Book Feature: Kung Fu Kendra Reviews by Sifu Kendra Mahon
Sifu Kendra Mahon, known as Kung Fu Kendra, has started a new book series, and she has opened it with the films that first bring so many students to the training hall. Kung Fu Kendra Reviews: The Best Kung Fu Movies of All Time, Rated by a Wing Chun Master reviews more than forty kung fu films, from the black-and-white classics to today’s blockbusters. It is coming soon to Amazon in Kindle and paperback.
Wing Chun on Screen
The part of the book closest to the author’s heart is the one on her own art. It covers nine films: the four Donnie Yen Ip Man films, The Grandmaster, The Legend Is Born, Master Z, The Prodigal Son and Warriors Two. She is clear about what they are. “These films are not documentaries. They take great liberties with history, and I will point those out.” On the first Ip Man, for example, she notes that the real Ip Man did not fight a Japanese general in a public match, while still calling it the film where Wing Chun technique is most recognizable on screen.
Some of the warmest pages go to two Sammo Hung classics about the old Foshan lineage. The Prodigal Son, a playful retelling of the story of Leung Jan, tops her all-time list. Warriors Two, despite Casanova Wong’s very un-Wing Chun kicks, has “some of the most authentic Wing Chun training ever filmed in an older movie.”
The Kendra Score
Every film is scored from one to five for Real Kung Fu, Fight Choreography, Heart and Philosophy and Rewatch Value, for a total out of twenty. Only three films earn a perfect score: Ip Man (2008), The Prodigal Son (1981) and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978). The Grandmaster scores 18, and she calls it “the most beautiful kung fu film I have ever seen.”
Honest Takes
The book does not flatter every famous title. A closing section, Kendra’s Honest Takes, looks at films that get kung fu wrong. Birth of the Dragon, about the 1964 private fight between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man, scores 10 out of 20. “The real story of Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man deserves a more honest telling.” Each review, good or bad, ends with a lesson for martial artists, and the book closes with her all-time top ten and a viewing order for beginners.
From the Screen to the Training Hall
The book’s message to readers is simple: enjoy the films, then train. “The movies are the spark. The training is the fire.”
About the Author
Sifu Kendra Mahon, known as Kung Fu Kendra, has trained since 2005 and holds Master level (purple sash). She 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 author of 13 books and counting, including The Way of Wing Chun and Masters of Kung Fu series, and created the Become a Sifu Wing Chun Online Certification Course. Read what her students say on the Kung Fu Kendra reviews page.
Where to Get It
Kung Fu Kendra Reviews: The Best Kung Fu Movies of All Time is coming soon to Amazon in Kindle and paperback. Books 2 and 3 of the series will rate the great kung fu techniques and forms. In the meantime, see all of her books on her Amazon author page and on kungfukendra.com.
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Women Who Defy: How Female Fighters Like Kung Fu Kendra Redefine Wing Chun
Listen on the Kung Fu Kendra Podcast
Hear Sifu Kendra Mahon (Kung Fu Kendra) talk about Wing Chun, her books and her students.
Editor’s note: Wing Chun Magazine is published by Sifu Kendra Mahon.