Kung Fu Sunday

After watching the A's lose to the Anaheim/L.A. Angels, I made it home from the Coliseum to watch a Kung Fu Classic Movie; "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin."

Made in 1978 by Shaw Brothers and considered by many to be the best Martial Arts movie ever made, I kicked back and enjoyed every morsel of it. Its not so much a fighting movie as it is a training and philosophy movie on martial arts. If your a person with even the slightest interest in martial arts, then you'll be mesmerized by this timeless classic.

I'd seen it once many years ago and somehow found myself enjoying it more this time. The story, the acting and the martial arts were all top quality and the cinematography puts you right there inside the Shaolin Temple. You are actually transported back to when you might have been a child watching martial arts films and chopping everything in sight. I know that I replayed a few scenes while mimiciking the hung gar style kung fu moves myself.

I even watched the feature commentary with The RZA of Wu-Tang Clan who was influenced at a young age by the movie back in 1981, when he saw it for the first time in New York City.

I highly endorse a viewing of this movie to anyone interested in the outer training and inner discipline of a true martial artist and/or the Hung Gar kung fu style.

A beautiful peace of work by Shaw Brothers and director Liu Chia-Liang. You'll find it listed on almost any top ten martial arts film list. As for one of my favorites, check out this youtube fight scene between Jet Li and Billy Chow in Fist of Legend (a remake of Chinese Connection). Classic!