The Art of Kicking Part 3: Deadly Kicking Dolls

There was always a saying: “Behind every man there was a woman”. However, if that woman just happened to be the lead in a martial arts film, it was most likely that “behind every woman is a potentially dead man”. As martial arts films were male-dominated, female action stars became well known in Hong Kong and using their flexible kicking skills against a barrage of testoterone.

In the early 1970’s, the most famous female superkicker was Taiwanese-born Angela Mao Ying. During this period, she became the first internationally known female kung fu star, due to perhaps her cameo in ENTER THE DRAGON (1973), where she played Bruce Lee’s sister, whose forced suicide causes the Dragon to take on Han’s bodyguard Oharra in Han’s tournament.

Angela Mao was born in Taiwan on September 20, 1950. She started her martial arts training at the age of five when she entered a local opera school. In 1970, with the growing popularity of martial arts films, Angela became one of the first stars to sign with Raymond Chow’s Golden Harvest, and appearing in the company’s first film THE ANGRY RIVER. Angela would further her martial arts training when she, Sammo Hung, and Carter Wong went to Korea to train in the martial art of Hap Ki Do from two of the founder’s students, Ji Han-Jae and Hwang In-Shik. For the film HAP KI DO (1972), the Chinese trio were joined by the Korean duo both on-and-off screen.

Angela would go on to become the titular character in LADY WHIRLWIND, a young woman on the path of revenge against both the Japanese and the man who killed her mother. Angela would continue success wity Golden Harvest, even scoring her first on-screen team up with another well-known kicker, Delon Tan, beginning with THE HIMALAYAN. The duo would appear together again after Mao’s contract ended with BROKEN OATH (1977) with two Taiwanese kung fu films, DUEL WITH THE DEVILS (1977) and SCORCHING SUN, FIERCE WIND, AND WILD FIRE (1979).

Angela has worked and kicked the heck out of some of Hong Kong’s finest, from Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung to Corey Yuen and Chan Wai-Man. In 1982, Angela Mao retired from the film industry when she got married. She lives in Queens, New York (thanks to dac1138 for this information), but still is proud of her work in cinema and makes the occasional appearance to fans as she has gained a following all over the world.

Another flexible kicker perhaps not known as well as Angela Mao but made an impact in classic kung fu films with her limited roles was Linda Lin Ying. She is best known as Jackie Chan’s aunt who gets a “leg up” on him in DRUNKEN MASTER (1978) and nearly matches kick-for-kick with Hwang Jang-Lee in DANCE OF THE DRUNK MANTIS (1980). Not much is known about Linda, but one can only guess she trained in an opera school where she learned acrobatics, flexibility, and martial arts.

Linda worked mainly for Ng See-Yuen’s Seasonal Films and while she wasn’t a big a star like Mao, her kicking skills proved to make an impact in cinema.

Hsia Kwan-Li is another prominent kicker during the classic kung fu era. Like Mao and Lin, one can guess that Hsia earned her training from an opera school as well. Born in Taiwan, Hsia was discovered by Lee Tso-Nam, who casted her alongside Don Wang Tao and Chang Yi in SHAOLIN INVINCIBLE STICKS. In the film, Hsia got to show off her amazing flexibility and proved to be one of Lee’s best known starlets.

In 1979, Lee casted her in the titular role of the WOMAN AVENGER. In the film, her character is attacked by a gang of thugs who also kill her husband and trains from a nun at a Buddhist Temple to get revenge. The villain of the film was played by well-known stuntman Johnny Peng Kang. The two showed great chemistry when it came to the climactic fight sequence that Lee would bring those two together with Delon Tan to make one of the best “kicking” movies in classic kung fu, THE INVINCIBLE KUNG FU LEGS, in 1980.

Hsia would go on to be part of the ensemble cast of ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (1983) before leaving the film industry for almost a decade. She would return in 1992 with two Taiwanese low budget action films, LADY KILLER and I REVENGE FOR MY SON before disappering from the limelight for good.

One female superkicker who got her start in classic kung fu and made the smooth transition into modern day films as both an actress and producer is Sharon Yeung Pan-Pan. Sharon, who started her training at the age of four in martial arts and Peking Opera, would become a protege of the Fan Fok Fa Opera school. Sharon made her Hong Kong film debut in the Shaw Brothers film RIVALS OF KUNG FU (1974). However, she would go on work for Goldig Films and made the successful DUEL OF THE SEVEN TIGERS (1979) and THE STORY OF DRUNKEN MASTER (1979).

As the classic kung fu genre came to an end, Sharon made the smooth transition as a force to be reckoned with in the girls for guns genre. After kicking some major butt in KID FROM KWANGTUNG (1982), Sharon took some time off and returned in 1989 with a lead role in ANGEL ENFORCERS. She would go on to make more girls with guns films such as DEADLY TARGET (1994) with Yukari Oshima and ANGEL ON FIRE (1995) with Cynthia Khan.

