PDA

View Full Version : Shorinji Kempo in the movies



dan_norris
30th September 2002, 01:07
Gassho

I was wondering what videos are out there with Shorinji Kempo in them? I've got the movie about part of So Doshin's life called Shorinji Kempo or "The Killing Machine" here in the U.S., the movie Sister Street Fighter that has Shorinji Kempo in it, The Shaolin temple starring Jet Li, that has Kawajima sensei and three other kenshi from what I've heard, and the Hombu Shorinji Kempo video produced by baseball magazine. Also, there is this video game for playstation 2 where a fighter is said to fight Shorinji Kempo style. Actually, he seems to be a Shaolin monk so I guess that they used the kanji Shorinji Kempo for Shaolin Kung-fu. Here is the link to that page:

http://hawkfan.trump.net.au/vfStuff/newfaces.html

I know the game is not related to movies but it doesn't have to be just movies that are S.K. related. I'd like to know about anything else that has S.K. in it.

Thanks,

dan_norris
30th September 2002, 01:59
By the way....

I've heard that the actor that played Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode One was a Shorinji Kempo fighter and so was the actor who played the frog guy in the movie X-men. I thought that was pretty cool. :)

Kimpatsu
30th September 2002, 03:04
The actor who played both Darth Maul and the Toad is called Ray Park, and he's nothing to do with Shorinji Kempo. He's a Chinese Whushu stylist. Currently, he's filming Iron Fist (yet another Marvel Comics superhero).
HTH,

dan_norris
30th September 2002, 04:34
Opps......my mistake. I'd just heard a few times that the actor Ray Park was. I guess my friends were just misinformed. They said that he was a member of the Hollywood S.K. dojo. I guess thats not true. I found some info here on a kenshi that was supposed to play a part in S.W. II but maybe still play a part in S.W. III. Thought that might be interesting....:)

http://www.echostation.com/features/ep2sword.htm

tony leith
1st October 2002, 12:16
Does anybody else who posts on this forum find themselves watching some appalling cack because it's got some cool martial arts stuff in it? (I speak as one who watched a shocking Chuck Norris effort from start to finish the other night, and enjoyed it too..)
Anyway, you're quite hard pushed to find actual S.K. in the movies - though do track down the first Shaolin Temple film with Jet Li. The burst of Kempo courtesy of Yamasaki Sensei stands out a mile in the climactic battle scene (incidentally I witnessed all the participants in the Embu competititon at the European tai Kai in 1999 doing their stuff simultaneously - it wouldn't have surprised me to see Jet Li appear in the foreground).
Otherwise you're stuck with looking for Kempo-like fight scenes. My own nomination for most kempo like fightscene in a mainstream movie is the one in Grosse Point Blank (at least, right up until the point where our hero stabs his assailant in the throat with a pen..) John Cusack also inflicts johaku maki on an unwary bystander in the bar (I can confrim courtesy of video freeze frame that it is an identical technique - look, I've already admitted being sad..)
Any other contenders?

Tony Leith

Tripitaka of AA
2nd October 2002, 23:36
The movie "The Shaolin Temple" with Jet Li (Jet Lee or Lee Lian Ji, you choose what you want to call him), is a great treat for the Shorinji Kenshi but it can be a big disappointment depending on which version you can find. Movies are often re-edited for different markets and the latest video release of "The Shaolin Temple" that I bought a few years ago is missing quite a few SK related segments.

When I first saw the movie, it was on a tape bought in Japan. This has an introductory scene that shows Hombu and the modern Kenshi practising. Later in the movie itself, Yamasaki Sensei is shown teaching Jet Lee's character how to do Gyaku Gote (if I remember correctly). Both of these are missing from the version that is aimed at the UK/US markets. Mind you, the plot line of accidentally killing the pretty girl's dog is also fudged by removing the punchline of deciding to eat it. The subsequent barbecue scene is therefore without preparatory explanation.;)

