One of the things that makes martial arts movies so fun to watch is the choreographed fight scenes. If you have ever taken a martial arts class, you know what we are talking about.

No matter what style of martial arts you practice – karate, tae kwon do, judo, muay thai, MMA, et al – there is something about seeing a great fight scene that gets you excited.

In this article we are going to take a look at  the best martial arts fight scenes from both film and television.

We tried to be as diverse as possible in terms of both the genre, and the martial arts styles displayed in each scene. Enjoy!

Best Martial Arts Fight Scenes

The best martial arts fight scenes are ones that are short and sweet. They are short enough that they don’t outstay their welcome but long enough that they make an impact on the audience.

They are also the scenes that use martial arts in the most interesting and exciting ways.

Let’s bite down on the mouthguard and dive right into our list of the best martial arts fight scenes of all time.

Fist of Fury (1972)

The 1972 martial arts film Fist of Fury (Chinese: 鐵拳; pinyin: Tiě Quán literally “Iron Fist”) was the second film in the Bruce Lee series directed by Lo Wei, and a remake of Lee’s earlier Hong Kong film, The Big Boss (1971). It stars Bruce Lee, Nora Miao and James Tien, with Bruce Li and Phillip Ko as stunt doubles for Lee.

The story is loosely based on the life of Huo Yuanjia, a Chinese martial artist who died in 1915. In the film, Chen Zhen returns to Shanghai after many years abroad in Japan to seek revenge for the death of his teacher Huo Yuanjia at the hands of rival master Wong Jack Man.

The story parallels events in Bruce Lee’s own life: his teacher, Wing Chun master Yip Man was killed by a student from another school in Hong Kong.The movie was released in Hong Kong on 17 March 1972.

In North America it was released as The Chinese Connection. The original Mandarin Chinese title literally translates as “fist of fury” but it is commonly translated as The Big Boss or Fists of Fury. It is sometimes referred to by fans as simply “Fury”.

Fist of Fury
  • Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
  • Bruce Lee (Actor)
  • Lo Wei (Director) - Wei Lo (Writer) - Raymond Chow (Producer)
  • English (Playback Language)
  • English (Subtitle)

Police Story (1984)

Hong Kong police officer Chan Ka-Kui (Chan) finds himself fighting the criminal element when the police department switches him from traffic duty to undercover work. At first, Chan resents the new assignment but soon realizes that he has a knack for it.

But even as he wins the admiration of his fellow officers, he finds out that his new partner is stealing money from the criminals they have arrested together.

When Chan refuses to go along with his corruption, his partner attempts to have him killed. In Police Story , Jackie plays an honest cop who’s teamed up with an ex-con (Biao).

   

It’s a buddy picture with a twist in that their relationship gets off to an adversarial start.The film was directed by Jackie and was shot in Hong Kong and Thailand.

The production was plagued with problems, including a budget so small that costumes were rented by the day and some scenes had to be hastily.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzNag2j2ABo

Police Story: Lockdown
  • Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
  • Jackie Chan, Tian Jing (Actors)
  • Ding Shen (Director) - Fei Chen (Producer)
  • English (Playback Language)
  • English (Subtitle)

Kill Zone (2005)

Kill Zone is a complex and well-made thriller that has a lot of different elements going for it. The acting is great, the story is compelling, and the soundtrack is very effective in setting the mood.

The problem with Kill Zone is that it sets the viewer up for an ending that will never come. This movie is a complete bait-and-switch.

It’s like being hypnotized into thinking you’re seeing one thing, only to realize you’ve seen something completely different.

As a thriller, Kill Zone starts out on solid ground. It’s gripping from start to finish and there are plenty of thrills to go around. There’s also some strong cinematography, mainly when it comes to shooting in low light.

However, both of these strengths work against the film when the big twist hits.The film starts out as if it’s going to be about a detective tracking down an assassin who has been hired to kill a high-profile lawyer.

Then, just when you think you have figured out where this crime drama is headed, it takes a hard right turn into an entirely different type of story. Kill Zone has more plot twists than most films do in their entire running time.

It makes things feel both fresh and unexpected while also allowing things to remain interesting.

