Hwang Jang Lee

[Guest vlade2002]

He's beyond Bruce Lee IMO!

Blasphemy, nobody is beyond Bruce!

As much as I like Hwang, I don't see him standing a chance with Bruce Lee. I like Hwang, he's a great on screen kicker, probably one of the better ones, great technique. But he's going to need alittle more than tip tapper kicks seriously. Bruce would of ate him for breakfast. I also believe Bruce was a better kicker aswell, that's my opnion as a martial artist.

[Guest morgoth]

Chang Shan could take em both.

And I think Hwang would have a good chance against Bruce. His kicks are super powerful. I hope you are joking when you say he just has tip tapper kicks. He just does that cause it looks cool on screen.

[Guest VonHumboldtFleischer]

I think Hwang Jang Lee is awesome (and could beat Bruce into a sobbing jammy pulp), but I really, really, really am sick to death of his patented "Excuse me while I put my foot on your shoulder for no apparent reason" move.

What's the rest of YOUNG HERO like? Good?

P.S. Chang Shan is God.

[Guest fabhui]

I've never been overly impressed with Hwang Jang Lee's kicking myself. I think he's good at what he does but is vastly overrated in general.

I've never been in awe of his kicking skills like some are and apart from his kicking he is lacking in every other department with regard to fighting skills.

Most of his kicking is lacking power, especially if you're comparing him to the likes of Muay Thai Boxers..(vlade will know what I'm talking about!)

He does play a SUPERB bad guy though and most times I enjoy watching him playing his part in the movies!!

Hwang beating Bruce...now you're just being silly! :lol

[Guest kungfusamurai]

I finished watching the film and enjoyed it a lot! The only real disappointment was the occasional frame cutting to speed up certain parts of fights. I found this seemed to happen a lot when Kwan Young Moon was fighting, of all things. Yuen Mo was awesome, as was Hwang Jang Lee, and Hwang did one or two of the grabbing the guy around the neck with one leg, and kicking him with the other move. I should have mentioned that the lady fighter in this flick was also really good. I think she must have had a peking opera background like Mo because she could do flips as well. Overall, for an indie film done on a low budget, it's one of the better flicks I've seen. A lot of people like Dragon On Fire, which I hate - so I say this is way better than that!

One thing I should say is I found it interesting that there was very little body doubling in this flick. There was only one part of the final fight scene where it was clear Kwan Young Moon was being doubled (excessive jumping and flipping), but beyond that, it appeared the main actors all did their own flips or rolls.

KFS

[Guest ironfistedmonk2003]

Young Hero is a decent little movie and I agree about the girl who is quite impressive for a little un, I think she was also in Fearless Duo and does a good job in that movie too.

I can't believe people are hating on Hwang Jang Lee, JC and the Venoms have all come in for some stick and now all time kung fu movie bad boy HJL is getting the treatment. I'm no martial artist but if those kicks are tip tappy then I'm a chinaman, didn't he kill a few people with those tip taps? I doubt that he would actually use the flashy kicks he does in the movies in a real fight either, personally I love all the foot round the back of the head stuff, no other actor did those kind of moves, not even the other Korean Tai kwon do fighters.

I've got Raging Masters Tiger Crane on in the background and HJl is tearing his scenes up like the bad boy he is

[Guest kungfusamurai]

Hwang is a great onscreen fighter. At least he doesn't pull his kicks like Tan Tao Liang or John Liu. He puts power into them. Sure, the ones where he grabs the guys neck with his other leg are kind of light, but he has a lot of control with his legs. And using legs can be more dangerous than throwing punches, when filming a fight scene. You can really get hurt because it's harder to maintain control when your spinning around and doing multiple moves with your kicks. Hwang is THE leg man.

KFS

[Guest morgoth]

No doubt, Hwang is the king of the leg fighters. I put him slightly ahead of Cassanova Wong, mainly because he has much better control than Cassanova and he has a bigger arsenal of kicks.