After YES MADAM 5 (1996), Sharon decided to spend her time behind the cameras as a producer of action films. Some of Sharon’s films as a producer include the TOMB RAIDER-ripoff UNDISCOVERED TOMB (2002), the absurd film debut of William Hung, WHERE IS MAMA’S BOY? (2005) and the martial arts comedy KUNG FU FIGHTER (2007). Today, Sharon continues success as a producer of action-orientated comic films.

As the classic kung fu era was coming to an end, the now famous “girls with guns” genre was in full swing with the film YES, MADAM! (1985). This Hong Kong thriller from director Corey Yuen showcased the talents of two non-Hong Kong action stars in the lead roles. The first was an Malaysian-born ballet dancer who got her break as one of the biggest female action stars in Hong Kong, Michelle Yeoh. The second was an American-born martial arts champion perhaps known as one of the biggest names in action cinema today, Cynthia Rothrock.

Michelle Yeoh was born in the small town of Ipoh, Malaysia, Michelle began training in ballet at the age of four. As a teen, she attended the Royal Academy in England before returning to Malaysia where she was won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant in 1983. This lead to a commercial with famous Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan. Yeoh would make her film debut in 1984 in the Sammo Hung/George Lam comedy THE OWL VS. BUMBO.

Cynthia Rothrock was born in Wilmington, Delaware on March 8, 1957. Her family moved to Pennsylvania where at the age of thirteen, began her martial arts training. Cynthia holds blackbelts in five different martial arts, namely tang soo do, tae kwon do, wushu, eagle claw kung fu, and northern Shaolin kung fu. She would compete in many tournaments and was undefeated for nearly five years in forms and weapons. When Golden Harvest was looking for a new action star for Hong Kong, they were impressed with Rothrock and signed her in 1983. Rothrock would relocate to Hong Kong to prepare for her film debut under the D&B Films banner.

Michelle would sign with D&B Films in Hong Kong and began her career with YES, MADAM! using the moniker “Michelle Khan”. As she had no previous training in martial arts, she studied with the late Lam Ching-Ying in martial arts to prepare her for her first film role. Working alongside Cynthia Rothrock proved her mettle and Michelle even did most of her own stunts in the film, including a jaw-dropping break through glass to grab the legs of two thugs. YES, MADAM! was a hit and both Yeoh and Rothrock proved to be hot properties in Hong Kong.

Yeoh continued to star in action films such as ROYAL WARRIORS (1986) and MAGNIFICENT WARRIORS (1987). In 1988, she married D&B founder Dickson Poon and subsequently retired from the film industry. Meanwhile, Rothrock was still making films in both Hong Kong and Hollywood, where she appeared in B-movies in the latter such as FIGHT TO WIN with friend George Chung and for the former, films like the all-star comedy SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1986) and ABOVE THE LAW (1986) had her take on the likes of Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.

Rothrock continued success in Hong Kong and in 1990, made the transition from Hong Kong to Hollywood, where she became the “Queen of the B-Action Films”. Films such as CHINA O’BRIEN (shot in 1988, released in 1991) and the Indonesian-shot LADY DRAGON (1992) gave Rothrock a huge following in America with Western martial arts fans who had yet seen her films in Hong Kong.

In 1992, Michelle Yeoh, divorced from Dickson Poon after a four-year marriage, was ready to come back to the spotlight. Jackie Chan and Stanley Tong casted Yeoh in her comeback film, POLICE STORY III: SUPERCOP (1992) as Chan’s Mainland China partner, Yang. Yeoh, under the supervision of Tong and stunt team, showed that not only had she not lost a step, but even upped the ante when she performed a motorcycle stunt that landed a male stuntman in the hospital. It was clear after the release of the film that Yeoh was back and she was taking names.

While Michelle Yeoh was coming back with films like THE HEROIC TRIO (1993), WING CHUN (1994), and AH KAM (1996), Cynthia Rothrock was doing really well in the Hollywood B-movie circuit with films such as HONOR AND GLORY (1992) and GUARDIAN ANGEL (1994) to name some. Perhaps one day, these two should team up again now that Yeoh has taken Hollywood by storm herself with TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997) CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000) to name some. Perhaps a YES, MADAM reunion should be in the making? One can only hope. Cynthia Rothrock currently teaches martial arts from her studio. To get more on her latest projects, go to Cynthia’s official site at http://www.cynthiarothrock.org

Another ballerina turned martial arts action star during the girls with guns era was a young Taiwanese talent named Yang Li-Ching. When Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock both went on to briefly retire and make more movies respectively, D&B Films founder Dickson Poon gave Yang Li-Ching a new moniker: Cynthia Khan, a combination of the names of the two YES, MADAM stars.

The newly named “Cynthia Khan” got her start in IN THE LINE OF DUTY III (1988), which teamed her up with Japanese actor Hiroshi Fujioka as a hard-boiled Japanese officer. While Fujioka supplied the firepower, it was Khan who unleashed the martial arts. The film was a hit for D&B and Khan would play pretty much the typecast detective in a slew of film and sequels, including the very popular IN THE LINE OF DUTY 4 (1989) opposite Donnie Yen.

