I have always enjoyed a martial arts film on occasion. I remember watching Bruce Lee movies as a kid and later on watching PKA on TV. I enjoy watching Jackie Chan, Steven Segal, and the short lived hype of Jeff Speakman, "The Perfect Weapon". I trimmed back on it until last year when I was introduced to MMA, more specifically The UFC, The Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Last night I decided to watch a movie or two (since my wife was not home) that a close friend let me borrow. It was a Thai film staring Tony Jaa called "Ong-Bak, Thai Warrior". Now this is a Thai language film subtitled in English...not my favorite way to watch a movie. I was not expecting much in the way of acting or quality and the constant reading of the subs was going to be a distraction but I decided to watch it anyway. I am so glad I did.
For those of you who are not familiar with Tony Jaa, let's jsut say he is Thailand's answer to Jackie Chan. Tony has MAD Muoy Thai skills (Muoy Thai is Thai boxing that utilizes knees and elbows...vicious and graceful all at the same time). He is FAST, nimble, does most of his own stunts (I would say all but I am not sure if that is true...I know he did all of them in his first movie), flexible, and is a real joy to watch.
Most people are not familiar with the Thai culture, but I have been exposed a little to it in the past, thanks to a former boss I once had. The names take on an almost musical quality and are sometimes quite long, although they are not normally very hard to pronounce (Indian names fit this category as well)...but I digress. The man can really move.
Check him out...I can almost guarantee that you will not mind the subtitles. Honest.
1 comment:
I'm a huge UFC fan! Thank goodness that the Spike channel started carrying this art form. Yes, I said art form. It never ceases to amaze me what these guys do...amazing! It's stunning to me that they can (almost) kill each other in the octagon and when it's over they embrace (usually) like long lost brothers. I also enjoy watching the Pride Fighting Championships which are MMA (mixed martial arts) in Japan. The rules are a little different and the Pride fighters fight in a more conventional rectangular "boxing" ring. It's an ongoing nightmare of mine that I will somehow end up in a fight with one of these guys and have my ass mercilessly kicked. These guys have my utmost respect (not just because they can tear me from limb to limb).
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