Modern Day Ditang

[Kung Pao]

Have any of you guys seen this Thai movie "Born to Fight"?

It's by the same crews that did Ong-Bak and teh Protector. They just released it on a new 2 disc set in the US.

If you watch the action scenes, they're probably the most extreme I've ever seen. It kind of makes you think about the role of Ditang in modern day society, and perhaps in fighting. In films in Hong Kong and the US, it's all CG and wires nowadays. It's cool to see the old school style of falling and stunt work done with actual risk and technique.

Simply amazing, death-defying stuff. Literally.

[jethro]

In the first chase scene there is a part where a guy falls off a semi and comes about an inch away rom getting run over. I love movies that really make you jump up out of your seat because the stunts look so dangerous.

[Mr Punch]

Don't we have enouhg of RD's ditang problems?!

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

:eek:





















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[jethro]

I don't know what ditang is, but I just responding to the comments. How is it supposed to be spelled? And what is it?

[GeneChing]

Born to Fight is an earlier film of Panna Rittikrai, the stunt choreographer behind Tony Jaa in OB and Tom Yum Goong. BtF was my 3rd Baa Ram Ewe film and I learned from Tony's agent first hand that the Babe reference is just because he really liked that film. After seeing BtF, it's not about Jaa. It's about Rittikrai.

There's some spoilers in this review, but nothing major, and for kung fu film veterans like all of us, this isn't the kind of film that's about plot twists. It's about action.

BtF begins with an awesome hardcore-stunt-ridden action sequence. Then there's a little break for about 15 minutes for character development and such - a good time to make sure you have a full beer by your side and you've emptied the previous beers from your bladder. Then the rest of the film is the final fight - a good solid hour of action and ultraviolence. Even that short 15-min interlude character develop pays off in the end, in it's own campy way. It's like Woo's Bullet in the Head meets Ong Bak, Shaolin Soccer and Gymkata. You read that right - Gymkata. Gymnastics fu. Soccer ball fu. Elbow-to-the-skull muay thai fu. Top-notch-in-your-handle gun fu. Bone-crunching hardcore stunt fu. Kid fu. Cripple fu. Nuclear device fu. Extended one-shot combat & gun play fu. Cat fight fu. Brutal killings of innocent people fu. BtF's got it all. There are even stunt outtakes in the credits. Of the three Baa Ram Ewe films I've seen, I still lean toward OB the most, but probably just because I saw it first. TYG had too much plot or something - it just didn't come together for me even though the action was superb. I really enjoyed BtF because it was unpretentious - it had a simple set up and got you right into the action, and then jsut ran with it. Actually, I just changed my mind. I like BtF best. Good clean bloody fun.

[jethro]

I agree Gene, the story could have been better, but the stunts are out of this world. It's your average direct-to-TV movie, excpect with the best stunts you have ever seen. And change the thread title to Born to Fight or something. What the hell is ditang. Does he mean dating?

And look for Born to Fight 86 coming out May 15.

[BlueTravesty]

I don't know what ditang is, but I just responding to the comments. How is it supposed to be spelled? And what is it?

He was making light of the fact that "ditang" looks a lot like "dating" and Royal Dragon with his woman toubles... well anyway, ditang is basically "ground-falling" learning how to fight when you are falling, or have fallen to the ground.

One person in KFM commented that the ditang taught today was an attempt to create the "old" ditang by combining the falling elements from drunken and monkey routines. Personally, I think it just changed names and became DiSHU (also known as Fukien dog boxing...)

ditang is pretty cool when used in movies in place of the cg :D

[GeneChing]

According to Zhao Changjun, in our Nov Dec 2006 cover story, modern ditang was created by him and Pan Qingfu. See Where Wushu Went Wrong: Wushu's Leading Champion, Zhao Changjun, Extols Traditional (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=679) by Gene Ching and Gigi Oh

[BlueTravesty]

According to Zhao Changjun, in our Nov Dec 2006 cover story, modern ditang was created by him and Pan Qingfu. See Where Wushu Went Wrong: Wushu's Leading Champion, Zhao Changjun, Extols Traditional (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=679) by Gene Ching and Gigi Oh

That's the one! I recently went on a magazine-purge in my apartment, and I think that issue might have been one of the victims.

Zhao was talking about the "old" ditang being lost. But the more I see Dishu Quan, the more I think that perhaps "ground falling" might have a different meaning. Perhaps Dishu came from the "old" "lost" Ditang? Just a thought, and with nothing but conjecture behind it to boot, but it made me think. And that's no easy feat :D