Besides Peking Opera, I heard he was a master of a Northern style. Does anyone know which style?
Besides Peking Opera, I heard he was a master of a Northern style. Does anyone know which style?
I don't have a definitive answer for you there -- but I can recommend a couple of items that shed some light on Yu Jim Yuen.
The first is the Jacky Chan autobiography, I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action. Link to book at Amazon.com I read the book many years ago, and the details are a bit foggy, but there is a great deal of time spent on his years at the Peking Opera School, and I think at least some of his kung fu training is discussed. I seem to remember that the students there received kung fu instruction from many different sifus other than Yu Jim Yuen, but I am going on memory so don't quote me on that. At any rate, it's a pretty fascinating book and is worth reading just to get a glimpse of Jacky's backstory, before he became an icon.
The second is the Sammo Hung movie Painted Faces. This movie is sort of a dramatization of the life at the Peking Opera School, and in a strange twist, Sammo actually plays the role of his former master. Another interesting twist is that the great Lam Ching Ying (best known for his role as the taoist priest in Mr. Vampire who also worked on the action scenes in Bruce Lee's The Big Boss, Fists of Fury, and Enter the Dragon, starred in countless movies, and even attended the "rival" Hong Kong Opera school that Jacky, Sammo, and Yuen Biao were in) plays Yu Jim Yuen's best friend. There is a very interesting analogy to be had between Yuen's students and his pet turtle. It's more of a drama piece, but a good companion to Jacky's book and another peek into the world of the Peking Opera schools.
P.S. You took the avatar I wanted to use next! Did you get the pic from the one I posted in my villians thread? That's what I get for being a procrastinator ... :(
Thanks for those suggestions Li Kao. I heard Jackie said that "Painted Faces" wasn't as brutal as the real thing. :eek:
As for the avatar, I didn't take it from that thread. It's a coincidence. There are plenty of other pictures you can use though. Just like in the world of Hong Kong cinema, there’s room for more then one White Eyebrow Priest.
Na, I think my memory is a little less foggy than yours on Jackie's book (I read it about a year ago). It is an interesting book, although I can't help but suspect some dramatization in there... No one could remember that kind of stuff to that detail. Anyway, there really isn't much about Yuen in there, some personal insight like Li Kao said, but no history or styles/lineage mentioned. Jackie tended to refer to the training like "We did our routines for 3 hours then...", and Yuen is basically just mentioned like "I know master Yuen was going to kill me...". Fun book, but not much help here.
Interesting stuff. Now I not only wonder what style Yu Jim Yuen did, but also who these other sifus were.
Xia,
You'll have to let us all know if you uncover any more info on this. You definitely need to read the Jacky Chan book at some point ... it makes me wonder too what styles those kids were all exposed to. One thing to remember is that the Opera school wasn't all kung fu, although that was a major part of it -- they also learned acrobatics, singing, and acting.
P.S. I was just busting your chops a bit about the avatar -- it was one of those freak coincidences to me that you changed it so soon after my Lo Lieh post with the same attached picture from Fist of the Golden Lotus that I was going to use for my avatar but I know it's a common photo from the movie -- the pic I took was from www.kungfucinema if I remember right. It's all good - I'll find a new one when I get around to it; it actually warms my heart to see another staunch Lo Lieh fan ...:)
Check out Golden Swallow, Killer Clans, and Killer From Above. Those are my fav Lieh performances and in that order.Quote:
Originally Posted by Li Kao
Also this won't help you Xia but I have seen a Joseph Kuo movie starring Yuen. I don't really want to say anythign negative abotu him so I wont say anything about the movie:eek:
Li Kao-How can a Chop Socky fan not like Lo Lieh? Not only can he do the physical stuff, but he is also a great actor. I know that Peking Opera encompasses acrobatics, singing, etc but Sammo, Jackie, etc have stated that traditional Kung Fu training was part of Yu Jim Yuen's regiment. I just want to know what style and lineage.
PS: kungfucinema.com is an awsome website.
jethro-I have not seen "The Old Master" but I heard that it was an abomination of cinema.
The ONLY thing that hurts Lo Lieh as an actor is the fact he is like 5 foot 2:p
It is amazing that I have seen like 30-45? of his movies and that isn't even a thrid of them.
On kungfucinema they don't describe fully how bad the Old Master is, but it really can't be explained with words anyway.
Hope you find what you are looking for on Yuen.
I was skimming through some books and stumbled upon a Jackie Chan interview. He was asked which styles of Kung Fu he learned at the Peking Opera. He said that they taught a bunch of styles, both Northern and Southern. He stated that this diverse training background gave a solid foundation for Peking Opera graduates to pursue any style they desired afterwards.
jethro-In my opinion, movies should reflect the full spectrum of heights. Therefore, I have no problem with stars being short.
i thought the teacher did northern shaolin?
I have not heard that Yu Jim Yuen did a Northern Shaolin style. All I heard was that he was a master of a Northern style. I have nothing more specific then that.
ttt.........