Allow Me To Demonstrate The Skill Of Shaolin…

It is the best martial arts films of the last ten years. It might be the best action film of the last 20 years, though that could be argued.

Point being, it's a monumental film. I've watched martial arts flicks for 30 years now and it's like NOTHING I've seen before. It takes the bar and raises it to the Moon.

Louis Fan (or Fan Siu Wong) has appeared in a billion films since Riki-Oh (including Ip Man), but he never earned the same level of fame as, say, Donnie Yen or any of the other legends.

I'm not sure why though. Maybe because his choice of projects have all been a bit dodgy. A lot of straight-to-DVD stuff. Remember, he was in a Steven Segal film...

Recently he's been doing a lot of straight-to-streaming films in China. Some are good, some are amazing, but most are shitty.

Oh yeah, he was the swordfighter in Kung Fu Killer aka Kung Fu Jungle.

Put simply, the dude has just never had star power in the East. He's the equivalent of a Michael Jai White over there - loads of movies but not many of them are good.

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Sadly not. The closest I can give you is Donnie Yen's mum putting Donnie through some pretty brutal stretches. As a kid, too.

Supposedly, yes. The finger is meant to act as a "hook" that bhelps with trapping opponents' arms. How effective is it? I can't possibly say. I mean, it doesn't look like it's effective but i'm no martial artist.

It does look cool though.

This awesome Chinese version of the long-canceled TV series, Fight Quest, delves into both Northern and Southern Mantis styles. Give it a go!

Nope, not at all. Donnie's actually a wushu guy who studied under the same teacher as Jet Li...

Donnie's mother is actually a grandmaster in Eagle Claw style, but it seems he didn't train under her in that style. She definitely helped him with his martial arts though...

I imagine Donnie's been given some sort of weird homorary black belt in Wing Chun, but it's probably absolute bollocks. I'm sure he knows some, but not enough to be considered a Wing Chun practitioner.

If you want a real Wing Chun practitioner, look no further than Shaw Brothers legend, Ti Lung...

Please keep it in mind that the Ip Man films are VERY exagerrated - or flat out bullshit in most cases.

With that said, I'm a big fan of series. I think all four of them are good-to-great. I don't think there's a bad Donnie Yen Ip Man film. Consistently good fight choreogrpaphy, great drama, and Ip Man's stoicism really works for Donnie's somewhat wooden acting style.

I do hate with the Ip Man series kicked off though - seven million Wing Chun films. And I like Wing Chun! It just got to be too much. Every week there was a new Ip Man film. Ip Man and the Four Kings? Really? What the fuck was that all about? China got hooked on Ip Man and did it to death. The fact that Donnie Yen's still talking aboiut an Ip Man 5 is fucking crazy. While I can't see it getting made, if it does get made, I can't see it being as goosdas the previous films. That ship's sailed.

ip Man 4 was proof that the concept was losing steam. I still like that flick, but it's a far cry from the first film and nowhere near as fun as the somewhat cartoonish second film (which might be my fave).

Will I watch Ip Man 5? Yup. Will I love it? Maybe. But I still wish Hong Kong and China would sink their teeth into a new gimmick. Ip Man and, moreso, Wing Chun, needs to be put to bed.

Love this question. It's interesting how my tastes have changed over the years. When I first got into kung fu cinema, drunken fist was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. For years, that was my favourite style, like every other teenager discovering Jackie Chan for the first time...

Then I settled on mantis fist. I loved its rapid pace and the the shape the fist makes (the little hook thingies)...

Mantis was my favourite style for years. I'd watch any film featuring mantis fist - Northern or Southern.

Then I became a fan of kicks. I won't say Taekwondo was my favourite style (it wasn't), but I was always a fan of those actors that put in crazy work when it comes to their kicks. People like Hwang Jang Lee, Kim Won-jin, Casanova Wong and John Liu. The flashier the kicks, the better...

Fast forward and now, at the age of 43 (almost 44), I find myself liking traditional styles more than the flashier stuff. I'd say my current favourite style is Hung Gar (also known as Hung Kuen). It's not always easy to spot, but this vid should help...

I love the tiger and crane components as well as the style's absolutely unwaverable power. I'm always happy when I see it used. If I could learn any kung fu style at my age, it'd be Hung Gar. Thouhg I hear it isn't easy to learn.

If you have not yet seen the two Eye for an Eye: The Blind Swordsman films, then I highly recommend seeing them out. Xie Miao has been doing big things in China's straight-to-streaming film industry and these films are easily two of his best.

WARNING: The fight I posted above is a pivotal part of the first film, so, if you don't like spoilers, please avoid.

If you want to seek these out (which you should), they're both available on Blu-ray and they're streaming on the wonderful Hi-Yah! streaming service.