Kill Zone [DVD] [2005]
  • English (Subtitle)

 

Best Martial Arts Fight Scenes

What Are martial arts fight scenes?

Martial arts films have been popular for decades. The films, which feature hand-to-hand combat, have been a staple of movie theaters since the 1970s.

Martial arts films usually tell the story of an underdog martial artist who seeks revenge or is trying to save someone in need.

While martial arts films are typically filled with fighting scenes, they also include cultural aspects of various Asian countries.

It might seem reductive, but more often than not, martial arts movies are defined by their fight scenes.

When they’re good — and they can be very, very good — the fights in these movies do things that no other genre can touch.

 

 

The Raid (2011)

The Raid: Redemption has been described as one of the best action movies of 2012 and the best martial arts film of all time.It follows a special forces team who must fight their way through a high rise building filled with corrupt cops and gangsters.

The movie is pure adrenaline rush, with constant fighting throughout its runtime. There are no breaks for dialogue or character development, just non-stop action.

Toward the end, there’s a scene where Donny Yen’s character fights his way through hundreds of armed enemies in hallway after hallway.

It’s probably the most intense action scene ever filmed, which makes it perfect for our purposes.Bala is the only one who manages to survive a police raid in an apartment building full of drug dealers and killers.

He flees to the roof and fights his way through the city back to his family. Best Action Scene Ever! 

The Raid [DVD] [2011]
  • English (Subtitle)

Drunken Master II (1994)

Starring:Jackie Chan, Ho-Sung Pak, Yuen Biao, Hwang Jang Lee, Kwok Kuen ChanDrunken Master II is one of my all time favorite Jackie Chan flicks. It has been declared, by the fans of this film as well as Jackie Chan himself, that this is his best movie.

   

I have a lot of his films but Drunken Master II is the most entertaining by far.The stunts and fights are simply amazing and the fight choreography is some of the best I have ever seen.

A group of Westerners are looking for a lost treasure in China. They find it and are on their way back to America but they run into trouble with a local crime boss who has his own plans for the treasure.

A french girl befriends Jackie and tells him he needs to learn drunken boxing if he wants to defeat the crime boss, but then later betrays him to the crime boss after she finds out he’s not rich.

Jackie then teams up with his old master to defeat the crime boss and get back the treasure so he can give it to his village so they can build a new school.

The movie is full of memorable scenes such as when Jackie fights with two large statues who represent good and evil.

Drunken Master II
  • Liu Chia-Liang, Jackie Chan, Ti Lung (Actors)
  • Jackie Chan (Director) - Tseng King-Sang (Producer)
  • Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Fist of Legend (1994)

Fist of Legend is a 1994 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Gordon Chan, and starring Jet Li as Chinese martial artist Huo Yuanjia. The film is a loose remake of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury, and is part of the legend of Huo Yuanjia’s life.

It was followed by Fist of Legend 2 in 1995 and the prequel Legend of Fong Sai-yuk in 2006.

Jet Li plays Huo Yuanjia, whose father died when he was young. He has two brothers, one who is loyal to him but also seeks to usurp his father’s school (called the “Uncanny Sword School”), and the other who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps.

After Huo Yuanjia defeats the Boxer Rebellion with his amazing kung fu skill, he returns to Beijing where he discovers that his brothers have betrayed their country, have stolen their family fortune, and are using the money and martial arts they learned from their father’s school to help lead a rebellion.

Fist of Legend is an excellent movie with spectacular fight scenes and top-notch action choreography. Although it’s hard to surpass Bruce Lee in terms of charisma. The film’s Chinese title is literally “Legend of a Hero”.

Ip Man (2008)

Ip Man (2008) is a 2008 Hong Kong biographical martial arts film directed by Wilson Yip and starring Donnie Yen as the title character. The film is based on the life story of Ip Man, a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun.

The film also features fights choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping, who worked on Yen’s previous films Dragon Tiger Gate (2006) and Iron Monkey (1993).

The film focuses on Ip’s life in the 1930s, when he moved to Hong Kong from mainland China and established a reputation for himself as a martial arts master. In the 1950s, Ip moved to Guangzhou, where he continued teaching Wing Chun.