There is another Jet Li movie that has some Kempo in it. It is the missing scene with Yamasaki Sensei that I mentioned above. The film was called "Jet Lee Shaolin Art of War" when I bought it, but you'll find it on the Internet Movie Database as "Shao Lin zhen gong fu (1994)", although it has also been called "Li Lian Je's Shaolin Kung-fu" and "Shaolin Kung Fu". It is a sort of documentary about Jet Lee and his career, but includes a great big chunk about the Monks at the Shaolin Temple. There are some truly whacky feats of skill, dedication and mind over matter - often involving seriously painful blows to the groin, etc. The Monk who pulls the lawn-roller with twine tied around his testicles is sure to stay in the memory for a long, long time...:D

Steve Williams
3rd October 2002, 00:03
Originally posted by Tripitaka of AA
The movie "The Shaolin Temple" with Jet Li (Jet Lee or Lee Lian Ji, you choose what you want to call him), is a great treat for the Shorinji Kenshi but it can be a big disappointment depending on which version you can find. Movies are often re-edited for different markets and the latest video release of "The Shaolin Temple" that I bought a few years ago is missing quite a few SK related segments.

When I first saw the movie, it was on a tape bought in Japan. This has an introductory scene that shows Hombu and the modern Kenshi practising. Later in the movie itself, Yamasaki Sensei is shown teaching Jet Lee's character how to do Gyaku Gote (if I remember correctly). Both of these are missing from the version that is aimed at the UK/US markets

Get it on DVD...... it has all the goodies :D :D :D

Tripitaka of AA
3rd October 2002, 01:08
I had a feeling I was lining myself up for that:mad:

Me no got no DVD :mad:

If I did.. then... <embarassed shuffling of feet> well... <cough>... I'd buy all my Jackie Chan collection again. Then I'd be watching them all again - frame by frame :)

Kimpatsu
3rd October 2002, 01:19
Can't you play DVDs on your PC, David?
I mail order UK DVDs through Amazon.co.uk, and although they're incompatible with Japanese TV, I can watch them on the PC, just like a television.
Either that, or buy a DVD player... ;)

Tripitaka of AA
3rd October 2002, 03:00
I'm just a cheapskate Tony.

BTW, if you order from a US source, you'll get NTSC playback and the disks often have a greater range of extras than the ones produced in the UK. Mind you, you'll need to hack the Zone 1, Zone 2 business if it affects your PC. There are magazines here that will tell you the workarounds or PCB changes for any/every DVD player to make them capable of playing Zone 1 DVDs. I guess the same will be true for PCs.

But I'm just particularly poor at the moment, hanging on by a thread. Sharp objects like DVDs are not a good idea at the moment, or the thread may well snap.


But DVD "Shaolin Temple" would be fun :cool:

Kimpatsu
3rd October 2002, 04:33
The region code is hardwired to my PC, David, so I can't watch US DVDs. I can, however, wallow in nostalgia and watch The Tomorrow People, Randall and Hopkirk, The New Avengers...

dan_norris
3rd October 2002, 04:42
Gassho

Oh yeah, the Swedish Shorinjikempo website has a great listing of the technical videos put out by Hombu. Just in case someone here didn't already know that.

http://www.shorinji-kempo.org/books_video/books_video_main_e.html

b.b. face
4th October 2002, 07:46
Originally posted by dan_norris
Opps......my mistake. I'd just heard a few times that the actor Ray Park was. I guess my friends were just misinformed. They said that he was a member of the Hollywood S.K. dojo. I guess thats not true. I found some info here on a kenshi that was supposed to play a part in S.W. II but maybe still play a part in S.W. III. Thought that might be interesting....:)

http://www.echostation.com/features/ep2sword.htm

Hello, folks.

Dan, the kenshi in a star wars movie rumor is also false. It was a hoax, and the featured "kenshi" is, of course, not a kenshi at all.

While not a shorinji kempo film, Versus (a popular Japanese horror/action feature) stars a kenshi--or a former kenshi anyways. According to the movie's official site the star, a Tak(u) Sakaguchi, has experience in shorinji kempo and hakkyoku-ken (think akira from virtua fighter--yes, I'm nothing but a two-bit kung fu movie enthusiast). The site also claims he's a licensed pro boxer.

I wouldn't know shorinji kempo if it poked me in the eye, but the film doesn't seem to display the star's prowess in the art. Instead, all I could make out was Sakaguchi in a standard hunched boxing stance.

