Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Happy 53rd Birthday Karen Shepherd!! (PR-24 Baton GIF Set)

11/12/2014 10:54:00 AM  , , ,  No comments

Happy 53rd Birthday Karen Shepherd!!


In her honor, I've made an animated GIF set from one of the movies she was in, Mission of Justice. Shepherd was the first woman to hold the title of #1 Women's Black Belt Forms Champion and was instrumental in pioneering recognition for female martial arts forms competitors.


Today, I present to you another entry in my Project of making animated GIFs from TV/Movies of the Baton, in this case, the PR-24 Baton. Karen Shepherd was in a movie called Mission of Justice and early on in the movie, she uses the Baton.


Happy Birthday Karen Shepherd!!  Enjoy this GIF Set!








For other GIFs I made featuring the Baton, please check out:



Read More

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Green Hornet episode 09 - The Ray Is For Killing (11 Nov 1966)

11/11/2014 11:00:00 AM  , , ,  No comments

48 years ago on this date of November 11 in the year 1966, the 9th episode of the new TV series, The Green Hornet, aired.

Posted this episode to mirror the airdate from 48 years ago.

Enjoy!



Green Hornet episode 09 - The Ray Is For Killing (11 Nov 1966)

Valuable paintings are stolen from a charity art exhibit at Britt Reid's home. The thieves make a successful getaway, thanks to a powerful laser beam weapon, and demand one million dollars or else the paintings will be destroyed. Reid goes undercover as the Green Hornet to get to the bottom of their scheme. After a surprising discovery of who is behind the crime, he demands a piece of the action in usual Green Hornet style. And while he prepares to meet their ransom demands as Britt Reid, he also readies the Green Hornet's car, the Black Beauty, for an encounter with ...



Other episodes of The Green Hornet posted:





For more information, please check:



Read More

Master of the Flying Guillotine GIF Set 1

11/11/2014 10:54:00 AM  , , , ,  No comments

In recognition of Jimmy Wang Yu posted about here:


I'm making some animated GIFs from his classic Master of the Flying Guillotine. Here's the first set.


Enjoy!


The blind master Fung Sheng Wu Chi





Here are some shorter GIFs of the feared Flying Guillotine!




NOTE:  Props to my friend Tim M. for the nudge to make GIFs from this classic movie!



Read More

Jimmy Wang Yu to receive Lifetime Achievement Award!

11/11/2014 10:54:00 AM  , ,  No comments


Today is a special day, mark your calendars Asian Films Fans! Jimmy Wang Yu to receive Lifetime Achievement Award!  If you are nearby New York City tonight and love Wang Yu and/or oldschool movies, GO!

Congratulations Jimmy Wang Yu (aka Jimmy Wong Yu)!



Click for large pic
Photo Credit:  Film Society Lincoln Center


Copied from New York Asian Film Festival

In the 1960s the Shaw Brothers were looking to expand from their more traditional dramas and romances to martial arts films, and one of their hires was a former water polo champion, horse rider and car racer: Jimmy Wong Yu. Appearing in films like Temple of the Red Lotus, Twin Swords, Magnificent Trio and Tiger Boy at the beginning of his career, his true breakthrough came in Chang Chen’s landmark The One-Armed Swordsman (1967), the film that launched Wong Yu’s career as well as the martial arts swordfighting movie (wuxia pian) craze. With all the fury and masculine intensity exploding from the screen, Jimmy Wong Yu became the prototype for the tough stoic male characters that this new wave of swordfighting films brought to the screen.

If The One-Armed Swordsman launched Wong Yu into stardom, it was The Chinese Boxer (1970) that cemented his legendary status by igniting the kung fu fever that was to become a global phenomenon. Written, directed, and starring Wong Yu, The Chinese Boxer was the first major movie to devote itself entirely to the art of kung fu. It established the basic conventions, such as revenge as a motive, Chinese martial arts versus Japanese martial arts, and strong nationalistic feeling, all of which later found their way into the films of Bruce Lee. Following this film, Wong Yu broke his contract with Shaw Brothers and started making films in Taiwan with Golden Harvest, including his masterpiece Beach of the War Gods (1973), described by scholar Stephen Teo as “the swordfighting movie to end all swordfighting movies.”

