2012 is the “Year of the Dragon” and the San Francisco Giants baseball team will celebrate by honoring “the life and times of The Dragon himself, Bruce Lee.”

Bruce Lee, a man proud of his Chinese heritage, was also proud to be a San Francisco native. Bruce, considered by many to be the “King of Kung Fu ” and one of the greatest martial artists to walk the planet will be recognized for his achievements and influence on today’s world. Ticket holders for the night’s event will also get an official collectible Bruce Lee bobblehead and a seat in an official Bruce Lee tribute night section. Wife, Linda and daughter Shannon will also be present to make the night extra special.

Partial proceeds from this event will benefit the Bruce Lee Foundation.

Special Events: SFGiants.com Tickets – Bruce Lee Tribute Night

Jackie Chan - 1911 Available on DVD

Jackie Chan’s “1911″ has shown that the Kung Fu legend is still capable of growing as an artist. The film is less of a traditional Kung Fu actioner and more of a serious historical drama with, of course, a healthy dose of action featuring Chan as Huang Xing, a scholar studying the art of warfare who is forced to take up the sword and lead the charge in a violent rebellion against the out of touch seven year old emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

The movie is a far cry from “Drunken Master,” or “Armour of God.” Much less a goofy slapstick adventure, “1911″ shows a very serious and somber side of the star in a film that is violent, angry, epic and most terrifyingly, quite true. The film serves as both entertaining spectacle and a frightening commentary on governments that seem to grow less and less concerned with the well being of the people over the decades.

Co-directed by Chan himself, Chan’s 100th film “1911″ has finally been released on DVD and showcases a new side to the legendary performer as well as a piece of Chinese history that deserves some real discussion.

Additional Links:

Jackie Chan’s 1911 Official Site

Jackie Chan – 1911 Trailer On YouTube

Jackie Chan Offiial Site

I Am Bruce Lee Documentary Coming To Theaters

‘I Am Bruce Lee’ tells the amazing story of one of the most iconic human beings ever to enter the public consciousness. Voted as one of the most important people of the 20th century in Time Magazine’s Time 100, as well as one of the Greatest Pop Culture Icons by  People Magazine, Bruce Lee continues to be honoured and remembered for his enduring legacy. (IamBruceLeeMovie.com)

Bruce Lee’s often revolutionary and sometimes controversial thinking on a multitude of planes has become a source of inspiration and debate for a generation of philosophers, actors, filmmakers and athletes. The film is a compelling and visually stunning uncovering of Bruce’s life, his enormous impact, and his ever-expanding legacy in the world of martial arts, entertainment, and beyond despite his tragic and sudden death at the age of 32. (IamBruceLeeMovie.com)

‘I Am Bruce Lee’ features interviews with people who knew Bruce intimately, along with a broad array of international icons from the entertainment and athletic fields, people whose lives, careers and belief systems have been forever altered by the legend who UFC President Dana White calls the Father of Mixed Martial Arts. (IamBruceLeeMovie.com)

Additional Links:

I Am Bruce Lee Movie Site

Bruce Lee Official Site

Keanu Reeves Man of Tai Chi - Coming 2012

One of the few American A-listers to actually make a real impact on Kung Fu cinema fans thanks largely to the Wachowski Brothers’ “The Matrix” films, Keanu Reeves is set to try his hand behind the camera with the upcoming “Man of Tai Chi.”

It’s not uncommon for A list celebrities to get involved in directing in order to create vanity projects, but seeing an actor dedicating himself to the craft of creating the entertaining spectacle of a good Kung Fu movie is almost unheard of outside of Hong Kong.

More than just a hired gun director, Keanu Reeves actually developed this project from the ground up around Tiger Chen Hu, the protege of Kung Fu legend Yuen Woo-Ping, a close friend of Keanu Reeves since their work together on the Matrix films.

The film is set to feature Master Yuen Woo-Ping as fight choreographer and Reeves promises that the film will contain at least eighteen fight sequences comprising a good forty minutes of the film’s running time. This should be a refreshing change of pace from the too-little-too-late Kung Fu cinema that often comes from the western film industry thanks to a combination of inexperienced actors and directors and the western market’s historical lean towards dramatic, dialog driven films.

The box office returns on films like “Kill Bill,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and every new Jackie Chan release suggest that the western market may be ready to join in the Kung Fu scene with films like “The Man of Tai Chi” leading the charge.

Reeves, who has spent the last year in Hong Kong casting for the film and has put much of his own money into the film’s production with help from Village Roadshow, promises the film, which will have begun shooting in late December 2011, to be released in 2012/2013. The film will feature Mandarin and English language dialog and may star Reeves, who has been re-trained by Master Woo-Ping for the film, as the movie’s villain.

This news may seem out of left field, but if the film is a success we may see a whole new market for American Kung Fu movies in the near future.

Village Roadshow Asia, China Film Group, Wanda Media and Universal Pictures are co-financing the martial arts pic, which will shoot in China.

Additional Links:

Man of Tai Chi – IMDB

Keanu Reeves’ Directorial Debut ‘Man of Tai Chi’ Gets Greenlight

Tiger Chen – IMDB

IP Man The Legend Is Born on Blue Ray/DVD Combo

If you haven’t already… It’s time to “witness the early years of the revolutionary grandmaster who trained martial arts superstar and cultural icon, Bruce Lee.”

