io9: Kung-fu

How does one cross a paper bridge above a pit of snakes? NOT LIKE THIS.

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:30:00 PST

Who wants another kung-fu brain explosion fiesta? In this scene from the 1982 Hong Kong action flick The Miracle Fighters, two wizards attempt to conquer the delicate Paper Bridge using their respective mind-shriveling styles. It goes poorly for everyone, except the audience. This scene comes to us courtesy of martial arts madness archivist Sardonicus, of course. More »

Porcupine armor and watermelon monsters: the most psychotic scenes from Taoism Drunkard

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 16:25:00 PST

Taoism Drunkard" alt="Click here to read Porcupine armor and watermelon monsters: the most psychotic scenes from Taoism Drunkard" src="http://cache.io9.com/assets/images/8/2011/12/small_da78e2064a817b525a9f5807f876387c.jpg"/>

When it comes to my favorite things on the internet, Mr. Sardonicus' YouTube channel — which is chock full of the most synapse-melting scenes from martial arts cinema — is pretty far up there. Mr. Sardonicus recently picked out his two favorite battles from director Cheung-Yan Yuen's 1984 opus Gui ma tian shi, which also goes by English names of Taoism Drunkard and Drunken Wu-Tang. More »

Was this insane kung fu battle the inspiration for Dhalsim from Street Fighter?

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:50:00 PST

In the 1976 Chinese kung fu flick Master of the Flying Guillotine (which incidentally had a krautrock soundtrack), the protagonist — the One-Armed Boxer — squares off against Yoga Tro La Seng, a yoga master with the power to stretch out his limbs ridiculously. Yoga Tro La Seng also throws a bird at our hero, but that's (rather shockingly) less interesting in the grand scheme of things. More »

Read a 250-page preview of zombie kung-fu comic insanity online

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 08 May 2011 08:45:00 PDT

In perhaps one of the largest free samples we've ever seen, illustrator Kagan McLeod has posted the first 250 pages of his 464-page graphic novel Infinite Kung-Fu on Top Shelf Comix's website. More »

The deadliest martial art is awkward super-laughter!

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:50:33 PDT

In this completely out-of-context clip from 1983's Holy Flame of the Martial World, a young kung fu practitioner attempts to destroy an elderly master using the power of forced laughter. Unfortunately, she has learned the secret of prehensile ears! More »

The neo-Nazi/sexy robot kung fu showdown you didn't know you'd been waiting for!

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:30:00 PDT

Flash Future Kung-Fu might be the most confusing Hong Kong science fiction movie ever made. But it's also totally awesome. Watch as our kick-boxing hero, Killer, takes on two nearly naked neo-Nazis, and then fights an army of sexy robots. More »

Q: What's the worst ninja magic ever? A: "The evil vagina bubble from Hell." (NSFW)

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 07:00:35 PDT

There are plenty of godawful ninja battles out there, but this scene from Female Ninjas 3: The Magic Chronicles takes the cake. Two ninjas are enjoying astral projection whoopee, when a bubble from the netherworld emerges from someone's nether regions.

Hand Magic, Fake White People and Pigs Make "The Warrior" Awesome

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:48:25 PST

Indonesian flick The Warrior (1981) is like Roadhouse - but with magical kung fu. And evil wizards who torment Indonesian actors in Dutchface. And a human-into-pig transformation scene. More »

Scifi And Kung-Fu: The Ultimate Team-Up

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:00:00 PDT

Science fiction and martial arts totally belong together. After all, they both involve a deep introspection and awestruck contemplation of our place in the universe. Oh, and nothing improves a story about robots and aliens more than people kicking each other in the head. Yet, shockingly enough, scifi and kung-fu only really found each other pretty recently. What took so long? We investigate — with our fists of blood. More »