Within the Martial Art genre which is your favourite?

[Drunken Monk]

I like to try various slices of the kung fu cake but enjoy the traditional shapes slice the most. I do love a little swordplay here and there though.

[Jstn]

Traditional, but from the shape era... bashers don't do much for me

I feel the same way...Shapes and nothing but.

[Kunoichi]

I voted for traditional (love old school), but well done swordplay is always a treat to watch. I think I like the Fantasy genre the least, but it has it's moments as well. Contemporary can get kind of dull at times since a lot of the choreography is similar, but a decent script helps.

[jiujitsu77]

i put bruce on top of the heap when it comes to MA films, however, i like to seperate them alltogether since....well it's bruce lee.

next,for me personally, comes bruceploitation. I know MANY of you on this forum have quite the beef with the clones, but as far as im concerned, they really maintained my interest in the genre at an early age. I've mentioned this before on a previous thread that, as a kid, i felt that these movies were a continuation of all the possible scenarios that Bruce could have been in (minus knife wielding gorillas). Trying to be Bruce at seven years of age, the clones made me feel that it was possible. Silly, I know, but I had a vivid imagination, and Bruce Li complemented it. Samurai Sunday in Chicago (as well as the nightly movie) was an escape that I looked for all day while at school, putting up with asshole kids listening to Trixter and Winger, and horrible teachers that "couln't understand why I was so different". Whatever. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I remember in fifth grade when I was made fun of because I was not allowed to go see the new JCVD flick in theaters (mom thought rated R movies were not for me, but if she ever actually sat and saw what i did watch......oh boy). I didn't care. I said bruce could beat both JCVD and Segal. One dickhead asked "Who the hell is Bruce Lee? That shit is gay." Wow.

ok enough of that.

second comes Chambara. The stories invovled in those films are brilliant, even when the action isn't as good as a HK film, getting me even more involved in the film. It's wierd too, because when i was little, i always had the mentality that Kung Fu was superior to ANY martial art, and kept the anti japanese position that is cemented in so many of the chinese films (this isn't the case for me in the Godzilla universe, mind you). Of course, i was no racist, but when it came to movies, well i always thougth chinese martial art films were superior in every way, and that japanese martial artists were always the bad guys. Had to be. I was a stickler for routine.

third comes cheng che films. while they might not be a sub-genre, they are a group of films that were very popular with all the KF fanatics i grew up with. I noticed very early on, that if the credits did not have his name attatched to it, that it wouldn't be as good.....(that didn't stop me from watching it and doing flying kicks off the couch in the living room, however)

fourth were the early jackie chan films. I didn't think he was as good as bruce, just different, so i liked that. I saw the fearless hyena when i was 8, and really dug it. The trouble was that I only saw the lo lei films, seeing as none of his later efforts were to be found at any video stores, nor were they shown on channel 66. It wasn't until I was 11 that I saw Police Story, and that changed me forever. I really loved the kung fu action in a more modern setting. I also could not understand why these films were not considered groundbreaking, and why this one in particular was not seen by every action buff in the world. If only the kids at school would have listened to me.

I never liked the American martial art films. Segal and Van Damme just didn't do it for me. It wasn't til i was about 13 that i gave them a chance. I am very glad i did. The only american martial art films I enjoyed that were NOT made in the 70's were the ninja films. could not get enough. still have my membership to the sho kosugi fan club. the new concorde and pm media films soon followed about 14 or 15. I stopped being so biased and decided just to enjoy the action.

[Shaolin_Fox]

I like to watch traditional Shapes and Bashers for the most part, But I've been getting into Swordplay and Wuxia lately. Always love when a movie combines Swordplay and some Shapes.

[GoldenPigsy]

Like many of the previous posters, I too enjoy all aspects of the genre to some degree. My favorite is fantasy, because there's nothing more amusing than the wacky, bizarre images of Asian fantasy, and what Hong Kong/Taiwanese film makers used to attempt in order to bring it to the screen. Every now and again, the movies are actually good to boot.

