Asked 'who is the strongest martial arts superstar', who did Chan Tu Dan name?

Donnie Yen's answer surprised many viewers because this person almost blinded him twice during filming.

Chinese kung fu movies are one of the most popular genres in the world . It can be said that the late superstar Bruce Lee was the one who brought Chinese martial arts movies to the international level. The next generation including Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Sammo Hung continued to bring this genre to its peak, covering the whole world.

The next generation of juniors such as Ngo Kinh and Donnie Yen continue to promote the power of Chinese kungfu films, affirming their talent and reputation in the world entertainment industry.

Although Chinese kungfu films are in decline, martial arts superstars still have a strong influence on the audience.

In addition to acting skills on screen, audiences are also very interested in the real-life fighting ability of martial arts stars. Most A-list martial arts superstars such as Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, Ngo Kinh or less famous actors Chau Trieu Long, Trieu Van Trac,... all have a martial arts background and study small schools. Therefore, they all possess real fighting skills. However, among martial arts stars, who is the best is always an unanswered question.

Donnie Yen affirmed that the martial arts superstar with the strongest combat ability is Jet Li.

Not long ago, when asked “who is the strongest martial arts superstar”, Donnie Yen answered frankly without much thought: Jet Li. The answer of the star of the movie “Ip Man” surprised many people because Jet Li was both his co-star and his opponent. Notably, Jet Li almost blinded Donnie Yen twice during filming.

Donnie Yen is the same age as Jet Li. They were both born in 1963 and have many things in common, such as having the same master, Wu Bin, and participating in the Beijing Wushu team. However, Donnie Yen is completely different from other Chinese martial artists.

According to Sohu , the star of the movie "Ip Man" was not influenced by Peking opera culture like Jackie Chan, nor did he have to practice martial arts from a young age like Jet Li. Among Chinese martial arts stars, Donnie Yen's origin and cultural background are most similar to Bruce Lee's. What's special is that Bruce Lee is also Donnie Yen's idol.

Movie star Fire line Born in Guangdong Province, China, his mother was a talented female teacher and his father was a newspaper editor. At the age of 2, Donnie Yen followed his father to Hong Kong to live. When he was 9 years old, his family moved to the United States and settled in Boston, Massachusetts.

Growing up in Boston's Chinatown, Donnie Yen followed in the footsteps of his mother, Tai Chi master Mai Bao Chan - a world-renowned Tai Chi master and founder of the Chinese Martial Arts Research Association - to practice martial arts in his family's clubhouse for recreational purposes only.

“My life is very rich. In addition to practicing martial arts, I also play basketball and learn piano. Like many children growing up abroad, I never thought that I would have to rely on martial arts to maintain my life or earn money to help my family. I never thought that practicing martial arts would become an opportunity to get a job later on." Donnie Yen said.

When he was young, Donnie Yen was not interested in studying. The actor joined a gang and often went around the Chinatowns of Boston to fight. In the late 1970s, unable to bear his son's love of playing and fighting, martial arts master Mak Po-Chien brought Donnie Yen back to his hometown and sent him to the Beijing Wushu team when Donnie Yen was 17. At that time, Jet Li was the champion of the national martial arts competition and was chosen by the crew for the male lead role in the film. Shaolin Temple.

"For me, the Beijing Wushu team was a very mysterious place. But I only stayed there for a little over a year and lost interest. At first, I was very excited about the new kungfu moves, but they were completely different from my concept of learning martial arts. The Wushu team at that time was just a performance, but I hoped for real battles," Donnie Yen shared on Sohu.

In his early 20s, Donnie Yen traveled around Hong Kong before returning to the United States. At that time, director Yuen Woo-ping was having a headache looking for a new face for his film.

Yuen Woo-ping 's older sister - who had studied martial arts with Donnie Yen's mother - introduced him to Yuen Woo-ping. Thanks to that, in 1984, Donnie Yen participated in the movie Extreme laughter .

Talking about this opportunity, Chan Tu Dan once shared: "I acted in director Yuen Woo-ping's films just for fun. At that time, I didn't have much ambition. Only after acting in a few films did I discover that I still had some talent in this field and loved acting."

During the period when Jackie Chan and Jet Li were on the rise, Donnie Yen often collaborated with the two superstars, but almost every time he played their opponent and was beaten up on screen. Having the opportunity to act with Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Donnie Yen had the opportunity to study the martial arts characteristics of his "opponents".

According to Donnie Yen, Jet Li's strong point is his beautiful and powerful martial arts stance with graceful movements, quick and decisive attacks. Jackie Chan is good at acrobatics, flexible tricks, and ready to perform dangerous scenes. Commenting on his own martial arts characteristics, Donnie Yen said that he punches and kicks quickly, especially attacks involving the legs.

