isshin-Ryu, Kenpo, etc.
Kung Fu is a generic name for martial arts in China. There are hundreds of different styles depending on their origins and creators. Some of them are Wing Chun, Choy Lay Fut, Hung Gar, Praying Mantis etc.
In India, we have Kalaripayat in the south, and Thang-Ta in Manipur.
Wing Chun Kung Fu
Wing Chun, which I have trained a bit in, was originally created by a Shaolin temple nun named Ng Mui. The name of the art came from her foremost student, Yim Wing Chun. There’s a film (Wing Chun) about her, with the title role played by Michelle Yeoh.
There are constant arguments about which art is the best. But most of us who’ve been around for some time believe that no art is ‘better’ than another – it all boils down to who is the better fighter on the day.
What differentiates Wing Chun from other arts is its reliance on hand techniques as opposed to high flying kicks. In real life, a high kick to the head would be much more difficult to land than a straight punch, which is why the reliance on punches and palm strikes. Kicks in Wing Chun, like Muay Thai, target the legs a lot. A single kick to the groin or a knee joint can be enough to render an opponent incapable of asking for more. Then there are techniques like eye jabs and punches to the throat and elbows to the face or chest that are not allowed in any martial arts competition but are the most important and practical tools in a real fight. Wing Chun isn’t about looking good, it’s about demolishing your opponent in any way. In fact, a Wing Chun proverb says that if we’re in a situation where we’re absolutely sure there’s going to be a fight, we should throw the first punch because the chances of winning are higher that way. And if there’s a stone or stick lying nearby, pick it up and use it! Practical philosophies.
Martial Arts Action in Films
There are five kinds of fights as I see them in martial arts movies. One, the epic flying around wire-assisted fights seen in Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The House of Flying Daggers etc. Two, hardboiled kickass action as in Bruce Lee, Jet Li and Tony Jaa movies (Fist of Legend, Romeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon, Ong Bak, Tom Yum Goong, etc). Three, the older Kung Fu films (Jackie Chan’s older films for example – The Young Master, Fearless Hyena, Snake and the Eagle’s Shadow) with fights that are too obviously choreographed – Hm! Hoo! Ha! Hey! – you know, one step or one move at a time. Four, the modern Jackie Chan type: fast, realistic, entertaining and fun. Five, the fraud wire-fu fights like in Charlie’s Angels and some parts of The Matrix and several of our films where it’s obvious that the heroes/heroines are being flown around on wires and there’s absolutely no power behind their punches and kicks and everything is being done by the wires, the camera angles and the editing.
I’m not a big fan of flying fighters, although I did think Hero and Kung Fu Hustle used them real beautifully. I also have no more patience for old-style Kung Fu choreography, especially after Tony Jaa’s ultimate kickass fights in Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong.
Another prime beef I have is with film sequences in which the hero does a crash course in some martial art and overnight is able to bash up thirty villains with axes and spears, The Forbidden Kingdom being a prime example here. It takes at least a year or two to execute a spinning kick with grace and power, leave alone taking on a gang of armed thugs.
Desi Action
I myself am just a mid-level student, and that too one without any practical experience, but I’ve seen many wonderfully skilled athletic fighters apne des mein and it makes me wonder why, for a nation of a billion people, we are so limited in our film genres and don’t have a single proper martial arts film. The national Wushu team has jaw-droppingly flexible athletes who would kick my head off before I could raise my fist. I wish I were a crorepati ka beta. I’d have conducted a martial arts talent hunt and found a bunch of good fighters cum actors to work with. Not all good fighters can be good on-screen fighters, though. It’s amazing how few people can get hit convincingly on camera!
Even from a producer’s point of view, I see dollar signs in my eyes when I see the primary target demographic – new-testosterone-driven young boys. Furthermore, action and comedy films have very high repeat value.