“The Legend is Born follows Ip Man as he grows from a promising young pupil into an unstoppable force. Featuring a blind–folded battle between film stars Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, and an appearance by Ip Man’s real son, (Ip Chin) this high–impact masterpiece undoubtedly “deserves to be seen by all Martial arts fans.” (flash–bang–movie–reviews.com)”

Click To Buy the movie at Amazon

• Nominated for a 2011 Hong Kong Film Award in the category of Best New Performer (Yu–Hang To)

• Features an appearance by Ip Chun, Ip Man’s real life son (plays character Leung Bik)

• Features a fight between martial arts legends Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao

Additional Links:

The Legend Is Born Movie Site

Ip Chun: Donnie vs Dennis

Ip Man Wing Chun Kung Fu

Brooklyn Shaolin

Following his landmark decision to quit his job on Wall Street and become a martial arts student, the book Warrior Odyssey captures multilinguist, humanitarian, martial artist and Brooklyn native Antonio Graceffo’s ongoing adventure across the Far East.

Antonio Graceffo is the host of the web TV show, Martial Arts Odyssey and an adventure travel and martial arts author living in Asia. Graceffo is the author of six books, including:

• The Monk from Brooklyn
• Adventures in Formosa
• Rediscovering the Khmers
• Boats, Bikes, and Boxing Gloves: Adventure Writer in the Kingdom of Siam, and his latest book, 
• Warrior Odyssey: The Travels of a Martial Artist in Asia.

Antonio has studied Kung Fu at the Shaolin Temple in China, and Muay Thai in Thailand. When not training or writing, he works as a martial arts consultant for TV shows: Human Weapon, Digging for the Truth, Kill Arman, The Art of Fighting, Samantha Brown’s Asia, and Thai TV shows about Muay Thai Chaiya and the Kun Khmer Champions in Cambodia.

Beyond martial arts, Antonio is also a skilled linguist, with fluency in multiple languages including Thai, Khmer, Mandarin Chinese, German, Spanish, Italian, and French.

Additional Links:

Brooklyn Monk In Asia

Brooklyn Monk Podcast

Martial Arts Odyssey

Punk Payback

Described as a “comedic, street-fighting survival series,” the half-hour episodes promise to deliver “combat moves that can help viewers avoid being ‘punked’ on the street” in what can be some very frightening and life threatening situations.

The popular and information sharing Bas Rutten, known for his distinct brand of self defense and no-holds-barred martial arts commentary and producer of several self defense and hand-to-hand combat programs will get a chance to share words and combatives of wisdom in his new series on Fuel TV.

In “Punk Payback,” series producers Brentwood Communications International, Inc. (BCII), promise Rutten will use “real surveillance footage of frightening events such as people getting carjacked or held
up in a convenience store” and then reenact the scenarios and offer “tips on how to get out of these tenuous situations.”

The Program Airs Wednesdays at 9:30pm E/P

Additional Links:

Punk Payback With Bas Rutten Preview

Bas Rutten’s Punk Payback on The Daily Habit

Punk Payback Photos

Pencak Silat

Indonesian Pencak Silat competitors reclaimed dominance in their home martial art at the 2011 SEA games along with major wins in other arts as well. In fact, Indonesia’s 100th gold medal at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games came in another martial art—judo—with competitor Tony Irawan winning the men’s 55-kilogram randori. Suliswanto and Embun Cahyono both won gold in Nage No Kata, a form of throwing.”

“This is my first SEA Games medal, so I’m really happy and proud of my achievement,” said Tony
Irawan, 26, after defeating Ratanakmony Khom of Cambodia in the final. “I was struggling early on, but then I managed to win. He was a tough opponent.”

Not to be dominated by male competitors, the Judo tournaments also brought the host nation a silver from Terry Kusumawardani (women’s 45-kg randori) and a bronze medal from Sari Astriviani Basuki and Ita Rahmawati (for Ju-No Kata, also known as forms of gentleness and flexibility).

Indonesia judo coach Perry Pantouw was pleased with the results as they left his squad one gold away from its target.

Additionally, Indonesia’s competitors had a winning streak in Pencak Silat, finishing with nine gold, seven silver and five bronze medals. Despite pencak silat originating in Indonesia, this was the first time in eight years that Indonesia “topped the medal tally” in the sport since it was introduced in the SEA Games.

Additional Links:

Official Site 2011 SEA Games

Nage No Kata Judo Demo

Pencak Silat Techniques

How To Open A Martial Arts School

Educational Funding Company releases a free downloadable PDF White Paper Guide, “How to Open and Manage a Martial Arts School” to give hopeful future school owners the edge they will need to both open and run a successful martial arts business.

4740 Chevy Chase Drive
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Phone: (301) 654-8677

Download How To Open and Manage a Martial Arts School

Additional Links:

EFC Online

Download Whitepaper Guide

Haywire Looking Good

Gina Carano’s Haywire Looking Good

Western martial arts films are traditionally hit and miss. Where Hong
Kong has an entire industry built on innovating, refining, experimenting
with and ultimately mastering the art of the Kung Fu flick, Hollywood
has a tendency to latch onto whatever new martial artist is hot this
week, and then quickly forget that the martial arts exist a week later.

Model/actress/MMA fighter Gina Carano’s starring role in “Haywire” is
shaping up to be one of the “hits” rather than a “miss.” The stunningly beautiful
starlet plays Mallory Kane, a femme fatale sent by the American
government to “tie up loose ends” and while the secret assassin premise
may be an old one, it also guarantees a sufficient degree of
bone-splintering action with real stars sharing the screen (Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Bill Paxton).

The film, being directed by “The Mummy” director Steven Soderbergh and
looks to combine hard-hitting action with big budget effects, all while
filling the screen with one of the most beautiful (did we already say that?) women in modern
martial arts. Be on the lookout for the flick soon.

Additional Links:

Haywire Movie – Official Site

Gina Carano Fight History – ESPN