Donnie Yen is one of the world's most famous martial arts superstars.

Under the influence of his mother, Donnie Yen learned Northern Shaolin Kung Fu and Tai Chi from a young age, which also provided him with a good foundation in traditional martial arts. At the same time, he also learned many different martial arts styles, including fighting skills. Later, Donnie Yen also joined the Beijing Wushu Team and trained for more than a year, thanks to which his martial arts foundation was quite solid.

Chinese media commented that Donnie Yen's movements are very fast, sharp and powerful. Among martial arts actors in Hong Kong, Donnie Yen's movements are very elegant and eye-catching. However, Jet Li's martial arts ability is not inferior.

According to Sohu , Jet Li is a person trained in orthodox martial arts, therefore, from posture to hand movements are all up to standard, each move is very beautiful, containing the richest essence of Chinese martial arts.

Although they are two top martial arts superstars, few people know that Donnie Yen and Jet Li have "collided" on screen four times. The two have worked together in Wong Fei Hung 2: Self-reliant Men, Heroes, Great Nation Building and Mulan

When turning Wong Fei Hung 2: A Man of Strength and Hero, Donnie Yen and Jet Li play rivals on screen. In order to bring the most beautiful and dramatic martial arts scenes, both of them put their all into their roles. However, because they were so immersed in their roles, Donnie Yen was almost blinded by Jet Li.

Donnie Yen almost went blind twice because of Jet Li.

First, during the filming of the martial arts scene in the movie Wong Fei Hung: A strong man , Jet Li almost blinded Donnie Yen. The actor recalled: " At that time, Jet Li was hanging in the air. We both held a big, thick and very heavy bamboo stake in our hands. According to the script, Jet Li would turn around and hit me and I would block the hit. But Jet Li missed. The bamboo stake turned sideways and grazed my eyebrow, causing me to fly about 2.5 meters. I only had time to let go and say, wait, at that moment, blood was pouring out. I'm not kidding, blood poured out like a shower," Donnie Yen recalled.

Donnie Yen said he was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment and had to receive 6-7 stitches immediately after the incident. Surprisingly, he received an offer to continue filming the next day.

Jet Li accidentally injured Donnie Yen while co-starring in "Wong Fei Hung: A Man of Strength".

After 10 years, Donnie Yen and Jet Li reunite to act in a movie together. Hero by Zhang Yimou.

"Hero was another crazy experience. I reunited with Jet Li for the second time. We spent 21 days in the grounds of an ancient temple just to shoot the fight scenes.

Everything went very well at first even though we hadn't worked together since Wong Fei Hung 2. During the filming of Hero, another accident happened while we were filming an action scene," said Donnie Yen.

On set, Donnie Yen and Jet Li's characters used swords and spears. Although they were just props, to make them look as real as possible, they were quite sharp. According to Donnie Yen, there were about 50 moves in this action scene. In the 48th or 49th move, when Jet Li attacked, he accidentally grazed Donnie Yen's face. It was only when Jet Li said his face was bleeding that Donnie Yen realized the problem.

After 10 years, the two collaborated in "Hero". This time, Jet Li also injured Donnie Yen.

In 2015, the two were rumored to be "not on good terms" when competing for a role in a movie. Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One. In the end, the one who won this "piece of cake" was Donnie Yen. Amidst suspicions of having a grudge against his senior, Donnie Yen posted a close moment with Jet Li at a party on social media in July 2015 to dispel netizens' rumors.

Donnie Yen and Jet Li actually have a very good relationship, there is no animosity as rumored.

Attached to the photo, Chan Tu Dan also shared the story of the first time he met the star Ly: "When I was 16, I was training in the Beijing Wushu team. At that time, Jet Li was filming Shaolin Temple." In addition, in the post, Donnie Yen also praised Jet Li's charity activities, considering him a shining example to learn from.

"I was very happy to meet and chat with the boss last night. In recent years, he has been working hard to promote charity activities and has achieved great results. I admire him!"

On November 18, 2018, Donnie Yen continued to affirm the good relationship between him and Jet Li when they collaborated on a film for the 4th time . "I am very happy to collaborate with Big Brother Li for the 4th time. Even though we did not join the crew on the same day, month, or year, we were able to finish filming in the same year, month, and day."

Donnie Yen shows off a photo with Jet Li when filming for the 4th time.

Previously in 2017, Donnie Yen also confirmed that he, Jet Li, and Wu Jing did not have a "face-to-face relationship" as rumored by netizens for a long time.

Posting a photo of him co-starring in a movie with businessman Jack Ma, Donnie Yen wrote: "It's a beautiful sunny day today. Three men who were known to be incompatible have reunited."

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