Squared Off: Bruce Lee V.S. Wuxia

The Cast

Long before Bruce Lee changed the standard Chinese Martial Arts movies genre, Chinese productions favored the Wuxia style. Wuxia is a brand of Chinese martial arts movies that features heavy swordplay and mysticism. It has numerous gravity defying fight sequences that is more on fantasy than realism. Though HK movies tried to bring in a new style to make their movie more realistic, none of the Pre-Bruce Lee Martial Arts actors made the new genre stick to the general audience. It took a Chinese who was born in the United States of America to change the course of Hong Kong's Martial Arts action films. Bruce Lee's superhuman skills brought a new era to HK's Martial Arts film making industry. Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon and his slew of movies (which I wrote about in an earlier entry) would open the flood gates for Martial Arts actors like Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Jet Li among others to capitalize on. While the 80's to mid 90's brought heart stopping realistic Martial Arts films worldwide, somehow the it would also eventually tire the audience as more and more less credible Martial Arts actors tarnish the genre. Approaching the new millennium, Martial Arts Movie's demand started to decline. HK and China needed to come up with something new. With China's vast progress making it's impact around the world, it took them to reach out to their long lost culture and traditions to present to the world the Wuxia Martial Arts film genre that was thought to be long gone.   

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would go on to enthrall the worldwide audience with their fantastic well choreographed fight scenes. It introduced audiences to the world of Wuxia and would later influence other film productions to come out with their own Wuxia films. Although Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has been recognized as one of the highest grossing Chinese films in the U.S., the staying power and influence it brought has not matched the same popularity that Bruce Lee brought to his more raw and realistic Martial Arts films.

In the 2nd edition of Action Figure Planet's Square Off Series, I present to you Bruce Lee v.s. Wuxia. Below is the skit that I made about the fight.

Prepare to meet your doom Mr. Lee

She moves so fast...

But not fast enough for me!

Stay down

Eh!?! A woman?

Hands off me, kyaahh!!!

I normally don't hit women...

But you're a feisty one, give it up.

Stay away from her!

DIE!!!!

Back off! I don't want this fight

You need to be taught a lesson

Crazy, they seem to have come from all places

Your going down Mr. Lee

Don't bet on it sister

Time for you to go to sleep

Three down... is this all of it?

Who's that? The final Wuxia Warrior?

Your fast for a non Wuxia fighter

Yes because I am not make believe, I am really fast

And it took me years to achieve this skills

So I guess this is the last one

Not so fast Mr. Lee, together we can still beat you

Let's dance then? Kyahh!!!

Mu Bai is down, now I take down both Lo and Shu Lien

And dodge just in time for both ninjas to hit each other.

Effortlessly done

Do you guys give up?

And the winner is Bruce Lee. I picked Bruce influence on the Martial Arts genre simply because his legend to this very day continues to shine brightly in the martial arts realm. One cannot say Martial Arts without connecting it to Bruce Lee. Bruce influence on the industry encompassed many eras as the years brought along Martial Arts Actors like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and other Chinese Martial Artists. Not only that, It helped encourage the west to come up with their own Martial Arts Artists like Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, Jean Claude Van Damme and others. Mix Martial Arts sports enthusiasts also acknowledges Bruce as the father of Mix Martial Arts with his founding of Jeet Kune Do. So there really is no question that while Bruce Lee's influence is much more greater than what Wuxia has done.But also not to discredit Wuxia, Wuxia is an art that is deeply entrenched in the Chinese culture. It showed to the world the beauty of past Chinese cinema which was almost forgotten when Bruce Lee changed everything.

Check out my previous entries for a brief review on the action figures that I used in this entry.