Ip Man is a 2008 Hong Kong biographical martial arts film based on the life story of Bruce Lee’s Wing Chun teacher, Ip Man. The film was directed by Wilson Yip, and produced by Raymond Wong, who also starred in the lead role.

Ip Man (2008) is the story of Ip Man, a famed Wing Chun martial artist and teacher who taught several Wing Chun masters. The film depicts his life during the 1930s leading up to his encounter with Bruce Lee in Hong Kong.

Ip Man [Blu-ray]
  • Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Lynn Xiong (Actors)
  • Wilson Yip (Director) - Edmond Wong (Writer)
  • Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)

The Raid (2011)

The Raid is an Indonesian action thriller, the feature-length debut of Welsh filmmaker Gareth Huw Evans. It was produced by Gareth Evans and his creative partner Timo Tjahjanto and directed by Evans.

The film stars Iko Uwais as Rama, a special-forces police officer who takes part in a raid on a condemned apartment building with a group of elite cops who have been sent in to neutralize the crime lord in charge. When the group gets trapped on the sixth floor with no way out and no reinforcements coming, it’s up to Rama to save them all from their ruthless attackers.

Told in a POV style much like that of Cloverfield, The Raid has the look and feel of an authentic political thriller, but with martial arts fighting and gunfights. The all-Indonesian cast is filled with skilled martial artists and stuntmen who had to undergo extensive training before filming even began.

That training shows throughout this fast-paced action/thriller that was shot over 30 days on a budget of less than $1 million.The result is one of the best action films in recent memory.

With its nonstop fight scenes, plot twists, and surprisingly well-written script.

The Raid [DVD] [2011]
  • English (Subtitle)

Redeemer (2014)

Redeemer is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by Scott Wiper and starring Nicolas Cage and Gina Carano. It was released on April 18, 2014.

The film received negative reviews and has grossed over $2 million worldwide.Definitely has the feel of a B-movie, but that doesn’t mean it is good or bad.

It’s just a low budget action flick with some decent scenes and some terrible scenes. If you like Nicolas Cage movies then this is worth watching, but if you are only into action movies then this is probably not going to be your cup of tea.

Redeemer is a 2014 American political thriller film directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Nic Cage, who also served as an executive producer. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2014.

The film was released in theaters on April 17, 2015, by RLJ Entertainment.The film’s plot revolves around a professional assassin (Cage) who becomes convinced that he has been hired to kill the wrong man and sets out to protect his intended target.

Redeemer is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by Scott Wiper and starring Nicolas Cage and Gina Carano.

Redeemer
  • Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
  • Marko Zaror, Loreto Aravena, Jose Luis Mosca (Actors)
  • Ernesto Diaz Espinoza (Director) - Ernesto Diaz Espinoza (Writer) - Noah Segan (Producer)
  • English (Playback Language)
  • English (Subtitle)

Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003)

I’ve seen a lot of movies that give Muay Thai a bad name. The fighting style is not an effective way to fight unless you are trained from childhood and have the mental and physical fortitude to use it.

It’s not like karate or judo, where the styles were developed for self-defense, but then watered down for mass consumption. Muay Thai was literally created as a means to kill people – it was developed by Thai warriors as a brutal go-to style when they didn’t have weapons in hand.

The lead character in Ong Bak is true to this spirit of Muay Thai. Tony Jaa (you might know him from The Protector) plays Ting, a man with no martial arts training who nonetheless learns the art of Muay Thai.

Ting’s training takes more than a month, which makes no sense). Not only does he learn it, but he becomes incredibly skilled at using it in combat situations – so skilled that he can take on entire armies of attackers without weapons.

He even has magical powers from his amulet. I have been a big fan of Tony Jaa ever since I first saw him in the Ong Bak movie.

It is so disappointing to me that it took him so long to make a comeback.