Khan would go on to appear in many more films throughout the 90’s, usually playing the kicking cop. However, she would play a warrior in BLADE OF FURY (1993) opposite Ti Lung as well as making an American B-movie, FIST OF STEEL, opposite former world kickboxing champion Dale “Apollo” Cook, who in turn appeared in the Hong Kong film DEADEND OF BESIEGERS, where he got to fight Yu Rong-Guang.

As the girls with guns genre was fading, Khan would resort to making lesser fare in both Hong Kong and the Philippines to name a few. She would team up with Yuen Biao in the lackluster TOUGH BEAUTY AND THE SLOPPY SLOP (1995) and as the millenium came around, Khan reverted her English name to “Cynthia Yang”, yet she resorted to the Taiwanese B-movie circuit with starring in THE BOXING KING (2002) with Fan Siu-Wong and HACKER PIONEERS (2003). She made her final film in 2003 and its most likely today, she is working in television.

Another female fighter with a dance background who made an impact in the “girls with guns” genre with her kicking skills is Moon Lee Choi-Fung. Originally, Moon was a supporting actress in films like ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (1983) opposite Yuen Biao and THE PROTECTOR (1985) opposite Jackie Chan. However, her big break came in 1987 when she starred in ANGEL as the heroine.

The film was a hit at the box office and Lee would reprise the role in two sequels, ANGEL II (1988) and ANGEL III (1989). As a matter of fact, for the next few years, any Hong Kong action film with the word “Angel” in the title most likely starred Lee as she had the face of an angel with boot skills to match thanks to her impressive dance background.

In 1991, she starred in the film KICKBOXER’S TEARS as Ken Lo’s little sister, who avenges his death and then takes on a criminal organization. Lee would continue success in a series of action films where she kicked butt and even had a villain role opposite Cynthia Khan in A SERIOUS SHOCK! YES MADAM (1993). However, she would re-team with Khan as both played heroines in THE AVENGING QUARTET (1993).

After making the film LITTLE HEROES LOST IN CHINA in 1995, Lee left the film industry. Subsequently, she married, apparently moved to Colorado and ran a dance studio. However, in 2008, she returned to acting with a role in the spiritual film ONLY THE WAY opposite another 90’s action star, Cheung Kwok-Keung.

During the rise of the girls with guns genre, another female kicker who made an impact was Moon Lee’s rival in the 1987 film ANGEL. She is Yukari Oshima, who got her training in Goju-Ryu karate in Japan. In 1986, she moved to Hong Kong to start a successful film career including playing a samurai warrior with fellow Japanese karate expert Yasuaki Kurata and Korean-born bootmaster legend Hwang Jang-Lee in the all-star comedy actioner SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1986).

However, ANGEL made not only Moon Lee a star, but it also solidified Yukari Oshima as a top female action star. However, where Moon Lee usually played the female kickboxing hero in films, it was Oshima who provided a suitable nemesis for Lee, taking her on in films like KICKBOXER’S TEARS (1991) and THE AVENGING QUARTET (1993) to name a few. Oshima also took on Yu Rong-Guang in a cameo appearance in PROJECT S (1993), Stanley Tong’s spinoff of POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP (1992).

Yukari split her time between filming in Hong Kong and the Philippines. In 1991, she married actor Mark Cheng Ho-Nam (WAR), but the couple divorced in 1995. In 1999, Yukari made her final film and left for the Philippines, where she is known as “Cynthia Luster” and works as a talent agent. Yet, her legacy as one of Hong Kong’s baddest female kickers lives on.

Australian born Kim-Maree Penn may have had success playing more villains in film than you can imagine. However, her good looks plus her kicking skills are something not to withstand. A former Australian and world champion in karate, Penn got her start when she appeared as the fight double for actress Zoshka Mizak in THE PUNISHER (1989), nearly beating the bejesus out of Dolph Lundgren’s Marvel Comics persona of Frank Castle.

Penn then went to Hong Kong, where she started her successful career as a villainess. She took on the legednary Hwang Jang-Lee in one of his final Hong Kong films, LIVE HARD (1989). She provided a good nemesis for Cynthia Khan in IN THE LINE OF DUTY V: MIDDLE MAN (1990) and had a small cameo as a mercenary in POLICE STORY III: SUPERCOP (1992).

In 1992, Kim went beyond film and started up a bodyguard agency in Hong Kong called Signal8 Security. Kim spent time working on both film and being a bodyguard to famous celebrities including Mariah Carey and Sting. In 1997, she broke against type to play a villainess who becomes good in THE DEATH GAMES (1997) and almost made her Hollywood debut as Lee Majors’ daughter in the pilot for the unmade series HARD KNOX (1998). While she is no longer making films, Kim-Maree Penn has the reputation as one of Hong Kong’s best in the bodyguard department. You can find her at Signal8 Security at http://www.signal8security.com

In the world of superkicking, these women have made a major impact in the world of films. While some perservered in classic kung fu, a good amount got their start in the 1980’s with the rise of the “girls with guns” genre. Look out for part 4, where we begin the art of “Hollywood kicking”, the superkickers who have made films mainly in the good ol’ U.S.A.!