Re: Recent Martial-Arts Films Poll « Result #3 on Nov 16, 2004, 9:44am »
I had a chance to catch Zatoichi here for free as our Jujutsu instructor scored a bunch of free tickets. I would definitely say that it is well worth seeing and one of the better martial arts movies recently.
Re: Recent Martial-Arts Films Poll « Result #4 on Aug 25, 2004, 7:25pm »
I'm with Anne on this - "Crouching Tiger"! What a beautiful film. That Jet Li picture, "Hero", will be playing at the end of the week and I have pretty high hopes for that. Zhang Yimou is directing, and apparently it was the biggest grossest film in Chinese history, not to mention Zhang Ziyi, Maggie Cheung... Anyone catch "The Blind Swordsman Zatoichi"? Wanna see it, bad! Takeshi Takano rules! (and not just for most creative use of a chopstick in "Fireworks"...)
Re: Stand-up Striking Styles - Which One? « Result #5 on Aug 25, 2004, 7:15pm »
I've been hearing a lot about Pankration, which I guess technically isn't a "stand-up striking style" but a mixed-martial art, although rules have been modified recently to encourage more stand-up fighting (preferred by spectators over long grappling fights). Would seem a natural for bridging striking into takedowns, emphasizing free-fighting over kata and providing full-contact experience. Has kicking roots in Muay Thai I think, delivering kicks with the shin, with the force coming from hip rotation. Anyone know more about this? San Shou Da would also seem a natural for bridging from pugilism into grappling with its throws, although I've heard practitioners are maybe less than impressive. Don't know. From watching MMA competitions, it seems like throwing a kick is just an open invite to a takedown via a shoot. So there's an argument for boxing, if you're going to be fighting against other grapplers...
Re: Recent Martial-Arts Films Poll « Result #8 on Aug 19, 2004, 11:50pm »
Kill Bill 1: The greatest music. That duel between O-Ren and the bride, plus that charged-up wall-of-sound flamenco - it doesn't get any better than that in film.