What martial arts did Sammo Hung practice that he once fought Bruce Lee?

The Chinese martial arts cinema village has a very special name, that is actor Sammo Hung - who once acted as martial arts director for Donnie Yen, and once fought with Bruce Lee.

Sammo Hung (left) in a scene with Donnie Yen - Photo: XN

Audiences in the 1980s and 2000s were very familiar with the image of Sammo Hung, a big, imposing man with extremely flexible and beautiful martial arts skills. Few people knew that he fought with Bruce Lee when they both participated in the movie Enter the Dragon ( Enter the Dragon , 1973).

And throughout the decades, Sammo Hung has become a symbol of martial arts opera in Chinese cinema.

Many audiences wonder, how powerful is Sammo Hung that he once fought with Bruce Lee, as well as acted as a martial arts director for later actors like Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan?

The artistic journey from Peking opera to martial arts artist

Born in 1952 in Hong Kong (then part of Britain), Sammo Hung was born into a family with a rich artistic tradition.

His grandparents were famous martial arts directors and actors. In particular, his grandmother Tien Tu Oanh was known as the "Shanghai female knight".

At the age of 9, Sammo Hung was sent to the Hong Kong Opera School (part of the China Opera Academy) under the strict teachings of master Yu Jim-yuen.

There, he joined the group "That Tieu Phuc" with the stage name Nguyen Long, practicing martial arts, acrobatics, weapon dancing and stage acting diligently.

Just a few years later, at the age of 14, Sammo Hung began acting and working as a stuntman. From here, he became involved in Hong Kong cinema, gradually shifting from stage skills to choreography and martial arts direction.

Famous name in martial arts - action comedy movies

During more than 60 years of dedication, Sammo Hung has appeared in more than 200 films in many roles: actor, director, martial arts director, producer.

When Golden Harvest was first established in 1970, he was invited to be the martial arts director for many typical martial arts films such as Quy No Xuyen (1970) and Hiep Nu (1971).

Sammo Hung is a leading name in Chinese martial arts cinema - Photo: CI

His career became even more prominent after the success of the film Lam The Vinh (1979), opening up the martial arts comedy trend - a popular film trend for many decades after that.

In the industry, he is honored as the "fat man of martial arts", and is also the "big brother" of many later generations such as Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and even Andy Lau once called him "master".

Jackie Chan once confessed that he owes his career today to Sammo Hung's guidance since childhood. Donnie Yen also admitted that he greatly improved his fighting skills through training with Sammo Hung.

In movies, Sammo Hung always brings laughter with the image of a fat, pot-bellied man who performs boxing like lightning. But because of that appearance, Sammo Hung has to practice harder than anyone else.

Ever since his time studying Peking Opera, Sammo Hung had to "work his life" practicing martial arts, suffering much more than his fellow students because of his overweight appearance.

One of his favorite exercises was doing a headstand (putting his feet up against the wall and his hands on a wooden chair) for over an hour and a half, which caused Sammo Hung to fall over and bleed all over his face, but he refused to give up. From that foundation, he gained great strength, flexibility, and endurance.

The competition with Bruce Lee

Another memorable story is the encounter with Bruce Lee, when he was just a young actor.

According to Sammo Hung, once when he met Bruce Lee on a movie set, he "took a beating" for daring to challenge his senior. Specifically, Sammo Hung asked his senior, who was 12 years older than him: "I wonder if you are as fast in real life as you are in the movies?"

That challenge was followed by a lightning-fast fight, which resulted in Bruce Lee's leg reaching Sammo Hung's chin before he could react.

Sammo Hung (left) had many sparring sessions with Bruce Lee - Photo: SC

Of course, "gangsters discuss the way", no fight, no acquaintance. Bruce Lee and Sammo Hung later became close co-stars through the movie Enter the Dragon . The two had many confrontations on set.

Also from training with actor Lee, Sammo Hung further improved his martial arts skills and combat skills.

Experts and colleagues admit that Sammo Hung is not only strong in combat but also possesses excellent choreography skills.

The famous Hung Gia Ban founded by Sammo Hung - Photo: YT

Jackie Chan once shared that he was physically weak, but was always taught and shown off by his seniors, so he was able to mature thanks to the challenges and courage of Sammo Hung.

Since around the 1980s, Sammo Hung established the Hung Kar Ban, with the aim of training young martial artists in the direction of stunt actors.

This group includes many big names such as: Nguyen Biao, Nguyen Hoa, Nguyen Khue, Dich Uy and Tien Gia Lac, who have had a profound influence on the development of Chinese martial arts films over the past decades.

Sammo Hung (born 1952) is one of the pillars of Hong Kong cinema, known as the "martial arts boss".

He started his career as a teenager, after many years of hard training at a Peking Opera school. His career spanned more than six decades and more than 200 works, in which he was an actor, director, producer, and martial arts choreographer.

Sammo Hung is known for a series of famous films such as Enter the Dragon (1973), Seven Little Fortunes (1961), Miscellaneous Children (1979), Young Master Dragon ( 1982), Project A (1983), The Parasite (1985), Tang Bo Hu and Qiu Xiang (1993) and The Blood Twin Heroes (1989).

He is the one who laid the foundation for the martial arts-comedy genre typical of Hong Kong, and at the same time guided Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and many other names to become stars. With his enduring creativity and unique staging ability, Sammo Hung is considered a "giant tree" of Asian martial arts cinema.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hong-kim-bao-luyen-vo-gi-ma-tung-giao-dau-ca-ly-tieu-long-20250908102040602.htm