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Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior [Blu-ray]
  • Suchao Pongvilai, Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao (Actors)
  • Prachya Pinkaew (Director)
  • English, Spanish (Subtitles)
  • Audience Rating: R (Restricted)

Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)

Dragon Tiger Gate is a 2006 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Wilson Yip, produced by Wong Jing and starring Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Liu Ye and Zhou Xun. The film was also released in the United States as Warriors Two.

Dragon Tiger Gate is a 2006 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Wilson Yip, produced by Wong Jing and starring Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Liu Ye and Zhou Xun. The film was also released in the United States as Warriors Two.

Dragon Tiger Gate is considered to be one of the best in the recent spate of fighting movies that have been released in Hong Kong. It’s a kung-fu movie with more than just combat choreography; it’s an intricate character study that reveals what would happen if different men were put into similar situations.

And because of this, it might also be one of Wilson Yip’s best films.

While there are plenty of fights throughout Dragon Tiger Gate, they’re not the point of the movie. Instead they’re just used to tell the story of the two young protagonists: Lee Chung Yan (Nicholas Tse) and Wong Fei Hung (Donnie Yen).

The former is a young man who wants to learn.

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Dragon Tiger Gate
  • Donnie Yen (Actor)
  • English, Cantonese (Subtitles)

Drunken Master II (1994)

“Drunken Master II” is a 1994 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by and starring Jackie Chan, who also served as the film’s choreographer. The film is the second part of a trilogy that includes “Drunken Master” (1978) and “Drunken Master III” (1994).

The film was followed by “The Legend of Drunken Master” in 2011.

The movie opens with Wong Fei-hung (Jackie Chan) returning from his studies in Japan to find himself embroiled in a war between his father, Wong Kei-ying (Yuen Wah), and the Beggars’ Sect, who are kidnapping children to use their blood for the preparation of an elixir of immortality.The Beggars’ Sect is led by Ching Dai (Ng Man-tat), who was once Wong Kei-ying’s martial arts teacher.

Ching Dai’s greatest student, Biao Chun (Yu Rong-guang), has not forgotten how Wong Kei-ying defeated him in combat years before, and holds a grudge against him.As the leader of the sect, Ching Dai takes the opportunity to settle the score with his former pupil when they meet again.

The film was a box office disappointment in the United States, grossing $25,831,995. In Hong Kong, it recorded the second highest opening weekend for a film released in 1994. The film grossed $21,923,813 during its theatrical run in North America and a further $20 million worldwide.

Drunken Master II
  • Liu Chia-Liang, Jackie Chan, Ti Lung (Actors)
  • Jackie Chan (Director) - Tseng King-Sang (Producer)
  • Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)

The Prodigal Son (1981)

One of the most iconic and beloved Bible stories, The Prodigal Son is still as relevant today as when it was written thousands of years ago. This beloved classic has been retold countless times, but never like this.

When a group of friends decide to make a film version of The Prodigal Son, they have no idea what they’re in for. The actors cast in the lead roles are all amateurs and have no experience with filmmaking.

Their budget is minuscule and their plan to finish the film before the money runs out is nothing short of ridiculous.But they’re young, crazy and determined – even if it kills them.

After an incredible first day on set, filming the “Return Home” scene, the director realizes that his vision for the film is not in line with what his cast wants to do, so he leaves them to do it by themselves. .

But can these inexperienced actors really complete this film on their own?They’ve got three days, two cameras, one crew and one script, will it be enough?

A movie about making movies, where almost nothing goes according to plan.

This film will make you laugh until you cry and then cry until you laugh again!

The Prodigal Son
  • Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
  • Yuen Biao, Ching-ying Lam, Sammo Hung (Actors)
  • Sammo Hung (Director) - Sammo Kam-Bo Hung (Writer) - Raymond Chow (Producer)
  • English (Playback Language)
  • English (Subtitle)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

A great movie with some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen. The movie centers around Li Mu Bai, Yu Shu Lien, and Jen Yu.

The story takes place in China during the Qing dynasty. Master Li Mu Bai has been ordered by his master to give up his sword called The Green Destiny.

However, before he can do so he must find a person named Jen Yu who was given the sword three years ago by his master so she could give it to him when he was ready.