H Ando

dan_norris
4th October 2002, 09:26
Hi Ando. I watched that movie versus a few months ago. Thanks for the info on Sakaguchi. I didn't know that he had studied Shorinjikempo. I wouldn't have been able to tell in the movie either like you said. I also want to say thanks for clarifying the rumors about Starwars. Although I think it would have been really cool to feature someone who knew Shorinjikempo in one of the Starwars movies.:)

Kimpatsu
4th October 2002, 16:18
Originally posted by dan_norris
...it would have been really cool to feature someone who knew Shorinjikempo in one of the Starwars movies.:
Wouldn't it just, but there are no famous actors in Shorinji Kempo (unfortunately).
Kesshu.

Tripitaka of AA
6th October 2002, 21:42
We have had a few actors who trained in Shorinji Kempo (don't get too excited, none of them are Hollywood icons), but they have a right to a little privacy so I shan't splash their names everywere. Suffice to say, they haven't chosen to make a big deal out of there training experiences and so we don't need to cash in on their fame for our purposes.

One that trained at Abbey Dojo was in several TV mini-series as a featured Leading Man. He brought along his more well-known co-star for a few sessions. He was 2nd Kyu (Blue belt) when I last saw him.

If he ever turns out to be the next James Bond and starts saying he studied Shorinji Kempo then I'll back him up. Otherwise, it is his business, not mine.


It would be nice to see some good old SK techniques on the big screen though, wouldn't it! Top Japanese movie idols were often highly trained in one or other of the Martial Arts. Toshiro Mifune was a great Iaido and Kendo adept. Matsuda Yusaku (the bad guy in "Black Rain") was a Karateka of some note.

Sammy Briggs
7th October 2002, 15:57
Aside from just starring in Killing Machine, didn't Sonny Chiba and Etsuko Shihomi study Shorinji Kempo "in real life"?

Sammy Briggs

Kimpatsu
7th October 2002, 16:09
Yes, Sammy, they did. As dire as Sister Streetfighter may be, watch the dojo scene with Sonny Chiba. Pure Shorinji Kempo. (And then, when they dubbed the movie into English, they kept calling his character a "Karate genius". Aagghhh...) :D

tony leith
7th October 2002, 16:10
I thought (as ever, I could be wrong) that Sonny Chiba did some fairly intensive training in the run up to filming the Killing Machine, including some time under the tutelage of Kaiso himself ( I think I remember seeing some on set pictures), but that he wasn't a Kenshi as such. If anybody knows better, please post (PS is it available on DVD anywhere, even in Japan?)

Tony Leith

Sammy Briggs
8th October 2002, 00:33
Actually, I think Sonny Chiba also studied Kyokushin. Not sure if he was a genius, however.

Sammy Briggs

Kimpatsu
8th October 2002, 01:20
According to what I heard, Sonny Chiba was a 4th dan in Kyokushin, and then his brother introduced him to Shorinji Kempo, and he changed to training in that, instead. (The movie angle may have been a factor in his decision to change.)
Tony L: I don't know if Sister Streetfighter is available on DVD, but I'll check it out for you in Akihabara this weekend.
Kesshu.

Tripitaka of AA
8th October 2002, 03:57
I'm not sure how well-known Sonny Chiba is to US audiences, but I think you'd find it hard to get name-recognition from any UK audiences. The Internet Movie Database shows Chiba as credited with over one hundred movies and TV shows, going back to 1959. He is mentioned by Quentin Tarantino in a couple of books, apparently he used to work in a video store and watched every tape (he is a great fan of "exploitation" movies and sub-genres that would be found showing at the Late-Night cinemas after all the regular fans have gone home). I don't think I've seen one of his films yet! The one called "Shôrinji Kenpô"(1975) aka "The Killing Machine" sounds interesting ;)

Incidentally, the Biographical details on the Internet Movie Database show him as;
2nd-Dan Blackbelt in Jûdô
4th-Dan Blackbelt in Ninjutsu
1st-Dan Blackbelt in Kendô
1st-Dan Blackbelt in Shôrinji Kenpô

Seems to have done a bit of "Cross-Training" I'd say :D

dan_norris
8th October 2002, 05:14
I've tried to buy the the sister street fighter twice from two different sellers on e-bay. Both times I ended up getting refunded for my purchase because the dvd they went me had the sister street fighter cover but inside was the original street fighter dvd.