Also here in Jutsu No Movies we do celebrate the International Women’s day, how? Like we always do, with a lot of action and martial art vibes! I will propose you a short overview of the past, present and future, picking up three lethal and beautiful martial artists, who will make your head spin in every way possible.
The legacy
Going back in the years, we did not have female member protagonists in martial art movies until 1966, with the release of the Hong Kong wuxia Come Drink with Me. The female protagonist Golden Swallow was portrayed by Cheng Pei-Pei, a young dancer from Shangai. The woman, better known in the west for her role of Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, quickly became the standard-bearer of the action women in martial art movies.
Insidious, strong, athletic, fast and talented, women are continuing to demonstrate their value in stunts and martial art scenes worldwide. For these International Women’s day, I picked up only three action movie stars, that for me represent three different “ages” of the women in martial art movies:
Cynthia Rothrock ‘n roll: 80’s and 90’s
Cynthia Rothrock is maybe the most shining star of the 80’s. The American Taekwondo master found in Hong Kong film industry her genuine stardom. Credited in Chinese martial art movies as Foo Lok Law, she fought against the living legends of the action movie panorama like: Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Richard Norton and Bolo Yeung. Some of the titles you really cannot miss about the queen of martial art movies are: Yes, Madam, Milliionaires Express, The Magic Crystal, Righting Wrongs and China O’Brien series.
The Muay Thai retaliation: 2000’s
Jeeja Yanin was considered the female response of the Muay Thai phenomenon Tony Jaa, before becoming the face of the women in martial art movies of the millennium. Born in Bangkok and graduate from Kasem Bundit University, she was discovered by the visionary film director Prachya Pinkaew in 2003. Her very impressive Taekwondo and Muay Thai skills are captured in the milestones: Chocolate, Raging Phoenix, The Kick, Tom Yum Goong 2 and many others.
The Future with Amy
Amy Johnston could be easily the last heiress of more than fifty years of women martial art history. Daughter of the Kickboxing champ Dave Johnston, Amy career is already rich, taking part as stunt performer in big productions like: Deadpool, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Tomb Raider and many more. Already seen in RiverX3i concept video Clandestine, we can enjoy her mixed martial arts in the action movies: Lady Bloodfight, Female Fight Club and Accident Man with Scott Adkins.
So again happy Women’s day to our beautiful fighters and thanks to give us this astonish art!
Which female fighter do you like the most? And in which movie?