Hapkido
Hapkido
R | 05 September 1973 (USA)
Hapkido Trailers

Yu Ying, Kao and Fan return to China to start a martial arts school but are bullied by the Japanese competitor who runs the Black Bear school. The harassment leads to intense conflicts between them.

Reviews
CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!
Steineded How sad is this?
Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!
Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
deangelised This movie is a pearl which I hungered for a long time. While the plot is quite simple, for a modern day viewer it may contain some really unexpected twists. But we watch martial arts movies not for the brilliant plot, do we? I myself learned hapkido in Korea for a year and this movie brought to me a sweet nostalgia. Although, sometime I was not very happy with the choices of the heroes in their styles, and some greatly effective counter- attacks was never used, but in this movie you can see a variety of skills taught up to the third dan of the black belt. This movie gets 10 points from me, because these are really authentic hapkido. However, there is some important for me mistake in it. It is said in this movie that hapkido is an ancient Chinese martial art. It is entirely not true. Hapkido is a very recent (beginning on the XXth century) Korean martial art.
westy_jed Lady Kung Fu is one of the greatest movies to watch if you like martial arts films. There are scenes in the film that take a while to pass (boring), but other than that, is packed with fantastic Hapkido skills from Angelo Mao, Grandmaster Ji Han Jae, Carter Wong, Sammo Hung, In-Sik Whang and the others. The end fight-scene between a black-bear student and Yu-Ying (Angela Mao) has a great choreography blend from the beginning of the fight till the point when Yu-Ying's eldest classmate jumps in to take on the black-bear student's teacher. It is a bit disappointing to see the teacher use a sword against Yu-Ying's classmate, because of the limitations of techniques the classmate can do without a sword. You can't have a great sword-fight with only one sword! Apart form that, the whole movie's fantastic!
dee.reid Raymond Chow produced "Lady Kung-Fu," a no-holds-barred martial arts action flick from the early 1970s directed by Feng Huang, and contains shades of nearly every Bruce Lee movie from that time. When I looked at it last night, I saw a number of interesting parallels between this flick and Bruce Lee's "The Chinese Connection," as both films were released in 1972. Most notable is that the plots bear some resemblance to one another and there is a strong sense of conflict between warring martial arts schools. Unlike "The Chinese Connection," however, the enemy, the Japanese, are portrayed in a flagrant, one-sided, racist, and xenophobic light; they are sometimes referred to as "Japs" by the main Chinese characters (I know this film is set before World War II - I wonder, did such racial epithets exist before then?). But I'm getting off track. Angela Mao, Carter Wong, and Sammo Hung star as three Chinese gong-fu students studying martial arts in Korea under a famed exile (Hapkido Grandmaster Han Jae Ji). They take their Hapkido training (called "kung-fu" in the film) back to China and attempt to set up their own school, only to face opposition from the ruling Japanese occupational forces, who seek to promote their art of Judo (founded in 1882 by Dr. Jigoro Kano). That's about all there is to the plot, and then we have the fights. During the opening credits, we're treated to one incredible sequence with Wong drubbing a band of thugs. Next, there is a training sequence with Angela Mao. Then, Han Jae Ji himself demonstrates his unique Hapkido fighting art. In "Lady Kung-Fu," there are a number of familiar faces from Chow-produced martial arts action flicks too. Mao is probably my favorite fighter, since she is mostly famous for her tragic portrayal of Bruce Lee's sister in "Enter the Dragon" (1973). On a side note, I am currently studying Hapkido and I encourage anyone else interested in it to check out this flick.An enjoyable martial arts romp.8/10
hemp_tee Pretty standard fare as far as 70s martial arts flicks go. However, notable for the role of 'Teacher' played by Hapkido founder Grandmaster Ji Han Jae. Some great fight scenes (watch Grandmaster pulverise his students ;]). Also good to watch Angela Mao and Samo Hung in some decent fight scenes. A very interesting 'must-see' for all Hapkido (and other martial arts) students.