Note: Wing Chun Magazine is published by Kung Fu Kendra, the author of this book.

Kung Fu Kendra Reviews: The Best Kung Fu Movies of All Time, Rated by a Wing Chun Master
by Sifu Kendra Mahon (Kung Fu Kendra)

Book 1 of the Kung Fu Kendra Reviews series. Available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.

Kung Fu Kendra Reviews on Kindle →
Kung Fu Kendra Reviews in paperback →

Is that real kung fu?

Bruce Lee and Ip Man. Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen and the legends of the Shaw Brothers studio. Kung fu movies have sent millions of people into a training hall for the first time. But how much of what you see on screen is real, and how much is movie magic?

That is the question at the heart of Kung Fu Kendra Reviews. In this book, Sifu Kendra Mahon, a 3rd Generation Ip Man Lineage Master, reviews more than forty kung fu films, from the black-and-white classics to today’s blockbusters, and looks at each one through the eyes of a working Wing Chun teacher.

The Kendra Score

Every film gets an honest Kendra Score out of twenty, built from four parts:

• Real Kung Fu: how close the fighting is to what is actually taught.
• Fight Choreography: how well the fights are put together on screen.
• Heart and Philosophy: what the film says about the spirit of the martial arts.
• Rewatch Value: whether it is worth watching again.

Each review also covers what Sifu Kendra loves about the film, what is real and what is movie magic, and the lesson every martial artist can take from it.

What’s inside

• The films of Bruce Lee, from The Big Boss to Enter the Dragon
• Wing Chun on screen, including the Ip Man series and the classic The Prodigal Son
• Wong Fei-hung and the heroes of southern China
• The Shaw Brothers studio and the temples of Shaolin
• The women of kung fu cinema
• What happened when Hollywood fell in love with kung fu
• Honest takes on famous titles that get kung fu wrong
• Sifu Kendra’s all-time top ten, and a viewing order for beginners

Who it’s for

Whether you are a lifelong fan, a martial arts student or simply looking for your next great movie night, the book is written to change the way you watch kung fu films. If you train in Wing Chun, it is also a fun way to see the movements you practice, like the chain punch, Chi Sao and the wooden dummy, through a filmmaker’s eyes.

About the author

Sifu Kendra Mahon, known as Kung Fu Kendra, teaches Traditional Wing Chun as it was passed down to her by Master Brian Lewadny, who learned it from Grandmaster William Cheung. She is the creator of the Wing Chun Online Certification Course, which is accredited by the Global Kung Fu Alliance, one of the world’s largest Wing Chun organizations, with over 250,000 members in more than 90 countries, and the author of The Way of Wing Chun book series.

Coming next in the series

Kung Fu Kendra Reviews continues with The Best Kung Fu Techniques of All Time and The Great Kung Fu Forms.

Looking for reviews of Sifu Kendra’s Wing Chun course instead? Read Kung Fu Kendra reviews from students, quoted word for word from Trustpilot and Udemy.

Editor’s note: Wing Chun Magazine is published by Sifu Kendra Mahon.