Special Forces (2003)

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Special Forces (2003)

A prime slice of jingoistic gung-ho American violence from Isaac Florentine, who turns a rather pedestrian tub-thumping military yarn into something quite special thanks to a highly energetic performance from a young British martial artist called Scott Adkins. It would prove to be the start of a very fruitful working relationship (see the Ninja and Undisputed franchises), and it’s clear to see why. Adkins essentially carries the film’s final act with a barnstorming display of gravity-defying fight work, especially during his extended duel with Vladislavas Jacukevicius playing a kung fu rival. It quickly becomes obvious that Adkins is a star in the …

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Kung Fu Fever (1979)

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Kung Fu Fever (1979)

A butchered South Korean Bruceploitation flick which exists in a few different versions. The British dubbed cut has some great stock footage at the start featuring the real Bruce Lee talking at a press conference to promote Fist of Unicorn in June 1972, for which he had a spent a day of its production helping out his childhood buddy – and the film’s star – Unicorn Chan. The footage is doctored to make it look like Bruce is talking about his favourite student, Ricky Chen (Dragon Lee), who he endorses as a master of his ‘secret deadly finger technique’. This …

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Profile: Brahim Chab

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Profile: Brahim Chab

Date of birth: 17 May, 1984 (Beaumont, France)

Full name: Brahim Achabbakhe

Other names: Brahime Achabbakhe; Brahim Achabbakhe; Brahime Achabbkhe; Achabakkhe Brahim; Brahim

Occupation: Stunt performer, actor, stunt coordinator, fight choreographer.

Style: Aikido, karate, Muay Thai kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Biography: Brahim Chab was born in Beaumont, France, to Moroccan parents. Inspired by the film First Strike, he started studying martial arts at the age of 14, learning aikido and later karate. He also developed skills in ‘tricking’ with the French stunt group, Cascade. In 2012, the group made it to the semi-finals of Series 6 of Britain’s Got Talent. Brahim has also studied Muay Thai kickboxing …

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 70: Brahim Chab

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 70: Brahim Chab

“On every movie I’m doing, I’m trying to give the characters their own identity through the punches and the kicks. I don’t create fights – I create a story.”

Over the last 15 years, French stunt performer and martial artist Brahim Chab has jumped, kicked and punched his way into the upper echelons of the fight film business. In 2021, he wrapped on Monkey Man – the directorial debut of actor, Dev Patel, which has been picked up by Netflix. The film, described as ‘John Wick in Mumbai’, sees Brahim provide fight choreography as well as acting in a supporting role. In …

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Way of the Black Dragon (1979)

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Way of the Black Dragon (1979)

Before the omnipotence of kung fu comedies and in the wake of relentless Bruceploitation pictures, Hong Kong was still churning out recycled crime bashers like this one. Writer-director Chan Chue (an actor probably most famous for being the factory manager in The Big Boss) takes a cavalier attitude to story-telling – and directing for that matter – preferring to, presumably, just riff it on the day. This film is saved (just about) by kung fu star Carter Wong and American martial artist Ron Van Clief, both of whom leave it quite late in the film before they unleash their magic. …

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The Black Dragon (1974)

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The Black Dragon (1974)

An early leading role for Jason Pai Piao, filmed in the Philippines and with a story borrowed from The Big Boss. Jason plays an illiterate, naive country-boy with great kung fu skills who follows his successful brother to the bright lights of the big city in search of fortune. He lands a job on the docks where he discovers that his gweilo bosses are smuggling opium into the cargo. He teams up with Ron Van Clief – making his Hong Kong action film debut – and his crew of righteous karate fighters to take out the boss before inevitably having …

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Profile: Ron Van Clief

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Profile: Ron Van Clief

Date of birth: 25 January, 1943 (Brooklyn, New York, USA)

Other names: Ronnie Van Clief, Ron Van Cliff.

Occupation: Martial artist, instructor, police officer, writer, actor.

Style: Chinese Goju-Ryu Karate (founder), Karate, jiu jitsu, ninjitsu, taekwondo, kung fu, Arnis, Eskrima, Silat.

Biography: Known as the ‘Black Dragon’ – a name given to him by Bruce Lee – Ron Van Clief became the first Black action star to lead a Hong Kong film. He is a celebrated martial arts instructor, a five-time world karate and kung fu champion, a 15-time All American champion, a former police officer and US Marine, a New York Times bestselling …

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 69: Ron Van Clief

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 69: Ron Van Clief

“Martial arts has been my life since 1959… You can never learn enough. The learning process is eternal.”

Martial arts legend Ron Van Clief never wanted to be a movie star. Known as the ‘Black Dragon’ – a name originally given to him by Bruce Lee and adopted as his screen persona in a series of Hong Kong kung fu movies in the 1970s – Ron was dismayed at the lack of genuine martial artists he met when working in action movies. For the Brooklyn-born former US Marine and New York City cop, Ron’s passion for the fighting arts was formed …

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Mortal Kombat (2021)

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Mortal Kombat (2021)

For anyone who felt the PG-13 attempts in the 1990s to recreate the gruesome beat-’em-up Mortal Kombat for the big-screen were a bit lame – not to mention the similarly campy TV spin-offs – then this potty-mouthed 2021 version from the guy behind the Saw franchise, James Wan, should win you back over. Buckets of the red stuff get sloshed about liberally as the filmmakers relish in recreating some of the video game’s more grisly ‘fatalities’. Favourite characters are given wonderful reveals and demonstrate their signature moves in total service to the fans – and, it should be said, to …

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 68: Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, Mykel Shannon Jenkins / Tran Quoc Bao

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 68: Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, Mykel Shannon Jenkins / Tran Quoc Bao

“Nothing was traditional about this… we just had to make it by hook or by crook. We’re proud of every piece we did – we gave it our full dedication and focus, and we hope the work speaks for itself.” Tran Quoc Bao, director of The Paper Tigers

It has taken 10 years to get The Paper Tigers onto our screens – a slow and at times painful process full of ups and downs for its director, writer and producer, Tran Quoc Bao. The film – which finally lands in cinemas and on digital platforms in North America on 7 May …

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