[Guest theportlykicker]

Nope, you're wrong, Casanova Wong is THE leg man! No one matches his kicks for power. His control might not look as good as HJL's but that's because his kicks are moving with so much speed and force- there's no fannying around with him.

Don't get me wrong Hwang's great, I just prefer Cas.

[Guest morgoth]

Hwang would annihilate Cassanova. He would take care of those wild kicks without even breaking a sweat. Plus Hwang is more versatile. Cassanova wouldn't know what to do if Hwang broke out his sleeping style:D I love living in my own little kung fu fantasy world:p

[Guest WalkOn]

Let me start by saying I appreciate all the bootmasters!

Bruce is my favorite film star, but Wang Jang Lee is no slouch either. If we're talking about just about screen fighting, then we shouldn't really criticize their kicking for what they're truly capable of executing in terms kicking power and practicality. Sure, we want ALL of the kicks to look powerful and deadly, but sometimes that's sacrificed for the sake of executing some supercool kicks and fight sceens.

For crying out loud, WJL killed someone with a single round kick to the head. And let's not mention the countless actors/actresses and stuntmen who have been on the receiving end of his kicks. They have witnessed his kick's power.

Although I prefer Casanova Wong to WJL, to me WJL's kicks look sharper and he does appear to have a greater variety to his kicks. I just feel it's a matter of preference. We can all imagine who can beat who (which is all in fun) but in reality we would never know.

[Guest morgoth]

Damn straight WalkOn. People probably underestimate Hwang's power because he doesn't just do really fast spinning kicks like Cassanova. Cassanova can do a few other kicks (all HIGH level), but not nearly as many as Hwang. You are right though, it is all about personal preference. I have never seen Cassanova do a kick as awesome as the one Hwang does on Jackie in Drunken Master. The only analogy I can make to that kick is how Michael Jordan has to duck to keep his head from hitting the rim.

[Guest rederror]

Check out Casanova's kick at the end of Master Strikes where he kicks 3 people and then punches someone aswell. I know Whang is known for his triple kicks but i've never seen him do something as good as that!

[Guest Chia Ling AKA Judy Lee]

It's nigh on impossible to speculate who was the better practical fighter based on their films. If people are going to base their opinions on films then of course Bruce Lee would win. Brucey only ever got hit for ripped shirt or bloodied face aesthetics. Hwang, despite looking far superior, got killed in virtually every film he made, thus his fighting must be tip-tappy and ineffectual.

[Guest morgoth]

"Check out Casanova's kick at the end of Master Strikes where he kicks 3 people and then punches someone aswell. I know Whang is known for his triple kicks but i've never seen him do something as good as that!"

That is an awesome kick, but Cassanova doesn't have near as much hangtime that Hwang has when he kicks Jackie in Drunken Master.

[Guest kungfusamurai]

Hwang, despite looking far superior, got killed in virtually every film he made, thus his fighting must be tip-tappy and ineffectual.

LOL! Yup. That means Lo Lieh must have been a way better fighter than Chen Kwan Tai because he served his butt on a plate in Executioners From Shaolin. So Chen with all of his real kung fu experience couldn't cut it when matched up against the choreographed fighting toughness of mister Lo.

KFS

[Guest theportlykicker]

That is an awesome kick, but Cassanova doesn't have near as much hangtime that Hwang has when he kicks Jackie in Drunken Master.

Yeah, but HJL was just kicking ONE person. Anyone can get that much airtime kicking one person. Cas got all that airtime AND distance and kicked THREE people in the meantime. Amirite?

[Guest morgoth]

True, Hwang can't do that certain kick as well as Cassanova, but Cassanova can't get up as high as HWang.

