Martial arts movie protagonists are usually well-equipped when it comes to combat, but it can be quite entertaining to watch them learn to fight for the first time over the course of a story. For the most part, the characters of martial arts movie legends like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan start their stories already well-versed in kung fu or other fighting styles. But some films take the opposite approach, taking the time to describe how their heroes learned to defend themselves before facing off against some impressive foe.
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The training montage is a classic trope commonly relied upon for the genre, which sometimes makes entire stories out of the concept. It can be quite compelling to watch a given protagonist go from completely useless in a fight to an adept martial artist, inspiring legions of viewers to do the same. Some of the best martial arts movies ever made actually wind up being quite focused on the learning journey, with their heroes not being impressively skilled until the final act.
10 The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin
1978
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Many of the iconic 70s films produced by the Shaw brothers had a strong focus on training, with The 36th Chamber of Shaolin easily being the most recognizable. A period piece, the film centers on a young man, Liu Yude, drawn to an activist movement acting against the tyrannical Manchu government in China thanks to the teachings of his mentor. When a brutal General violently quells his community’s latest rebellion, Liu Yude vows revenge, deciding to study kung fu at an infamous shaolin temple.
The titular 36 chambers refer to a grueling gauntlet of physical challenges Liu and other prospective students must endure over the course of their training. Indeed, almost the entire film is an extended training sequence that emphasizes various tenets of shaolin kung fu. In the end, Liu becomes a master and creates the titular 36th chamber, a section of the temple dedicated to teaching commoners how to defend themselves against oppression.
9 Drunken Master
1978
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Considering how synonymous Jackie Chan’s name is with the martial arts genre and kung fu as a whole, its difficult to picture him playing a character that isn’t already proficient. That being said, one of his best films posits him as a total martial arts novice, slowly morphing him into the titular Drunken Master. Not to be confused with Drunken Master II, which was confusingly billed under the same title as the first film in the United States, Drunken Master starts Chan’s Wong Fei-hung is a mischievous troublemaker prone to getting in fights he can’t finish.
Assigned to the infamously cruel trainer Beggar So by his frustrated father, Wong soon finds a martial arts style that perfectly suits his tricky personality in drunken boxing. Soon, Wong finds himself facing down a tremendously powerful opponent called Thunderfoot, known for his thunderous kicks. Watching Jackie Chan go through Beggar So’s humiliating training only to give his later opponents the runaround with technical martial arts is a rare treat among his filmography.
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8 The Karate Kid
1984
Bearing one of the most famous training montages of all time, The Karate Kid is the definitive American movie revolving around martial arts training. Daniel LaRusso is a meek high schooler who consistently gets his rear end handed to him by a depraved gang of bullies operating under the Cobra Kai karate dojo, an infamous school known for its brutal practitioners. To get payback, Daniel enlists the help of the esteemed karate master, Mr. Miyagi, who trains him in a home-grown program in order to compete against the Cobra Kai in a prestigious tournament.
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Set to the tune of Joe “Bean” Esposito’s You’re The Best, Daniel’s training montage in The Karate Kid is the stuff of cinematic legend, having been parodied and homaged countless times in other media. The ending shot of him practicing the iconic crane kick against the sunset goes on to be reflected in his incredible win against opponents that should be outclassing him. An iconic underdog story, it’s no wonder The Karate Kid spawned so many sequels and spin-offs.
7 The Forbidden Kingdom
2008
A classic fish-out-of-water story that blends American sensibilities with powerful Chinese martial arts, The Forbidden Kingdom has the rare honor of being Jackie Chan and Jet Li’s first time sharing the screen with one another. The film posits both of them as Old Hop and Silent Monk, respectively, two rivals who are forced to work together in order to prevent the evil Jade Emperor from obtaining the powerful staff of the Monkey King. Thrown into the mix is the modern Boston teen Jason, who is a fan of martial arts movies but has no skills of his own.
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In truth, Jason is still quite a novice by the time he reaches the end credits, supporting Old Hop and Silent Monk with less than impressive non-combat support. However, by the time he returns to his original time and place, his two mentor’s skills have clearly begun to rub off on him, allowing him to effortlessly deal with the bullies that had previously plauged him. Jason’s journey as a protégé is admittedly the least interesting thing about The Forbidden Kingdom, but it’s still quite the heartwarming arc.
6 Kung Fu Panda
2008
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It may seem silly to lump in a children’s animated picture with pulpy martial arts movies, but Kung Fu Panda proves itself as a worthy entry in the genre with incredibly-animated fight choreography and a stacked cast of martial arts movie regulars. Jack Black stars as Po, an oafish, clumsy Panda that is chosen to be China’s next prophesied “Dragon Warrior” seemingly by mistake. Beholden to ancient tradition, Po is reluctantly trained in the art of kung fu by Master Shifu and the Furious Five, an elite fighting force of various animal warriors.
