Tag Archives: Black Kung Fu Experience

Hunger Fu

After watching many films about Kung Fu and different fighting styles, it reminded me of the Hunger Games. There are all these different styles of battle in the movie. After the 24 tributes are reaped they are all put into a room to show the sponser their skills. For instance, Katniss has archery, Peeta is strong, morphlings are good at camoflauge, Finnick can swim/spear, etc. And Kung Fu, though they are all modes of battle, they are different.

There are many ways to teach the different styles of Kung Fu. In Shaolin Ulysses, many Asians have little temples, or studios where they can teach martial arts. Many people join in to have a sense of self-defense or stay in shape, or for the simple love of the art. In Black Kung Fu Experience many of speakers had lived in harsh times where Kung Fu had been their option for protection. Some also used it for art and expression. In the Hunger Games it is very similar to Black Kung Fu Experience, where survival is the drive for learning. Some tributes who get reaped may not have much of a special skill for survival; Rue, was good at climbing, running, and hiding, basics.

 

Enter the Dragon/Games/Royale

On another note, I found it interesting to watch one of the characters ask Lee “What style?” and Lee refuses to show him. That reminded me of Black Kung Fu Experience. Williams, the only black character in the movie reminded me of the Black Kung Fu Experience because, not just because of his skin color, but also because it was the opposite of what all the characters in Black Kung Fu Experience said. Most of them did it for the art of it, where as Williams had claimed he’s in it for the win. I thought that was interesting to put that specific answer in the movie.

Also, I noticed that the island, or castle, was like an arena. It sort of reminded me of the Hunger Games in a way that they were all brought there to fight. It also reminded me of Battle Royale because of how they were all “students” still learning the way. Though they were not all there to fight each other one on one, they were there under an experiment to see if any of them would join Han.

Enter the Dragon, Power, and Subversion

In this chapter, I found how ironic it is for Hollywood wanting to portray this Asian vibe, but strip away a lot of meaning behind certain Asian traditions or ways. On page 119, “Lee attempted to work with him on revisions to bring a more realistic portrayal of the character of Chinese and kung fu philosophy to the script.” Lee tries to push for truth about kung fu and the Chinese way and purpose of things; unfortunately, he had no luck, “The American producers, however, maintained a double face: they consented to Lee’s demand, but secretly arranged a new accommodation for the scriptwriter for a designated period of vacation behind Lee’s back (119).” Overall, Lee was deceived and lied to.

This reminded me of Takaki’s Strangers From a Different Shore and how many Asian immigrants were tricked or fooled into thinking that they would have a great life in the U.S. I see a similarity to this happening to Lee and how many Asians feel for the deceit of America. Also, further into the reading,

After watching Enter the Dragon, the book begins to make more sense about its allegories. The book goes on to explain about the scene and Oharra on page 132, “”‘Lee’s’ face beams forth ever-changing impressions from the wrath of righteous deity, to the indignation of a woman, to the ululation of a child victimized by war.” I take this as a way of empires/countries/colonies suffering the consequences of “war for peace.” It’s ironic. Many expansions are due to this greed of power, or the true belief that one’s ruling is the best way, but the first thing that most people see is war or violence being portrayed.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie  because there was a lot of action, but I also see how it fits in perfectly with the allegories presented. As for my comparison to Takaki, I think that Lee coming up and beating Han would be the rising of the Asian cultures against invaders. Han was Asian himself and the book talks about how many Asian countries had to suffer the consequences of violence and war against other Asian invaders, so I believe that was a good representation of the protagonist and antagonist roles cast in the movie.

 

Shaolin Ulysses & The Black Kung Fu Experience

Click here to view the embedded video.

When I was watching Shaolin Ulysses, I found that the movie was more motivating in a journey sense. What I mean by that, is that it was more than describing how the martial arts changed their lives, but how to keep the art alive so it can continue to do so. Many more Shaolin Temples are being opened around America to keep the art alive and it has been a growing art form.

As for the Black Kung Fu Experience, I found myself more interested in this documentary. I the one thing that got me interested in it more was the different styles of martial arts being talked about. I did martial arts for 10 years, specifically Tae Kwon Do and I did jiu-jitsu for 2 years. So I very interested to see each persons individual view of their martial arts experience. One story stood out to me the most, and it was Ron Van Cliefs. He talked, in specific detail, about how he was attacked by white people. I know that the other instructors lived around the same time period and had experienced racism itself, but his stuck out to me the most. I felt like I could relate to it. I grew up in a very violent town where self defense is a very important skill to have. Now that I am older, things are still the same and I still find myself very cautious when walking around.

Also, I enjoyed how each instructor would go to the roots of their Kung Fu studies and pay respect to those who would specialize or have taught it for many years. Donald Hamby went to Hong Kong to visit the writer of the book he was trying to translate’s studio. I guess I also enjoyed the second movie more too because of how it made them famous, but to them, it was not what they wanted. They were all still so humble and it was nice to see and it reminded me of my old instructor and the days when I would train.

I feel like both movies presented these ideals of preservation. Dennis Brown had introduced himself to this “U.S. Capitol Classics” where martial artists would compete. Some may believe that people do it for the fame, or for the glory, but in retrospect, the art is being preserved and passed on. Shaolin Monks, though are in different areas do their best to set up Shaolin temples to preserve the monk Kung Fu fighting styles. In addition to preservation, I believe both films portrayed the idea that martial arts is not just for self-defense, but to be the ultimate self. In all martial arts styles, there is control and strength. Discipline is taught, along with focus and serenity. There are 5 power animals that can relate to martial arts and all animals represent these different techniques of self control and awareness. With all the skills learned in martial arts, a sense of knowing one’s self and surroundings is eventually learned. Overall, I enjoyed these films and the ideas that they portrayed as far as martial arts coming to America.