My Favourite Martial Arts Films
Jackie Chan’s The Defender, Supercop (aka Police Story 3), Who Am I, Dragons Forever, Project A, Project A II, Police Story, City Hunter, Armour of God, Rumble in the Bronx, Rush Hour 1 & 2
Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer
Tony Jaa’s Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong
Jet Li’s Fearless and Fist of Legend
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Thanks for all the dope man
Loved Wing Chun Kung Fu and the junior gunda,
did i see wrong or did you actually kick ass, ah such a rarity ;)
btw the subs were excellent, made it even more fun….
like the rest of the series, this has immense repeat value
btw what is that pole on which you guys were practicing called?
Thanks, Rick. This is a fresh story actually, not part of the series. (If at all ANY story in Kung Fu films can be called fresh – ha ha)
We were practising on the Mook Yan Joang – the wooden dummy. It’s associated most commonly with Wing Chun Kung Fu. One can practise techniques on it without a partner. It develops fluidity of motion and toughens the forearms like hell. My uncle was actually hitting it with his elbow – I can’t do that yet
I am a fan of your comic scenes,sir..:)
totally kickass. mazaa aa gaya!!!
Thanks, Sourav, Magik
Nice one man:))
“Not all good fighters can be good on-screen fighters, though. It’s amazing how few people can get hit convincingly on camera!”
Get good editor,even armatures will look like professionals.
btw i was judo player and history evident how locking and choking dominated UFC and pride
)
There’s only so much an editor can do
And yes, a well rounded knowledge of striking, locking and choking is very necessary for real fight.
UFC is the closest thing to actual fighting, but of course even they don’t allow strikes to the groin or eyes or pointed elbows
Ekdum Mast….I like your comic sequences….have been a Jackie Chan fan for dunno how long :D there is this documentary abt Jackie’s stunts….see it in case you havent…its here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOEUgbiBXMc
Thanks axw11. I have the whole docu on Jackie’s stunts. That’s how we learnt and used a couple of tricks ;)
Kenny-san, your PFCOne reputation precedes you.. not as howlarious as ‘Home Made Kung-fu’, but technically better and fun nonetheless. Kudos to chief camerawoman Rimi for the camera operation during the dangerous stunts…and Bonny is getting better with every outing. Hope you’re writing your own Kung-fu movie – you already have a promo right there;)
superb kenny.keep the kung fu passion alive and kickin
hope WB still takes a chance with the kung fu genre
Seiko-san, you really Japanese or is that an alias? Thanks for all the praise. I’ve already written a kung fu movie and hope to find a producer soon. You’re bang on about this little short being a promo! I intended this to be exactly that.
@Vasan, bhai mere, thanks for all the support. WB chhodo – koi local production house 1-2 crore de de banane ke liye and 2-3 crore ki marketing kare, I think wohi kafi hoga.
whatte film sirjee….brilliant shot taking and choreography!Was waiting for something like this…I know a few producers…we cud meet sometime and maybe I could have a look at your script then…u can reach me at gagworks[at]gmail
Kenny-san, it’s just a moniker..am a Kurosawa ‘fan’, nothing else:) Am nobody so can’t say send your script to me, but do know the uphill task you’re facing and hope someone takes the chance on such a genre. But in this economy, people now have the excuse of not wanting to take ‘risks’. All the very best. BTW, what happened to your adventures in the world of acting? Been a long time since you posted on that..
@Judgegag
My present script is already committed for some time, so I’ll be using a different story for other producers. Will mail you now
@Seiko
I’ve acted in 4 TV ads so far. But they were all very smooth sailing; nothing adventurous. But thanks for asking
Superb man!! I love it..a random question, how were you able to take so many shots of a fight and still look like it was just one shot..i loved it kenny..good luck..
Thanks OM!!!!!
I’m not sure I can explain how exactly I could achieve that. However, there are only one or two angles from which a particular strike (say an elbow to the chin) would look good (in this case from behind me if I’m doing it), so we used those angles out of necessity. Also, I took a good look at the editing of Tony Jaa’s and Jackie Chan’s fights. Quick cutting from close to mid and vice versa seems to make it pretty seamless, but then, I’m no professional
good stuff, get your producer, pronto!!
Indraneelda, introduce karwaiyye!!!!
Well….now its up to you to “bust a move” and make a script! And cool movie dude..enjoyed every bit!
i am a taekwondo player