Wong Yu is currently enjoying an Indian Summer in his long career, with outstanding roles in Peter Chan’s Wu Xia (aka Dragon, 2011), and Andrew Lau’s The Guillotines (2012). Most recently, he starred in Chung Mong-hong’s arty slasher Soul (2013), turning it into a showcase for his acting talent, where with hardly a change in facial expression, he’s able to summon up a whole range of emotions (sadness, paternal love, madness). With a career spanning over five decades, he has acted in over 80 films, directed 12 films and left an indelible mark on the history of martial arts cinema. For all of these accomplishments it is our deepest honor to present Jimmy Wong Yu with our Lifetime Achievement Award, and to screen three of his films at this year’s Festival (The One-Armed Swordsman, The Chinese Boxer, and Soul).



Copied from Film Society Lincoln Center

Master of the Flying Guillotine
Jimmy Wong Yu, 1976
Taiwan/Hong Kong | Mandarin with English subtitles | Format: 35mm | 93 minutes

Ticket includes admission to the 5:30pm reception with Jimmy Wong Yu in the Furman Gallery.

After becoming the face of the martial-arts sword-fighting movie (wuxia pian) craze with his legendary performance in Chang Cheh’s The One Armed Boxer (1967), and paving the way for Bruce Lee by igniting kung-fu fever with The Chinese Boxer (1970), Jimmy Wong Yu went on to create a grindhouse masterpiece with Master of the Flying Guillotine, in which a blind lama assassin employed by the Qing Emperor goes after the righteous “One-Armed Boxer” (played by the director). Featuring extravagant choreography by brothers Lau Kar-leung and Lau Kar-wing, this film set the template for martial-arts video games with its centerpiece kung-fu tournament full of freaky contestants, and the fireworks of its final showdown (set in a booby-trapped coffin shop) have yet to be equaled.

Screening as part of An Evening with Jimmy Wong Yu:

Jimmy Wong Yu will be presented the New York Asian Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award and will participate in an on-stage discussion before a screening of his massively entertaining martial-arts classic Master of the Flying Guillotine, projected on glorious 35mm.
Co-presented with Subway Cinema and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York.



For more information, please check out:



I made some animated GIF's in celebration:





NOTE:  Props to my friend Mentoir K for the heads-up!


Read More

Monday, November 10, 2014

The Yakuza (1974) Animated GIF Set 1

11/10/2014 10:54:00 PM  , , , ,  No comments

Takakura Ken, one of Japan's greatest actors, passed away Nov 10, 2014 as reported here:


He was in one of my all-time favorite movies, The Yakuza (1974). I made some animated GIFs in his honor as tribute.


Enjoy this first set of 11 GIFs!




Kendo class in session
A drill called "kiri kaeshi" that's part of the typical warmup







Tanaka Ken Sensei demonstration
ZNKR (Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei)'s
"Ippon me mae" kata



Some shorter GIFs




NOTE:  Posted Nov 19, 2014 and backdated to Nov 10, 2014. Domo arigato gozaimasu to my friend Tom V. for the naming of the drill and kata!


Read More

IN MEMORY OF: Takakura Ken (Feb 16, 1931 - Nov 10, 2014)

11/10/2014 10:54:00 PM  , ,  No comments


Click for larger pic
Takakura Ken in Black Rain

Today, the Japanese media broke the story of the passing of Japanese movie legend, Takakura Ken. Described as the Japanese "Clint Eastwood" because both evolved from an outlaw persona to one of a stoic authority figure, Takakura Ken was known for his stoic presence and brooding style. He died at the age of 83 of malignant lymphoma on Nov 10 in a Japanese hospital.


"Ken-san", as he is affectionately known, made more than 200 films and became famous by starring in the popular yakuza/gangster movies. Born Goichi Oda on Feb 16, 1931, after graduating from University in 1955, he was applying for a managerial position and was recruited by Toei, plucked from a random audition to make his 1956 debut, Denko Karate Uchi (Lightning Karate Blow). He quickly became a yakuza-film star. The Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan's major newspapers, called him "one of Japan's greatest actors".


