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.
Documentary about Georges St-Pierre and David Louseau. Great cinematography. A little bit of cheese on the poutine with the dialogue, but anything with GSP in it is interesting.
Brian Lam, the proprieter and editorial director of the gadget blog Gizmodo has a great article up on BoingBoing about martial arts. If you didn’t know, Brian used to train and teach at Fairtex in San Francisco before blowing up in the gadget blog world. The article discusses Brian’s experience training there, the therapeutic qualities of practicing martial arts, and the fateful day that gym owner Alex Gong was murdered.
The article is framed with the controversy surrounding the title of Jackie Chan’s remake of “The Karate Kid”. The remake keeps the name of the original film despite the fact that it features kung fu rather than karate.
Need to finish an armbar during camping but lacking proper technique? Need to know what Gilbert Yvel’s professional fight record is while you’re on a bus? Yep, there’s an app for that. Here are some iPhone apps for MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fans and practitioners.
MMA News
MMA Underground – $1.99
Probably the most polished MMA app out there. Features MMA news, fighter database, upcoming events (MMA and grappling), and you can read the underground forums (no posting).
MMA Fan – Free
MMA news, videos, photos (MMA models), podcasts, and aggregated MMA-related twitter content.
Ultimate Fighting Championship – $0.99
The official UFC app. Highlights, video content (in-app pay-per-view), slated to offer PPV events, Octagon Girls, UFC fighter database. Great app if you only watch Zuffa-promoted fights.