Seeing Po slowly win over his compatriots from most lovable to the coldest-hearted is quite the endearing journey, with the bumbling panda clearly giving his training his all. There’s a lot of fun to be had out of the creative ways Shifu uses food to motivate Po’s training, with chopstick battles for dumplings being almost as exciting as the fight scenes themselves. Po’s final battle against the ferocious Tai Lung is also one of the best fights in the Kung Fu Panda series, a victory made all the sweeter by his long efforts training in the first entry.
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5 Circle Of Iron
1978
A story written by Bruce Lee originally intended to star the iconic martial arts movie legend himself before his tragic passing in 1973, Circle of Iron is a fascinating glimpse into Lee’s training philosophy. The fantasy martial arts adventure centers on Cord, a ferocious but unrefined barbarian who wins fights with dirty tricks. In a quest for the wisdom of a famous wizard, Cord finds himself meeting with all manner of different martial artists and philosophers, all of whom impart their own lessons on his strange journey.
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Circle of Iron is interesting as far as training-centered martial arts movies go due to its lack of a single adhering master for the hapless Cord to follow. It’s quite satisfying to see him refine both his worldview and fighting style more and more with each bizarre encounter, leading up to his eventual discovery of the wizard’s knowledge. Hilariously enough, the final reveal of Circle of Iron actually mirrors that of Kung Fu Panda quite closely, suggesting that an animated Dreamworks movie may have been closer to Bruce Lee’s actual ethos than many other films.
4 The Matrix
1999
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For all its gunfights, computer hacking, and harrowing spaceship chases featuring enraged robotic squids, The Matrix is fundamentally a martial arts movie at its action core. In a story that has since been immortalized in Hollywood thanks to a plethora of subsequent Matrix films of wildly varying quality, Keanu Reeves’ Neo is a gifted computer hacker who soon learns that the world as he knows it is not what it seems. Breaking free from the simulation of the Matrix, Neo joins humanity’s fight against the artificial intelligence that has enslaved them.
Admittedly, Neo’s actual martial arts training in The Matrix is comically brief, with a lifetime’s worth of kung fu knowledge suddenly jammed into his brain with all the effort of downloading a new file. That being said, Neo has a lot to learn about the real world and how to interact with the Matrix through his newfound skills, putting them to the test against insidious programs like Agent Smith. Essentially a perfect hero’s journey, The Matrix deserves more credit as a martial arts movie and a training sequence.
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3 Kill Bill: Volume 2
2004
Considering that Beatrix Kiddo is already a deadly assassin at the start of Kill Bill: Volume 1, it shouldn’t make much sense for the second installment to suddenly be a training-oriented movie. However, thanks to some key flashbacks, The Bride’s journey from an unassuming, normal woman to one of the most dangerous killers on the planet is able to be chronicled in Kill Bill: Vol 2. Here, her brutal tutelage under the notorious kung fu master, Pai Mei, takes up a majority of the runtime.
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Pai Mei is a returning character from Shaw brothers classics like Executioners from Shaolin and Clan of the White Lotus, and it’s thrilling to see him undertake the training of a modern action star, and a female fighter at that. The techniques Beatrix learns from Pai Mei end up proving invaluable in the present story, using them to free herself from a coffin and ultimately fulfill the promise of the duology’s title. Under Pai Mei’s watchful gaze, The Bride’s hands are turned into powerful weapons in their own right.
2 Bloodsport
1988
Custom Image by Stephanie Maulding
The training element of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Bloodsport may be brief, but it is certainly an integral aspect of the story. Bloodsport begins with Van Damme’s Frank Dux training in the art of ninjutsu under his sensei, Senzo Tanaka. While he may not have exactly been a slough in the combat department previously, being a decorated U.S. Army Captain, Dux soon hones his combat skills to a razor’s edge in order to participate in the Kumite, an illegal deathmatch tournament held in Hong Kong.
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The death of Tanka’s son further ingratiates Frank Dux into his master’s clan, involving him in the Kumite in the first place. Even if much of the training happens off-screen, seeing Van Damme’s character ingratiate himself into the world of underground unarmed combat is a feast for the eyes. His ultimate progression from practicing to taking on a fearsome opponent in Bolo Yeung’s Chong Li with a brilliant flying kick, one of Van Damme’s signature moves, is a powerful arc.
1 New Fist Of Fury
1976
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New Fist of Fury was Jackie Chan’s first leading role to be given a major theatrical release, marking a huge moment in the martial arts movie icon’s career. Fittingly enough, this is also one of the few pictures to give him a character to pilot that needs to learn the ropes of kung fu before jumping in feet-first. Here, Chan plays a young thief who joins his sister in protecting their grandfather’s traditional kung fu dojo from the menace of a Japanese karate master.
Jackie Chan’s plucky debut lead is a great exercise in heroic martial arts storytelling, depicting the ability of kung fu systems to raise up a population from underneath the boot heel of its oppressors. Even if strong liberties have to be taken with the degree of natural talent Jackie Chan’s character has, it’s incredibly satisfying to see him stand up to an imperialistic occupying force. Summarizing the power of martial arts in an occupied environment, New Fist of Fury deserves more credit as a fantastic kung fu training movie.