[Guest peringaten]

I don’t claim to know much about Taekwando, but have heard of its requirements for stretching the limbs in order to gain reach and flexibility. If you stretch your legs you may gain suppleness, but the muscles gradually begin to lose their elasticity, and in the same respect lose their raw power. According to Roy Horan, Hwang, knowing this, instead developed his leg fighting skills by practicing straight up raw aggressive kicking, for the warm up and meat of his martial training. Arguments about worth in light of another's ability are moot; only need a cursory glance to see Hwang was all business. Respect.

[Guest Chinatown Kid]

Being a Taekwondo stylist, I love all the bootmasters and appreciate each one for their own special way of kicking. From what I remember, HJL received his 10th dan in TKD from the Kukkiwon in Korea a while back which is as high as you can go in the art, so he's definately legitimate. What makes him so good imo is that he's equally proficent with both legs and numerous people have made statements about the tremendous power in his kicks. Casanova is another that looks to have tremendous power in his kicks and his spinning crescent is second to none, he is a bigger man than Hwang too. I really admire Tan Tao Liang's kicking form, he has beautiful looking kicks. Sun Chien's form looks good as well and while he mostly throws basic kicks they look powerful. Then you have people like Won Jin who not only can throw amazing kicks but also combine it with amazing acrobatics as well. Bruce Lee is another great kicker, he didn't throw a wide variety like HJL, but what he did throw looked very fast and powerful. I like John Liu too, I was always impressed with his flexiblity. There's alot more great kickers I'm leaving out but these are some of my favorite, chances are if the person uses their feet alot in a fight, I'm gonna like them.

[Guest kungfusamurai]

Yeah, we haven't really mentioned the hapkido guys like Hwang Ing Sik, or the karate guys like Kurata and Bruce Liang (which we talked about ad nauseum in that Fist thread). All of those guys have great looking kicks. Too bad none of them ever tangled with Hwang Jang Lee. That would have been awesome to see!

KFS

[Guest morgoth]

I think C-town Kid and KF Samurai covered them all. Nice job. I will add Eagle Han and Chang Shan. Eagle Han doesn't have the power as most of those other guys, but he may be the most limber. And it is not like he had weak power, no sir, just not quite as much as those other guys. RIP Eagle Han.

And I actually like Chang Shan's fist work and shapes more than his kicks, but his kicks have serious power and great form.

Tony Leung Siu Hung is also up there as one of the best kickers. Too bad he didn't get to show them more.

[Guest WalkOn]

Great names mentioned. There's plenty of bootmasters out there and I appreciate them all! Funny, each expert executes their kicks with their own touch. Even when they perform the the same kicks (basic or advance) I can almost tell who the actor/ma is even if it were just their silhoutte! Its all albout them havin their own distintive style!

Chinatown Kid - FYI, I doubt WJL reached a 10th degree in TKD, I don't believe anyone but the late founder held that rank. I don't recall who holds it now, but pretty sure it's not WJL. I think he got as far as 7th degree but do recall reading long ago that WJL's rank was no longer recognized because of his alledged connection to North Korea. Another thing, after 3rd - 5th degree, higher levels are given more on an honorary basis as opposed to "higher" physical abilities. Most if not all the physical techniques are mastered around the 2nd - 5th degree levels. Just my 2 cents! Sorry for rambling!

[Guest Chinatown Kid]

You probably right WalkOn, but I swore I read somewhere that Hwang had been promoted past 7th degree, it might have been 8th or 9th. Might have been some false imformation though, you never know if what you read on the internet is true or not. And Hwang has ties to North Korea?:eek Wow never knew that! And I agree that when you get on up past 5th degree that it is mainly politics and it being honorary, I'm a second degree myself.

[Guest peringaten]

Without checking, I think this is another thing his student Roy Horan talks about on the Snuff Bottle disc commentary; because Hwang so uniquely bastardised the typical South Korean Taekwando stylings, bent the medium to fit his expression, he was passed over and unrecognised with the grading systems, ignored as such by the schools for not fitting, to extent he was even speculated a North Korean spy due to the unusual stylistic differences he'd derived.