Watching Kung Fu movies are always fun, especially the fight scenes where martial artists fly effortlessly through the air and take on multiple foes at once. This fight choreography done by Woo Ping Yuen and wirework is seen in the film The Forbidden Kingdom, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Kung Fu Hustle. One of the trademarks of Woo Ping Yuen’s fight choreography is the way how the actors seem to float in the air to give an almost magical sense or all the inertia is completely one sided to add a sense of power to the character or for a silly cartoony effect for comedy. While this can be an interesting effect, sometimes you can’t help but feel something was off about a punch or a kick when the person who delivered it doesn’t budge an inch from where they stood.
In The Forbidden Kingdom, this is evident in the very first fight scene at the start of the film. The Monkey King, played by Jet Li, is fighting off soldiers and sending them flying with his bo staff while there is no visible recoil on himself. In fact this occurs several times whenever immortal characters are fighting, they can deliver a powerful punch or kick but stay exactly where they were. This can be done for a more intimidating effect on the character, as seen several times in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon such as in the restaurant when a quick punch or kick is delivered; or for a very silly, almost cartoony effect in Kung Fu Hustle’s final fight sequence where the hero character sends the villains flying while staying in his initial position almost as if he were part of a pinball machine.
One of the main reasons why movie Kung Fu seems so fantastical and even magical compared to real Kung Fu is that it focuses more on the form and art of Kung Fu. In a real Kung Fu match the fighters move incredibly fast, and while this does work for a very intense fight scene where the hero character actually feels as if they are in danger; often the phys dev choice is to use wire works or “wire fu” to achieve some effect whether it be comedic or magical. The wire works can allow for the actors to be sent flying much further and higher than normal and to allow another character to stay put as they fend off multiple foes. This can make a masterful character seem more intimidating as they can remain in place throughout a fight or make the overall scene incredibly silly when exaggerated, especially when the actor keeps their leg or arm perfectly straight. Other effects this can have is to establish character into the fighting style, such as The Monkey King, who is a master bo staff wielder, but is also very silly. As result the phys-dev needs to ignore the usual laws of physics in order to accomplish such ends, however, much like a superhero jump the push time is shortened in order to make jump seem more plausible.
The Forbidden Kingdom has a combination of fight scenes that lack and contain inertia. You can tell who’s an immortal character by seeing if they experience any recoil or not. If the character is thrown back slightly by a kick they are an ordinary character, of not they are immortal. Examples of where inertia can be found is in the temple fight scene between Jackie Chan and Jet Li, when both of them are pulling on a bo staff, Li flips Jackie over him being slightly thrown backwards. The majority of recoil found in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is in moments when a character pulls their leg or arm back after a punch or round kick to prepare to deliver another one with maximum power. Kung Fu Hustle is primarily a comedy, meaning the style of Kung Fu has to also be more comedic as well, one of the tactics used is to speed up the movement which can generate a much more silly effect as opposed to normal speed. However if looked at closely you can see the hero character does retract his leg after a kick to be able to deliver another while generating power from his hips.
The real inertia is still a factor that the phys-dev team needs to take into consideration when stylizing the Kung Fu. Even though Yuen’s choreography takes the viewer to the realms of the fantastic he still needs to factor in how to play out the movements in such a way that won’t take the viewer out of the film. Even a character simply pulling back their leg after a kick can avoid some awkward physics even though they are staying perfectly in place after kicking another character across the room. It all depends on what kind of style the film has. Kung Fu Hustle has a very comedic style where the Kung Fu almost seems like it was performed by the Looney Tunes, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Forbidden Kingdom employ a more traditional style and still need to employ some real physics along with the gliding and one sided inertia as seen in the restaurant fight scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Even though much of the inertia and reactionary force appears to take a day off in many classic Kung Fu films and any fight scene choreographed by Yuen, it is to achieve a particular style, whether it be to establish a character or a tone. In a sense, the Kung Fu film genre can be looked at as a kind of superhero genre in the movements done by the characters. With some careful planning in the timing, even the most outrageous choreography can still find a way to become more plausible. The most basic of reactions such as a leg pulling back can help avoid a stationary character from looking too awkward. Even simply just find a particular style that will be accepted by the audience, in a comedy, much of the humor will be coming from subverting the audiences expectations, and in a classical Kung Fu film there is a sense of wonder and magic. Love it or loathe it, “wire fu”, while completely ignoring the fact that inertia acts both ways, can still provide a memorable atmosphere.
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