It was a difficult process as there are many great movies with sweet chin music, but the following stood out to me. Hang around until the end of the article and I’ll give a few runners-up that didn’t quite fit the bill.

Here we go…

7. Billy Jack – Face Whopin’

This iconic kick comes from the Movie “Billy Jack” and is delivered by Tom Laughlin. Laughlin plays an ex-green beret Hapkido do-gooder who runs afoul of the law. Find out what happens next when they back him into the proverbial corner:

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6. The Transporter – Bicycle Kicking

When you think of bicycle kicks, you probably envision a skilled soccer player making a diving hit over his own head. This is much different. In the following clip Jason Statham finds a way to put the boots to all of his oiled up opponents:

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5. Ong Bak – Knee of Doom

Have you ever heard of a knee technique referred to as a “knee kick”? I hope so, because I am using that as an excuse to include this hit from the movie Ong Bak. After a good minute or two of being taunted by his opponent, Tony Ja prepares something extra spicy once the round starts:

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4. Enter the Dragon – Ohara Gets His

Almost every scene in Enter the Dragon is ground breaking and awesome. But there is one kick that actually led to physical injury of the cast and crew. When Bruce Lee finally fights Ohara, he lines him up for an absolutely brutal sidekick. The actor Bob Wall was ok afterwards, but one of the extras in the background broke his hand during the fall. That’s no joke:

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3. Karate Kid – The Crane Kick

While it may not be physically impressive, is there any kick more iconic? The crane kick is what every d-bag relies on when they try to mimic or make fun of martial artists. It also inspired a generation of future karateka (yours truly included). It’s over Johhny yea, you did it!!!:

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2. Kickboxer – The 360 Split Spinning Hook Heel Foot Kick

Is it possible to build an entire career on one face slapping technique? Yes. JCVD did just that and kicked his way into our hearts. The thing that makes this kick so powerful is that no matter how many times you see it (and no matter how many movies he uses it in), it still rocks. For your pleasure, this montage:

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1. Enter the Dragon – Han’s Skull Crusher

I’ve never actually felt the vibrations of a kick through my TV until I saw this armageddon-inducing swat from Bruce Lee. In the final epic fight against Han, Bruce puts the beat knuckle down until Han is in a dazed state. At that point Bruce lines him up and delivers a blow so powerful that my nose is starting to bleed just thinking about it. If you watch carefully it seems obvious that they use a Han-doll as a stunt double, and I don’t blame them. In fact I hope there were no live crew members within a 20 foot radius. Enjoy the number 1 kick ever put on the silver screen:

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Runners Up

The martial arts universe is home to a lot of awesome kicks, and here are a few that I thought deserved mention as well. Check out the following links if you want more foot flying action:

Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick – Certainly Chuck Norris’s famous roundhouse kicking meets the pop culture criteria to be a winner. Yet, despite the fanfare and entertaining jokes, I just don’t think there was enough here to trump the kicks on the list. I also discovered that Chuck Norris throws hook kicks far more often than roundhouse kicks, which made it difficult to find good footage of him from a movie (as opposed to Texas Ranger). I also had a tough time siphoning out all of the spoof and joke videos in order to try to find Chuck actually in action. You’ll notice the video in the link is a spinning hook from Return of the Dragon. Best I could do.

Captain Kirk Dropkick – Seriously famous, but from a TV show so I couldn’t include it.

Drunken Master Kick Fight – There is a fight of massive kicking in the Jackie Chan film “The Legend of Drunken Master”. Unfortunately no one kick stood out so I ultimately decided against it.

Wayne’s World II Flying Kick – The fight between Wayne and Cassandra’s dad is awesome, and everytime I see the dad pull off the flying kick I laugh out loud.

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This one’s wide open – any kicks that stand out in your memory?

My inspiration, oddly enough, came from a random viewing of Kill Bill Vol. II on TV. When I tuned in it was at the part where Beatrix Kiddo was getting dropped off to study with the notorious Pei Mei. For those who might not be familiar the movies, Pei Mei is one of Bill’s primary martial arts instructors, and is renowned for being both cruel and unusual in his training methods. Despite the virtually guaranteed unpleasantness, Kiddo decides to train under him anyway in hopes of achieving some of the same skills Bill possesses.

I’ve always loved this part of the movie, and was inspired to do my best to dress up as Pei Mei this year!

Do I strike fear in your heart? Does your blood run cold at the thought of crossing me? There’s no shame in it.

Also, yes – that IS the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique I am about to perform. shortly after this photo was taken I laid waste to all in attendance.

Getting the wig and facial hair on was pretty annoying…but well worth it. This costume also gave me a great excuse to buy kung fu shoes; something I’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t find a proper excuse. They are terribly comfortable!

For your continued amusement (and mine), here is a clip of the real Pei Mei being awesome:

Happy Halloween and feel free to include links to your costume in the comments below!

It’s easy to forget what made Bruce Lee so dynamic and dominant. Check out a little bit of this video and you’ll remember:

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For anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure of seeing a Bruce Lee movie, I recommend them highly. Here is a helpful hand in locating them:

Enter the Dragon (The most famous film. A martial arts epic!)

Return of the Dragon (Actually filmed before Enter the Dragon but renamed in America to capitalize off the success of Enter. Still Awesome)

Chinese Connection (Some consider this movie to have the best plot and message)

Fists of Fury (Bruce Lee’s breakout film)

Game of Death (This one is barely a movie, but still has good fight sequences)

Bruce Lee always preached fluidity and economy of motion. Certainly he didn’t sweat the technique, which is one reason why he was so great!

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For those of you who have seen the movies, help the newbies with your recommendations in the comments below!

We may be seeing something similar with Robert Downey Jr’s “Sherlock Holmes” (coming out this December).

Based off of the classic texts by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes), Jude Law (Watson), Rachel McAdams (Irene Adler), and director Guy Ritchie are attempting to put a new spin on the franchise. Although the old movies, comic books, etc have been well received, Downey thinks that they are a bit unfaithful to the original character concepts and believes that this latest rendition faithfully captures both the intellect and physicality of Sherlock Holmes.

Check out this interview where Downey (after putting on a little bit of the ham-attitude that he likes to do), talks about the tougher martial arts aspects of his character:

As someone who has never read the books, I was surprised and elated to learn that Holmes had a combative background. Curious as to what exactly he studied, I ventured into Wikipedia for the answer:

“In ‘The Adventure of the Empty House’, Holmes recounts to Watson how he used martial arts to overcome Professor Moriarty and fling his adversary to his death at the Reichenbach Falls. He states that ‘I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me.’ The name ‘baritsu’ appears to be a reference to the real-life martial art of bartitsu.” – wikipedia

Bartitsu is a historically established style created by Edward William Barton-Wright, who combined classic jujutsu, judo, savate, cane fighting, and western style boxing.

I wondered how this ‘new approach now integrated with martial arts’ might look, so I investigated a little further and found the official movie preview:

It comes quick, but you can definitely catch some hand-to-hand action and even a little Escrima stick fighting ala Rambo 3. Whether the Escrima has any textual precedence or not I don’t know. I think it can be assumed that they took liberties and hyped up the action for cinematic purposes.

The style and presentation of the movie definitely sets the stage for a grittier, more “real-world” Holmes. If done right, Guy Ritchie has the opportunity to create a remarkable mix of action and intrigue.

Personally, I’m excited for the movie. If they can learn the lessons of “Batman Begins”, use Downey’s natural humor and talent, and tell a compelling story, I think they could kick off an extremely successful franchise.