Takakura came to prominence as an escaped prisoner in Teruo Ishii’s 1965 hit “Abashiri Prison,” which was loosely based on Stanley Kramer’s 1958 “The Defiant Ones.” The role which introduced Takakura to a broader Western audience is undoubtedly his police inspector role in Ridley Scott's Black Rain in 1989. He followed up with a second Hollywood role as a pro baseball manager in Tom Selleck’s 1992 comedy “Mr. Baseball.”


Click for larger pic
Takakura Ken in Mr. Baseball


However, I know him best from Sydney Pollack's great film, The Yakuza (1970), co-starring with Robert Mitchum, at his laconic best. One of my favorite movies!


Click for larger pic
Takakura Ken in The Yakuza



Rest in Peace Takura Ken



For more information, please check:




For other entries on Takakura Ken, please check:






NOTE:  Posted Nov 18, 2014 and backdated to Nov 10.

Read More

Michael Jai White on Eddie Bravo Radio - Episode #30 (9/1/2013)

11/10/2014 10:55:00 AM  , , ,  No comments

Following up on my Birthday post:




... posting Michael Jai-White on Eddie Bravo Radio - Episode #30 (9/1/2013).


Happy Birthday Michael Jai-White!








 For more information, please see:
 



Read More

Happy 47th Birthday Michael Jai White!! [Blood and Bone (2009) (Full movie)]

11/10/2014 10:55:00 AM  , , ,  No comments



Happy 47th Birthday Michael Jai White!!


In honor of  Michael Jai White's birthday, I'm posting one of his movies I found off of YouTube - Blood and Bone (2009) (Full movie)


Enjoy!!



Blood and Bone (2009)

In Los Angeles, an ex-con takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend.




For other Michael Jai White entries:




For more information, please see:
 


Read More

Saturday, November 08, 2014

Happy 56th Birthday Jeff Speakman!! (The Perfect Weapon) (1991) (Full movie)

11/08/2014 10:54:00 AM  , , , ,  No comments



Today marks The Perfect Weapon's 56th birthday!! Back in 1991, The Perfect Weapon premiered and launched Jeff Speakman into stardom!


Posting the full movie in his honor!!


Happy Birthday Jeff Speakman!!



The Perfect Weapon (1991)

Jeff, a young delinquent, is enrolled by his father in a kenpo school, in the hopes of teaching the boy some self-discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, is being threatened by one of the Korean mafia families. Jeff tries to help his old friend, but is too late to prevent Kim's death at the hands of an unknown hitman. Vowing revenge, Jeff takes on all of the families, using his martial arts skills to find the man who killed his friend.




For further information, please see:




Read More

Friday, November 07, 2014

4 GIF's of Damacio Page's vicious KO of Brian Hall at Legacy FC 36

11/07/2014 11:00:00 AM  , , , , ,  No comments

Damacio Page fights out of the world-famous Jackson's Submission Fighting based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On Oct 17, 2014, the Legacy Fighting Championship #36 took place. In the first round with 1:48 left, Page knocks out Brian Hall. With the KO win, Page captures the Legacy FC's Flyweight Belt!


Congratulations Damacio Page! 

 Enjoy the 4 GIF's!!




Realtime
1-1-2 (Double Jab & Straight Right)



2 slomo's




Brian Hall out cold
(later Hall is standing, awake and smiling)





For more information, please see:



Read More

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

GIF of Vicious Elbow KO from Muay Thai fight

11/05/2014 11:00:00 AM  , , , , ,  No comments

Of the combat sports, one of the most brutal is undoubtedly Muay Thai. It's known as the Art of Eight Limbs:  2 Legs, 2 Knees, 2 Fists AND 2 Elbows. One of the favored positions for Muay Thai fighters is the Clinch where Takedowns, Knees and Elbows can be effected.


