I went to see this on Sunday, November 3rd, 2013, in Emeryville, CA, at the AMC BAY STREET 16, for the 7:00 p.m. show in auditorium 16, 4th row ( counting from the front ), 6th column ( counting from the left ). The price of admission was $12.00. And I bought a 4.75 oz frozen Junior Mints for $4.25 at the concessions counter. After the movie, I used a validation ticket to pay for my parking in the parking garage; I paid the discounted cost of $1.50. And I paid $5.00 at the Carquinez Toll Bridge on my way home to Vallejo, CA.
Quickie Review: A Tai Chi stylist, the last student of a particular kind of Tai Chi, gets involved in an underworld of lucrative kill-or-be-killed fight tournaments when he realizes that there is no other way for him to stop the demolition of his master's temple unless he fights for money.
The audience liked this movie. One even said, "That was pretty cool!" Go see this if you're into Martial Arts movies.
I liked it enough--I would've liked it better if I didn't know Tai Chi! Just like how two sports commentator characters in this movie observed, this style of Tai Chi is bogus!
******************************************************
I practiced Tai Chi from 1974 until 1976. I learned the "For Health" style of Tai Chi; you know, the style that you see "old farts" perform at a park. One time, I got into an argument with a co-worker who said that Tai Chi was a form of Martial Art. I said that it wasn't so--of course, I was speaking from the position of someone who practiced, and only knew, the "For Health" style of Tai Chi.
It wasn't until years later when I found out that there is, indeed, a "secret" Martial Art form of Tai Chi. And it is a very deceptively quick and really scary-deadly form of Martial Art!!! It is so scary-deadly that it was eventually banned from competitions in China because the combatants would easily get themselves killed or maimed for life--most got killed--"accidentally" or intentionally. But this form is readily distinguishable from the "For Health" form of Tai Chi: It employs a different stance.
Now, for a little story on the reason for the development of Martial Art Tai Chi ....
Once upon a time, a Kung Fu Master observed quite realistically that if he trained in Martial Arts the way that he was taught, and that if he were to continue on training like so, he would eventually become a crippled "old fart" through repetitive-stress injuries! So, Kung Fu Master Blake Mai Han ( for lack of a better [ or real ] name ) decided to modify his forms so that they would be "soft" and graceful and yet still be relied upon in a fight. Through constant training in the slow and proper execution of movements, his arsenal of strikes and counter-strikes became instinctively ingrained into his muscle memory and became deliverable in quick fluid motions with a minimal expenditure of energy--perfect for an "old fart!" At first, he was gonna name the style, Tu Kwik Fol Yu ( again, for lack of a better name ); but, in the end, he just named it simply, "Martial Art" Tai Chi.
This form of Martial Art Tai Chi relies strictly on open-hand strikes ( imagine how embarrassing it would be for you to get yourself bitch-slapped by a tiny and skinny "old fart" ) and low kicks--unlike what you see in this movie! But the attack and counter-attack moves are hella quick ( blinding speed! ) with minimal expenditure of energy--remember, it was designed to be employed by "old-fart" Martial Art Tai Chi Masters--and we all know that anyone gets tired really fast in a fight! But these "old-fart" Martial Art Tai Chi Masters don't get tired easily in a fight and could easily take on multiple attackers because their style of Tai Chi was invented and developed with energy-conservation in mind.
And, as if that's not enough, Martial Art Tai Chi was also designed to target multiple pressure points on the opponent's body simultaneously! In a sense, it is like Dim-Mak Death Touch Martial Art. The difference is that Dim-Mak Death Touches are usually delivered one pressure point at a time. Whereas, in Martial Art Tai Chi, a master stylist can hit many of his opponent's pressure points all at the same time, insuring a quick-kill or instant knock-out at the start of a fight!!! Did you read that? At The Start Of A Fight!!! Yes. 'Just like I said, less expenditure of energy is at the core of this martial art.
Do you remember what I said in my blog on THE GRANDMASTER ( 2013 ), back in September, the part where I said that I could feel the chi of an old Tai Chi Master from a good distance? Well, because of my sensitivity to the natural flow of chi through my years of meditating, I can tell pretty much which "old fart" Tai Chi Master I can readily beat-up and which one I have to run away from! Ha, ha, ha.
And that is why Tiger Chen's Tai Chi Master in this movie urged him to keep up with his meditation, to scare the crap out of guys like me! LOL
Anyway, aside from Tai Chi, I also practiced Combat ( not Sports ) Karate, Judo, Aikido, Arnis ( all from 1974 - 1975 ), a little bit of Kung Fu ( 1976 ), Wrestling ( 1977 - 1978; 1982 - 1983 ), Fencing ( 1980 ) and Jujitsu ( 1984 ). I would like to take up Boxing, someday soon, and maybe even MMA. But, in my "old fart" years, I will be sure to get back to Tai Chi--but I'll do the Martial Art Tai Chi next time around.
Why did I take-up each martial art for just a short period? INJURIES, mostly. I injured my fingers and toes doing Combat Karate. I dislocated my left shoulder, my tail bone, and my left ankle while wrestling. I sprained my left knee playing football and, years later, in a bicycle accident. I sprained both wrists, dislocated my back, and injured my kidneys when I was bodybuilding. I re-injured my back in a diving accident. I dislocated my right shoulder in a swimming accident. I re-injured both shoulders while I was bodybuilding. I dislocated my right hip while saving the ball in a game of basketball. I smashed the middle carpal bone of my right middle finger at work. And I broke my left collar bone ( according to my physician )--I don't know how that one happened or when it happened!
I will take-up Boxing later if what I read somewhere is true: That if a person becomes near-sighted early in life, he/she will regain normal vision later on in life---I'm still impatiently waiting for that to happen!
By the way, if you want to take-up Tai Chi for its health benefits, DON'T! Do Qi Gong instead. And based on my experience and observable results from practicing Qi Gong, I highly recommend that you do the "10-minute Qi Gong"; it is done in the morning and early in the evening, facing the rising and the setting suns. The name of this "10-minute Qi Gong" is Magnetic Qi Gong. You can find it on the Internet. To your HEALTH!!!
*******************************************************
Watching this movie and the one before it, KRISSH 3, was made possible by the $60.00 that I found in the parking lot a few days ago! Yeah, I still feel bad about not being able to return it to its rightful owner. And since I'm on a budget, finding the $60.00 only means that I am that much over-budget.
So, in a few days, I will go to the Chinatown in San Francisco, CA, and see if I can find that Buddhist Nun once again, the one I blogged about back in April of this year. I will donate $60.00 to her monastery. It's the right thing to do, being that I'm a 1st-Stage Yogi.
*
No comments:
Post a Comment