Let’s start the year of the rabbit with two grand masters. Celebrating the Chinese new year with the most famous martial artists who are born in the year of the rabbit: Jet Li and Donnie Yen.
The sun and the moon
There are martial artists whose reputation precedes them and then there are legends that are impossible to describe, beyond these two groups there are Jet Li and Donnie Yen. The two grand masters do not share only the nationality, the excellence in martial arts and the long career as actors, but also the year of birth, 1963, year of the rabbit. In many ways Jet Li and Donnie Yen could be compared to the two sides of the same coin, a really precious coin. If it is true to say that both of them contribute to spread the Chinese martial arts around the world through unbelievable high performance movies, it is necessary to specify that they had a really different approach and style.
Two forces of nature
Jet Li will represent always the traditional Chinese spirit, even with his most modern view of the wushu, he will always represent the history, the legend, the great and powerful roots that the Chinese martial arts have. The champion from Beijing who incarnates the national character of Huo Yuanjia. Donnie Yen instead is the part of the coin that looks to the future, open to mix the styles and learn from all over the world. He represents the curiosity, the future and the adaptability (the water my friend). The prodigy from Hong Kong who can be represented by Ip Man.
Clash of Titans
Maybe was inevitable that the two forces of nature really do not get along with each other. Maybe like the ying and yang, they are destinated not to be the one part of the other, but part of the same thing. A lead of this separation is probably the fact that in their long movie careers, they share the stage only a few times and always one against the other, and when one was shining the other one was in the dark… Do you noticed that too?
So let’s start the year of the rabbit with two grand masters. Symbols of a country with strong roots that looks to the future. In the sign of hope I wish you all an happy Chinese new year.