Happy Ninja Day!

Today is the second annual Ninja Day. In honor of the national holiday, I wanted to talk martial arts and...well, ninjas.

First, check out these links -

The search engine Ninja.com and the info site askaninja.com and of course a Wiki on the subject. And of course, check out the following...





The day has inspired me to talk martial arts, a subject near and dear to my heart.

I have been involved in the martial arts since I was twelve, starting with Ryu Renshi-Dan Karate. I am ranked in that, Shotokan, and modern Wushu. I have trained under Yao Li, and Hoy K. Lee (Jow Ga Kung Fu), and dabbled in Aikido and Tai Chi (what can I say...I get around).

Growing up, I used to watch the old Shaw Brothers films. Most were trash, and I knew that back then, but there are a number of great martial arts films and a number of names starring in those films now with whom many Americans have become familiar.

Here are some of my favorites -

10. Jackie Chan's Police Story - Based loosely on a true story about a cop protecting a witness for the state in a corrupt Hong Kong, this is among the best of Jackie Chan's films which tend to be entertaining, but cliched. This is as much police drama as it is martial arts action film.

9. The Crow - I suppose you could make an argument that this isn't technically a martial arts film. I, on the other hand, would argue that it is. Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's son, died in a tragic on set accident when the residual remains of a bullet left in the barrel of a gun acted like a projectile when the blank behind it was activated, pushing the cartridge remains out like a bullet, and into Lee's gut.
It was, by far and away, Lee's best film and would likely have led to other roles. That said, there are some great action sequences, and the fights, while raw and lacking the precision of most martial arts films, are well choreographed.

8. The Legend of Drunken Master - Jackie Chan, the clown prince of the martial arts, starred in this humorous and entertaining look at Wong Fei Hung, China's hero of legend. Some great fight sequences featuring drunken fist.

7. Once Upon a Time in China - One of Jet Li's earliest historical martial arts epics surrounding the stories told of national hero Wong Fei Hung. A very different look at the same martial artist that inspired the previously noted Jackie Chan comedy. Directed by legendary Chinese director Tsui Hark.

6. Fearless - Billed as Jet Li's final martial arts epic, this film goes back to the roots of the international Wushu Federation. There is a definite similarity in the story to Fist of Fury in that it deals with Japan-occupied China, and the hero of the story ends up in combat with a Japanese champion at the end of the tale. There is also something of the tale of the prodigal son to the story. Beautifully filmed piece.

5. Kung Fu Hustle - From the writer/director/star of Shaolin Soccer, this cleverly covers just about every cliche from every martial arts film ever. To top it off, it's well written, fun, silly and tense all at the same time. If you haven't seen this, you need to.

4. Unleashed - Also called Danny the Dog overseas, this might be the best acting you will ever see from Jet Li. The supporting cast includes Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins. This is one hell of a film.

3. Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior - Tony Jaa, quite simply is one of the most impressive martial artists I have ever seen. I will pop this one into the DVD player just to skip from one fight sequence to the next. One of the best ones in this film starts and ends in about four seconds.

2. Fist of Legend - A Jet Li remake of the Bruce Lee classic Fists of Fury. The climactic fight sequence was one of my favorite fight sequences in any martial arts film ever.

1. Enter The Dragon - The Bruce Lee classic. The best film he did, and the one that was supposed to launch his American career, cut tragically short by what is believed to be a aneurysm. The movie itself was supposed to give the world an Asian super-spy, James Bond without the gadgets. It even inspired the great parody "Fist Full of Yen," in the John Landis comedy Kentucky Fried Movie.

Honorable mentions (ie: depending on my mood, many of these could bump almost anyone of the above off the above list) -

House of Flying Daggers
Jet Li's Hero
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Shaolin Soccer
Fist of Fury
The Big Boss
The Bodyguard (Tom yum goong)
Magnificent Butcher
Wheels on Meals
Black Mask
Batman Begins
Equilibrium

For those of you not familiar with the last one, a Christian Bale movie, I give you the gun kata...