Red Fists, Part 5: Where Are They Now?

The most famous film personality to come out of the wushu movie scene of the 1980s is, of course, Jet Li. After starring in the SHAOLIN TEMPLE series, Li went on to portray kung fu hero Wong Fei-hung in the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA movies, which pretty much jumpstarted a new trend in historical martial arts films in the early 90s. Success in Hollywood soon followed. While none of the other wushu champions and coaches who joined him on the screen have achieved quite the same level of international superstardom, they have nevertheless contributed terrific performances in a number of often under-appreciated films (see Part 4 of this series). Some remain active in the film and TV industry, while others opened schools and are coaching the next generation of champions and stunt performers.

Yu Chenghui, the Shandong Province wushu coach who played the main villain in SHAOLIN TEMPLE and starred in YELLOW RIVER FIGHTER, continues to appear in martial arts TV series in Hong Kong and on the Mainland. His most recent project was a TV adaptation of the same kung fu novel that provided Tsui Hark with the story for SEVEN SWORDS (2005). The TV series was shot simultaneously and in conjunction with Tsui’s feature film. Yu played the role filled by Lau Kar-leung in the film. Yu specializes in straight sword, or jian.

Left: Yu Chenghui in SEVEN SWORDS. Right: Ji Chunhua in VAMPIRE HUNTERS.

Ji Chunhua was another wushu coach who made his debut in SHAOLIN TEMPLE. He specializes in nanquan (southern boxing) and eagle claw styles. He also has appeared in numerous TV series, as well as features like Yuen Wo-ping’s TAI CHI 2 (1996), Tsui Hark’s VAMPIRE HUNTERS (2002), and Wong Jing’s MY KUNG FU SWEETHEART (2006).

In the course of researching this series, I tracked down a copy of BLADE OF FURY, an elusive but well-regarded kung fu film directed and choreographed by Sammo Hung in 1993. Ti Lung, Rosamund Kwan, and Cynthia Kwan are the big name stars, but the film also features fine action sequences anchored by a young Collin Chou (aka Ngai Sing, of FLASH POINT [2007] and THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM [2008]), a great broadsword stylist named Yeung Fan (I can’t seem to find any information about him), and the wonderful Zhao Changjun. Zhao is a former national champion of China, and he starred in one of my favorite films, WUDANG (see Part 4). His performance in BLADE OF FURY is masterful, as the military commander who sacrifices his friends for political advancement. Zhao now runs a school in China (Sammo Hung is one of the sponsors of the program) but he continues to act occasionally. His most recent project was HUANGPO RIVER (2006) with Cheng Pei Pei and Ku Feng. Visit his website here.

Left: Zhao Changjun. Right: Hu Jianqiang.

Another veteran of the SHAOLIN TEMPLE series, nanquan champion Hu Jianqiang, has opened martial arts schools in Hartford, Connecticut and Los Angeles. The Shaolin Wushu Center sponsors a first class wushu tournament every year in the spring, and Master Hu has been bringing in his old friends and colleagues from the martial arts film industry as special guests over the past few years. I’ve met SHAOLIN TEMPLE director Cheung Hsin Yen there, as well as Yu Chenghui, Ji Chunhua, Zhao Changjun, and Gordon Liu! The visiting masters perform demos and teach seminars, and a splendid time is had by all. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Master Hu, and his wife, Master Zong Jianmei, for their unfailing hospitality. If you have any interest in real Chinese martial arts or kung fu films, be sure to get yourself to the next event!

An earlier version of this entry was first posted in November 2007.

Here’s a clip from BLADE OF FURY, showing Zhao Chanjun’s powerful drunken swordplay.

And here’s a clip from the Gordon Liu hung gar seminar at the Hartford branch of the Shaolin Wushu Center in 2006.