I saw a video on Facebook and forgot which page/group/friend it was from. I don't know the fighters. I took the liberty of making 6 GIFs from the video which featured a vicious Elbow Knockout from the Clinch.


If you know the fighters/fight, please let me know. It is deeply appreciated!


WARNING! Not for the faint of heart!

 Enjoy!



1 all-in-one GIF of realtime, slomo, and slomo side view




The above GIF split into 3 separate:
1 realtime, 1 slomo, 1 slomo side view






Made an extra 2 super slomo GIF's



 Was that a vicious Elbow KO or what?


Read More

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Happy 71st Birthday Dwight McLemore!!!

11/04/2014 10:54:00 AM  , , , , , , , ,  No comments


Source photo:  Dwight McLemore's Facebook

Happy 71st Birthday Dwight McLemore!!! 


At 71 years young, his posts on his Facebook are inspirational! He is still going strong with weapons-work, kettlebells, etc!! Not only does he work with Bowies, tomahawks, and his sword, "Suigetsu", but also with Bagua Deer Knives!


Mac not only wrote his books, but he also drew the pictures illustrating the action/techniques/concepts. I bought his Bowie and Big Knife Fighting book first but at the time I wasn't deeply into blades. Later he came out with The Fighting Staff and The Fighting Sword. I treasure those 2 books. A wealth of information is an understatement! Then he published The Fighting Kukri which I also treasure. After that book, I went and bought the Bowie Knife sequel as well as The Fighting Tomahawk and its sequel.


His books cover fighting concepts, the history of the weapon, training methods, scenarios and more. But what catches the reader's eye is artwork/linework. His attention to detail in his illustrations is evident as he is trying to express motion in his linework to bring out the teachings. Awesomeness! Not only a consummate Martial Artist, but an artist, a historian, a researcher, and a teacher!


I have all his books published by Paladin Press as well as his DVD, The Fighting Tomahawk, also from Paladin. If you are into weapons-work, I highly reco all his books and DVD for Martial Artists of any level.


I'm going to be ordering his newest book, The Fighting Gladiator:


Source photo:  Dwight McLemore's Facebook
Click for larger pic



A little bio of the Birthday Boy copied from the Paladin site!

Dwight C. McLemore is a retired combat arms officer with the U.S. Army and is an accomplished bladesman and instructor. He is renowned for his vast knowledge of Bowie and big-knife fighting and has more than 18 years of experience in self-defense and martial arts. The founder of the School of Two Swords, McLemore is rated expert level with the American Knife Congress, is certified in kung fu, and holds 1st dan in kendo. 

Posting some videos I found on YouTube in his honor!


Happy Birthday Mac!!! Many many more to come!




ISMAC 10th Anniversary DVD
Clip from Dwight McLemore's Bowie Knife class




How to Use the Hanging Log for Tomahawk Training
(from The Fighting Tomahawk DVD)






For more information, please check out:


Read More

Monday, November 03, 2014

Charles Bronson would've been 93 years old today!

11/03/2014 10:54:00 AM  , , , , , ,  No comments



93 years ago on this date of Nov 3, 1921, Charles Bronson was born. Happy Birthday Charles Bronson!


Posting one of my favorite Charles Bronson movies, Red Sun, in his honor!


Enjoy!


Red Sun (1971)
Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune Alain Delon, Ursula Andress

The story takes place in Arizona, around 1870. Link (Bronson) and Gauche (Delon) are two ruthless robbers that attack along with their men at the train which carries the ambassador of Japan over to Washington. During the robbery, Gotch takes a very valuable gold sword, which is a gift from the emperor to the president of the U.S. and tries to kill Link, so that he can take all the money for himself. Now Kuroda (portrayed by Mifune, the only survivor of the samurais that escorted the ambassador) and Link must leave their differences aside and work together. They both want to find Gauche, but for different reasons: Kuroda wants to take back the sword, and Link wants the stolen money. All this must be done in seven days, or the samurai will kill Link and himself. 




