“I practice my style, which is called ‘Ric Fu’, and the subtitle is, ‘don’t hurt me’.”

It has been over a decade since we last spoke in-depth to the author and kung fu movie expert, Ric Meyers – the man responsible for introducing much of America to the classics of martial arts cinema over a writing career spanning five decades. His books – including 1985’s ‘Martial Arts Movies: From Bruce Lee to the Ninjas’, 1995’s ‘The Encyclopedia of Martial Arts Movies’, 2001’s ‘Great Martial Arts Movies: From Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan and More’, and 2011’s ‘Films of Fury’ project, which involved both a book and a documentary – are essential resources for any serious fan of kung fu cinema.

Now aged 70, Ric shows no signs of slowing down. He is still offering his honest, forthright opinion on modern action movies – particularly in his role as a regular reviewer on the ‘That Phat Samurai Guy’ YouTube channel – and as the long-standing compere of the annual Kung Fu Extravaganza event at San Diego Comic-Con, which just celebrated its 26th anniversary. On this episode, Ben catches up with Ric on the kung fu movies he has enjoyed in the last decade since they last spoke, the future of the genre, and how his own martial arts journey is progressing. As a kung fu practitioner, Ric has developed a keen eye on authenticity in kung fu cinema, something he feels is distinctly lacking from the genre today – although he does recognise and celebrate the filmmakers still trying to convey a more accurate portrayal of kung fu practice on-screen, acknowledging the works of Jackie Chan and the director, Xu Haofeng. Learn more about Ric Meyers on IMDB, and follow Ric on Facebook and Instagram.

Ric Meyers and Jet Li.

Ric Meyers with Jackie Chan and his stunt team on the set of Miracles (1989).

Ric Meyers with the team behind The Raid, filmmaker Gareth Evans and star Iko Uwais.

Ric Meyers, Frank Djeng and Preston Downey (aka That Phat Samurai Guy), host of the 26th Annual Comic-Con Kung Fu Extravaganza in San Diego, 2023.