Chinese Kung Fu Cinema: The Evolution from Hung Ga to Mixed Martial Arts

The glory days of Chinese martial arts films is said to have begun with Hong Kong cinema, specifically with Hung Ga Kuen (洪家拳), a form of martial arts originating in southern China. With the explosion in popularity of kung fu films, different fighting styles have emerged in the limelight throughout the years, from Jeet Kun Do (截拳道) and Wing Chun (詠春) to Tai Chi (太極) and the currently red-hot style of mixed martial arts (MMA).
1940s: Hung Ga
Hung Ga first came to prominence in 1949, when Hong Kong director Hu Peng (胡鵬) unveiled a film about Chinese folk hero and Hung Ga expert Wong Fei Hung (黃飛鴻). The movie, Story of Wong Fei Hung <黃飛鴻> set the stage for Hong Kong fighting films and sparked so much interest in Hung Ga that male lead Kwan Tak Hing (關德興) went on to portray the same character more than 75 times over the next thirty years. Hung Ga masters like Lau Kar Leung (劉家良) and Gordon Liu (劉家輝), both of whom had studied the art under grand-disciples of Wong Fei Hung, also enjoyed thriving action movie careers thanks to their martial arts background.
In 1978, Jackie Chan’s (成龍) film career received a popular boost after portraying Wong Fei Hung in Drunken Master <醉拳>, in which he showcased zui quan, or drunken fist forms which are found in most Hung Ga lineages. Jackie’s interpretation was highly acrobatic and featured his trademark comedic kung fu stunts.
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www.jaynestars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Once-Upon-a-Time-in-China-2.jpg')As time passed, however, viewers began to tire of seeing Hung Ga on the screen. Although the style was undeniably effective in real life, it lacked a visual beauty that audiences were craving. In 1991, Hong Kong director Tsui Hark (徐克) attempted to bring new life to the style with his Once Upon a Time in China <黃飛鴻> series, which starredJet Li (李連傑) as Wong Fei Hung. Similarly, Donnie Yen (甄子丹) tried a new reinterpretation of Hung Ga with his 1993 film Iron Monkey <鐵馬騮>, but the action choreography in these movies was said to diverge too widely from traditional Hung Ga with heavy reliance on wire work.








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