Wu Tang vs. The Golden Phoenix is a kung fu throwback flick directed by Wu Tang Clan’s RZA featuring choreography by Robert Tai of the 5 Deadly Venoms, a 34th generation Shaolin monk, Jackie Chan’s stunt team, members of the US Shaolin Team, and Chi Kuan Chun of Shaw Brothers fame. The score was done by John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers).
Making ridiculous martial arts films is pretty much exactly what I would do if I were a pot-smoking bazillionaire with too much time on my hands. The cinematography looks like a spot-on reproduction of Shaw Brothers and more recent Hong Kong kung fu moviemaking techniques with the snap zooms and hand held action.
Not sure what round this clip is from, but Buakaw looks like he’s pretty much owning things there. Buakaw won the fight by decision. Why the hell is there blaring pop music going on during the fight? I really hope they get rid of that habit before MMA blows up there.
Shigeyuki Uchiyama lost more than just the match after doctors stopped the fight due to part of his ear falling off during a takedown attempt that went into the ropes. Uchiyama was reportedly winning the fight until the ear injury. That is one of the more unfortunate fight stoppages I ever did hear… WHAT?
Fighters are no longer allowed to say “I left it all in there” after this. Also, if this doesn’t convince you guys to take care of your cauliflower ear before it gets bad, then nothing will. Pics are from Fanhouse.
The star of Ong Bak Tony Jaa has reportedly become a Buddhist monk. It’s fairly common in Thailand for men to go monastic for brief periods then return to a secular life afterwards. Think of it like a vacation from real life during which time you don’t have to wear underwear. This might be just what the actor/director needs after a tumultuous production of Ong Bak 2.
The initial footage from that film looked fantastic but it didn’t take long for strange stories to emerge from the set – stories of Jaa sacrificing chickens before shooting for the day could commence – and things rapidly fell behind schedule and way over budget. And then, with pressure mounting and debts adding up, Jaa simply crumbled under the pressure and disappeared.
If you’ve never seen Ong Bak, you’re missing out on one of the greatest martial arts flicks of the decade. Tony Jaa brings it with mind-blowing stunts, unprecedented athleticism, and fight work that would make Bruce himself go: daaaaaayum! The work that Jaa is doing has elevated martial arts movie-making the same way the Hong Kong kung fu flicks did in the early 90′s.
Jaa’s second film Tom Yum Goong features the greatest single-shot (no cuts) fight sequences of all time. In it, Jaa fights his way up several floors of a building… aaah easier to just show you:
Yeeeeaaaaahhh… breakin’ limbs and takin’ names.
Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong are easily top 10 martial arts movies to own for me. Are they available on blu-ray, you ask? Of course! Tom Yum Goong was released stateside as The Protector
Hopefully Jaa will be right again after his time at Club Monk. Hopefully he’s learned from his past experiences and will continue to do his fans right with more movies.
26 year-old MMA fighter Jarrod Wyatt (1-0-0 under Jared Wyatt) murdered his training partner Adam Powell, cut his heart out and cooked it while under the influence of mushrooms. Cops found him naked and covered in Adam’s blood.
Del Norte County Police Sgt. Elwood Lee, who responded to the incident early March 21, said that Wyatt told him at the scene that he saw the devil in Powell’s face and that “‘Satan was in that dude.’” He allegedly cut an 18-inch hole in Powell’s chest, removed his heart, cut his tongue off and removed a majority of Powell’s face.
Here’s Wyatt’s solitary MMA fight:
This was back in March and Wyatt is trying to fight the charges saying that it was the shrooms that made him do it. I’m inclined to say that there might have been an existing level of craziness/stupidity. This horrific incident is unfortunate on so many levels. The guy was clearly unstable to begin with but his actions put both two very misunderstood topics in a bad light. MMA and psychedelic drug use aren’t exactly very popular with the mainstream, but can be profoundly positive experiences for a lot of people who understand them well. If Wyatt’s defense is successful, it sets precedence for other crimes to be hidden under a veil that pushes blame onto the substance rather than the abuser.
I’m interested to see what Joe Rogan has to say about this.
[edit] The Times Standard has more gruesome detail on the story and also reports that Wyatt will indeed be charged with murder along with aggravated mayhem and torture.