Trivia:

  • Bronson starred in The Magnificent Seven, an American remake of Seven Samurai, which featured Mifune.
    • Talk about International! The movie stars U.S. born Charles Bronson, Japanese actor Toshirô Mifune, French actor Alain Delon and Swiss actress Ursula Andress. It was filmed in Spain by the British director Terence Young.

  • The Japanese Ambassador refers to the emperor as the "Mikado". This term originated with the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta of the same name and became widely used in the West in reference to Japanese culture. No such term existed in Japan until after the operetta became internationally famous in the 1880s; well after the time-line presented in Red Sun.





    • For more info, please check out:




    In case you missed my other Charles Bronson entries, please check out:



    Read More

    Sunday, November 02, 2014

    IN MEMORY OF: Lo Lieh (Jun 29, 1939 - Nov 2, 2002) [Five Fingers of Death (1972) (天下第一拳)]

    11/02/2014 10:54:00 AM  , , , ,  No comments

    Click for larger pic

    12 years ago today on November 2, 2002, Lo Lieh died from a heart attack ... he was 63 years old.


    Wait ... what? You never heard of Lo Lieh? He is probably best known as Chao Chih-Hao in Five Fingers of Death aka King Boxer, as the White Lotus Priest in Clan of the White Lotus (which he directed!) and General Tien Ta in Gordon 'Master Killer' Liu's 1978 film, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.

    Lo Lieh as Chao Chih-Hao in Five Fingers of Death aka King Boxer
    Click for larger pic


    Lo as White Lotus Priest in Clan of the White Lotus


    Lo Lieh as General Tien Ta in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
    Click for larger pic


    Before there was Bruce Lee, there was Lo Lieh! For many martial artists, Five Fingers of Death was the film that started them in their Sojourn of Septillion Steps!


    Posting the full movie Five Fingers of Death in his honor. Enjoy!




    Five Fingers of Death aka King Boxer 
    (Chinese Title: Tian xia di yi quan
    (天下第一拳) "Number One Fist in the World")


     Plot:

    A promising young martial arts student named Chi-Hao has spent most of his life studying under a master and has fallen in love with the master's daughter Yin-Yin. After the master fails to properly fight off a group of thugs, he sends Chi-Hao to study under a superior master, Shen Chin-Pei. He instructs Chi-Hao to learn from Chin-Pei and defeat the local martial arts tyrant, Ming Dung-Shun, in an upcoming tournament in order to earn Yin-Yin's hand.






    Trivia:

    • Lo Lieh (Traditional: 羅烈 / Simplified: 罗烈) was born in Pematangsiantar, Indonesia.
    • Lo's birth name was Wang Lap-Tat (王立達).
    • As a teen, in 1962 Lo joined the Shaw Bros. film company and took acting classes. By 1969 he had become the first kung fu superstar ahead of Bruce Lee!
    • Five Fingers of Death was released in March 1973 and predated Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon.
    • Five Fingers of Death is considered the movie that started the 1970's North American craze despite being eclipsed by Lee's Enter the Dragon.
    • In 2002, Sight & Sound Magazine asked Quentin Tarantino to name his twelve favorite movies of all time ... Tarantino ranked Five Fingers of Death at number 11.



    For more information:



    Read More

    Wednesday, October 29, 2014

    Bruce Tegner would've been 85 years old today!!

    10/29/2014 10:54:00 AM  , , , , ,  No comments



    Happy Birthday Bruce Tegner!!

    One of America's early martial artists who was a 'mixed martial artist'! His books were inspiration to many American martial artists to take up the Martial Way. He would've been 85 today!


     Happy 85th Birthday Bruce Tegner!!



    Birth: Oct. 29, 1929
    Chicago
    Cook County
    Illinois, USA
    Death: Aug. 28, 1985
    Ventura
    Ventura County
    California, USA


    Bruce Tegner was a lifelong martial artist and prolific writer of martial arts books, numbering some 25 books in print. Tegner's parents were themselves professional adherents of judo and jujutsu. At age 2, Tegner began his martial arts training under his parents, a curriculum that would last his lifetime. Over his lifetime, Bruce Tegner studied judo, jujutsu, aikido, karate, Japanese sword and stick fighting, Savate (French foot and fist fighting), tai chi, and other Chinese kung fu forms.