[The Dragon]

Put a movie on like Vengeance or Hapkido, and I'm quiet as a mouse 'til the credits roll.

Kung Fu.

[Jesse Smooth]

I love it ALL. However, I like shapes and bashers (I have a truckload to watch now).

[Way of the Dragon]

deffinitely traditional kung fu

[bamboo spear]

I voted "contemporary action", but my favorite films happen in the 20's and 30's, leading up to WW2. That was the golden age of martial arts. Seems like a long time ago, but as Chinese history goes, it's pretty modern.

[kungpowmaster]

My fave Martial Arts genres are Samurai and Ninja. I love traditional kung fu also.

[KyFi]

I like traditional kung fu, swordplay, bashers, samurai. I lean towards period pieces, and while I like fantasy movies on their own, I generally don't like fantasy in my martial arts movies.

[Omni Dragon]

Traditional, but from the shape era... bashers don't do much for me

i used to think that way but they grow on me:wink:

[Secret Executioner]

Not sure how one should break this, but I understand it as such:

Traditional: people using various Fu styles somewhere in China, long ago

Fantasy: films with fantasy elements (like a special technique or a special item)

Swordplay: films involving weapons

Contemporary: modern day setting

I'm more familiar with the first two genres, and I'm really not that keen on the contemporary stuff. Not sure why but it's a subgenre that doesn't click well with me.

[Thephantasm]

Traditional.

I am a stickler for quality technique in striking.

[fabhui]

Whilst I'm a fan of them all I would undoubtedly say that Traditional would be my favourtie as it quickly separate those with skill from those who have none!

[DragonClaws]

Of the three sub genre's listed in the first post, I'd go with contemporary action/adventure. Still enjoy watching swordplay, and fantasy, not mention some of the other sub genres.

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Punch and block will always be my favorite sub-genre in martial arts. It's something about the 70s era that can't be beat. 

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Showdown at the cotton mill, any fans of that film? 

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

I like shapes too. Heck it's tied for me. Punch/block and shapes.

[Fist of the Heavenly Sky]

All the genres are fine by me, althought one could say I have a preference for 70's style grindhouse cheesy sleaziness. I don't think were too many studios and directors that went out of their way to emulate that style since then, be it fully or partially.

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

Shapes are actually pretty easy to fake your way through. The choreography was step by step and the moves could be really slow. Much hard to do something quicker, like a basher with good technique and broken rhythm. As far as fantasies go, they are all pretty much fantasies. Most historical movies that are serious people use guns, or masses of soldiers with swords. There was probably very little hand to hand, with the exception of when someone dropped a weapon. Chinese culture doesn't have a big history of duels like Europe, Africa and Japan. From what I have read, being able to beat someone up didn't carry much weight in a money/class oriented society. Kind of like the old saying "I'll crush you with my wallet". That's not to say there weren't bandits and security people, but there were not "wandering knights" like Ronin or Samurai. People had home defense for villages, they really enjoyed the sport of wrestling (and it wasn't all Shui Jiao) and probably carried weapons when traveling depending on the dynasty and what you could carry. But as far as dropping at the fight of a hat, I just don't see it. I have been around Chinatown for years, and never, ever saw an epic brawl, or even a scuffle. Only someone ganging up on one guy, once.

[ShawAngela]

I voted for swordplay because I love all the different kind of weapons shown in these movies, as well as the beautiful clothes, but I'm also a fan of the punch and block movies (bare hand fights). I'm not really in the modern days movies, but I watched some and enjoyed them as well.

[ShaOW!linDude]

Love the modern actioners!!!! But I dig traditional films with contemporary action, such as Ong Bak 2.

[Drunken Monk]

I'll never understand someone who put bashers over shapes. Bashers have never done anything for me. Even the shape-basher hybrids like "The Secret Rivals" I struggle with. But then I do like "King Boxer."