Yeah!
Alright, you read the video title
You probably know where I'm going with this
We all know that one person who says this
"Um... you know wrestling is fake, right?"
Well, A, it's staged, not fake
There's nothing fake about a 10 feet drop
And B, there are also competitive wrestling out there
How dare you?
Now, change wrestling with Kung Fu
And the discussion gets nasty
"Kung Fu is useless in real life"
"Jackie Chan is not a real fighter"
"Chinese Martial Art is fake"
I'll tackle those claims in this episode
But let me say this first
Even if this is fake
So what?
That's okay
First, let's tackle the questions of effectiveness and practicality
As with wrestling
Kung Fu came from a place of real world combat
It likely stemmed from early human needs for effective violence in warfare
Documentation of Chinese Martial Art dates back as far as 5th century BCE
And interestingly enough
The art was similar to competitive wrestling
Over time, various religious and philosophical ideas took hold
And Chinese martial arts gradually began putting more emphasis on its form
In other words, you don't just kick ass
You have to look good doing it.
Still, the effectiveness of Chinese martial art
persists all the way to relatively recent history
In the 20th century, for example
Chinese martial arts were used during the Boxer Rebellion
Although their effectiveness were mostly used against civilians
When facing western invaders... well...
But as firearms took over the battlefield
Kung Fu gradually shedded its combat utility
And became a discipline in and of itself
Today, relatively few styles of Kung Fu even practice sparring
It's all about the performance
Some consider this a regression
Much as people consider abstract painting a regression from renaissance art
And it doesn't help that there is a lot of Kung Fu quackery out there
So, people began calling Kung Fu "fake"
But I see this as an adaptation
As we'll see, Kung Fu lives on from a different discipline
You are looking at a Beijing Opera performance
Unlike European Opera
Where music is the dominant focus
Beijing opera divides its focus among four elements
Singing, Acting, Speaking and Fighting
That's right
Acrobatic fighting is part of the opera tradition
Here, not only is combat effectiveness not required
It is actively avoided
Punches and kicks need accuracy
To stay close but not make contact
It has to look powerful
But also not do any damage if contact is made
It needs to have a predictable rhythm
Like a dance
It is a task even experienced martial artists have trouble following
You [only] remember your things
You have to watch me
It is in this discipline
That Jackie Chan receives his martial art training
From age 6, Jackie was trained to be an opera performer
Which also explains why he can act
And even has albums under his name
As Tony Zhou from "Every Frame a Painting" pointed out
If you look at some of Jackie's earlier films
There's a very noticeable rhythm
That is because the fighting from Beijing opera has a rhythm
In fact, it is dictated by the music played in the background
This tradition continues and evolves to be faster and faster
And so are the acrobatics
The fancy, flowery movement
It is this lineage that dictates most people's current perspective of Kung Fu
It looks "fake"
Because that is the point
That ten feet drop looks fake, too
And it looks awesome
What does it matter
If Jackie Chan's Kung Fu is fake?
Thanks to Kung Fu movies
The legacy of Chinese Kung Fu continues outside of its theatre tradition
As we can see from World Wushu Championships
In most events, Chinese martial art is performed like gymnastics
WIth some exceptions such as sanda
Before you yell lame in the comments
Take a look at this clip, in which Anderson Silva knocks his opponent out
Anderson Silva is one of the best MMA striker in history
But his punches don't look that impressive, do they?
That's because real fighters have to avoid their "tell"
Their punches have little wind-up
And come out quick
Otherwise their opponent can react and block it
Wushu, in comparison, is a completely different discipline
Spins, backflips, splits
Building up the anticipation
Powerful release
Both disciplines demand a great deal of body control
But for different purpose
One for kicking ass
One for looking good
Looking good, however, is not easy
Take a look at this
See how Bruce Lee pulls back his arm and shoulder
Before making a huge arc with his fist?
It's not because he's incapable of fast punching
It's because his job is to sell the punch
Using the same principle from Wushu performance
Anticipation
Fast action
Posing
Fast forward to 2007
This principle used by Bruce Lee is now used by Donnie Yen
But faster, and even more exaggerated
Now that's a punch
Today, Chinese martial art have become so specialized
Even experience fighters have trouble crossing over and getting results
Without the training and knowledge to sell his attack
Mike Tyson has to swing his punches from off-screen
Sell the power through sound effects
And the fight needs to be tightened up with editing
Compare that to Simon Kuke, an experienced stuntman
He can hold on to long takes like this
It's not because Mike Tyson can't fight for real
It's because he doesn't know how to fight pretty
One last example, from Kung Fu Hustle
We see Yu Xing, an actual Shaolin monk in real life
Kicking people in the face
See how his foot pulls back after he makes contact?
Anyone with real combat training knows
You are supposed to kick past your target
In other words, he pulls back his kick, right as he makes contact
Looking frame by frame, you can barely see him slowing down
Right before tapping this man's head
What amazing accuracy
Compare this to Stephen Chow's later fight scene
Chow has no formal Kung Fu Training
And it shows
None of his kicks make contact
Because he doesn't have the ability to kick people without hurting them
Now you know better
Don't you think Kung Fu and its practitioners deserve a bit more respect？
Granted, I think Kung Fu is doing a piss poor job at advertising itself
Many styles still cling to its identity as a combat art
Yet refuse to spar and adapt along with other martial arts
So, many people's dismissal of Chinese Kung Fu isn't without its reasons
But with or without combat utility
Kung Fu (and Wrestling, for the matter) still requires years upon years of training
Through Kung Fu, practitioners achieve such fine control over their body
It shouldn't be any less impressive than a real fighter
Yes, that is Vincent Zhao kicking the foam off a microphone
Asking if Jackie Chan can fight
Is like asking if Anderson Silva can act
They both do
But that's not what they are good at
It's okay if Kung Fu lost is combat edge
It is still a difficult art that these people spend decades practicing
They should be proud and honor that fact
Because they are great artists
Martial artists
Oh we gotta see that one more time
Awesome