He leaves for a town where she is supposed to be living and meets Jen Yu’s servant, Shu Lien who follows him when he goes off on his own after finding out that Jen Yu has left with a convoy headed for the city where they will have a competition to see who will become leader of their group.

Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien have an attraction for each other but both claim that they are not in love.

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Blu-ray]
  • Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi (Actors)
  • Ang Lee (Director) - Ang Lee (Producer)
  • English, Portuguese, French, Spanish (Subtitles)
  • French (Publication Language)
  • Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)

Ong Bak 2 (2008)

One man’s quest to find the sacred Buddha statues with a human head, heart, and hands.The movie is about Tien (Tony Jaa), who was trained in the art of Muay Thai by his father as a child.

His village was destroyed by the Lord Of Darkness (Dan Chupong) and Tien’s father was killed. The only way for him to take revenge is to find the three Buddha statues with sacred head, heart and hands.

Tien travels from his home village to Bangkok where he meets up with his uncle Pha (Sombat Metanee). He introduces Tien to a gangster that can help him.

After Tien meets up with his uncle he goes on a mission to get the sacred statues from evil forces that want to control all of Thailand.The movie has great fighting scenes but it doesn’t really have enough characters or story line.

It seems like they are trying to hard to make this movie great but it doesn’t have enough character development. For example when you see Tony Jaa in Ong Bak 1 you kind of hate him because he did something wrong towards you but in Ong Bak 2 he is just the same at first and then turns out that he is good guy.

Ong Bak 2 [Blu-ray]
  • Sorapong Chatri, Tony Jaa, Pattama Panthong (Actors)
  • Panna Rittikrai (Director) - Akarapol Techaratanaprasert (Producer)

Wheels on Meals (1984)

Wheels on Meals, released in 84, is a great introduction that the band could have only done at the start of their career. It’s got a lot of songs with some good guitar work and some excellent lyrics, but it’s missing a lot of the heavy sound that they would perfect later on.

Tbh, there are some really good songs on here, but I think this is still not their greatest album to date. The first 2 albums were much better. This one is just ok in my opinion.

Still worth checking out though because they had some excellent songs on this one too.

I think I would recommend “Endless War”, “Screaming for Vengeance”, “Breaking The Law”, and “The Hellion”. Those ones are all great songs, but so are all the others too. I just don’t think the others are as memorable or as good as these 4 that I mentioned.

This was fun to listen to from beginning to end, but there are better albums out there by Judas Priest. Not their best work by any means, but still worth checking out if you’re interested in them. I was in college when I saw this film, and remember that it was controversial–but at the same time, one of the most hilarious films I have ever seen.

It is not only a great comedy, but it also has real meaning behind it. As a college student who was going through a lot at the time, this movie helped me get through some rough times.

Wheels On Meals
  • Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
  • Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Biao Yuen (Actors)
  • Sammo Hung (Director) - David Tadman (Writer) - Raymond Chow (Producer)
  • English (Playback Language)
  • English (Subtitle)

Flash Point (2007)

Flash Point (2007) is a TV series on The Discovery Channel about the daily drama and special events that occur at a firehouse. The show’s main character is Lieutenant Kenny “Taco” Taubman, the leader of Truck 81.

Taubman interacts with his crew members and others, showing how the men deal with their personal issues while trying to save lives.The series also shows how they handle various situations, ranging from fires to family disputes.

Description:Flash Point (2007) is an American drama television series that premiered on June 4, 2007 on CBS in the 10:00 p.m. Eastern time slot following Without A Trace.

In Canada it airs on CTV Networks’ CTV Two, which began airing season 3 repeats on January 1, 2010 and started airing season 4 repeats on April 6, 2011.It also airs in Australia on Network Ten during late nights and early mornings, and in New Zealand it was aired by TV2 from October 8 to December 31, 2008 before being taken off the schedule.

The show was picked up for a fourth season by CBS on May 14, 2009 but it was later announced that the series will be cancelled mid-season due to poor ratings.

Flash Point
  • Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
  • Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Fan Bingbing (Actors)
  • Wilson Yip (Director) - Li-Juan Liu (Producer)
  • English (Playback Language)
  • English (Subtitle)

 

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