    Bruce Tegner recounted in his books that he originally trained in the highly traditional and stylized Asian regimen of martial arts training. But as an adult he became concerned that much of the stylization and formality had no place in modern application. There was the prevalent belief that it took a lifetime of rigorous training to become a proficient martial artist. More, a martial arts adherent was expected to athletically proficient. Tegner acknowledged that these long-held beliefs arose from ancient history where warriors did indeed practice their occupation for a lifetime and in doing so remained athletically capable, because they had to. But in modern civilization, man did not need to be a full time warrior, nor could he afford to be unless he or she were in a military occupation. Yet, modern man needed some means of practical self-defense because the physical threats to life and safety remained out there.

    Bruce Tegner set out to prove that modern practical self-defense was feasible and did not require many years of rigorous physical regimen nor did an ordinary citizen have to be an athlete in order to defend himself. Yet Tegner remained consistent with his martial arts roots as many of his books are introductions to the traditional martial arts. Bruce Tegner integrated self-defense techniques of judo, jujutsu, and karate into a practical self-defense instructional program he termed, 'jukado'. He did not require physical fitness prowess although he strongly encouraged physical fitness for health reasons and for the obvious that it improved one's training and chances in self-defense. Bruce Tegner led an active martial arts career. He instructed U.S. military instructors; devised law enforcement self-defense courses; created fight scenes for film studios, and for a time, operated his own martial arts dojo in Hollywood, California between 1952 and 1967. Bruce Tegner would later personally instruct several notable Hollywood actors who found the instruction useful in their acting careers.

    Like his contemporary, the late Bruce Lee (d. 1973), Bruce Tegner encountered criticism and opposition to his ideas of minimizing highly traditional and stylized elements of martial arts thought to be superfluous or redundant in the search for a practical, more versatile form of modern self-defense. Tegner and Lee were not iconoclasts as many critics accused. They preferred to think of themselves as modern martial artists who hoped to modernize the empty hand martial arts. There was no minimization of the traditional honorable dojo ettiquette that respected the dignity and safety of fellow dojo students. In recent years the concept of modernized, empty hand, self-defense martial arts has become more accepted and received greater study in the U.S. and abroad. But Bruce Tegner would not receive the pioneering credit he was due. After his death in 1985, Bruce Tegner was largely and quietly forgotten. His books on traditional martial arts and modern self-defense are out of print, but remain available for purchase on the Internet from typically individual book owners.

    In the mid-1970s, Bruce Tegner taught judo at Moorpark College and Ventura College, both in Southern California. Bruce Tegner served as judo instructor for the Self-Defense program in the Criminology Department at Moorpark College. Bruce Tegner married Alice Greenfield McGrath, of Calgary; Alberta, Canada, a prominent political activist, on April 5, 1977 and remained married to her till his death in 1985. She passed away on November 27, 2009, in Ventura, California.

    CAUSE OF DEATH: Heart Attack

    Family links:
    Spouse: Alice Greenfield McGrath (1917 - 2009)

    Burial:
    Cremated, Ashes scattered at sea.
    Specifically: Ashes scattered at sea near Ventura Harbor

    Created by: Jeff Young
    Record added: Feb 14, 2010
    Find A Grave Memorial# 48116464

    Copied from http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=48116464:



    Sincerest gratitude to my friend "The Stewed Owl" for some of the video links from this thread:



    Mom demo'ing with Bruce





    Ricky Nelson practicing Karate with Bruce Tegner on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (Season 9, Episode 27 - 29 Mar. 1961) in the episode, "The Manly Arts"





    I don't know if this was him... can't tell because it's fast as well as the video being unclear ... Julie Newmar's The Marriage-go_round (1961) - according to IMDB, he was uncredited as "Judo Man" on an episode.





    Can you spot Bruce Tegner in this GIF of a scene in James Coburn's Our Man Flint?




    For more info:



    Read More
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

    ShareThis

     
    back to top
    Stickgrappler's Sojourn of Septillion Steps