''Hapkido'' (), released as ''Lady Kung Fu'' in North America, is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by

Huang Feng Huang Feng (黃楓) (born 7 January 1919) was a Chinese-born Hong Kong–based film director, screenwriter and actor. Huang was a native of Hefei, Anhui, China. He started his career as an actor, then became a screenwriter and assistant direct ...

and starring

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. The film co-stars

Carter Wong Carter Wong (born March 22, 1947) is a Hong Kong actor and martial artist, who is mainly known for roles in Kung Fu action movies. The biggest movies he was featured in are ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (1986), and ''Yong zheng ming zhang Sha ...

and

Sammo Hung Samuel "Sammo" Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and Film director, director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a figh ...

, and has early cameo appearances from

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

Yuen Biao Yuen Biao (born Ha Lingchun; 26 July 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist and stuntman. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has also worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer. He was one o ...

and

Corey Yuen Corey Yuen Kwai (; 15 February 1951 – 2022) was a Hong Kong film director, film producer, action choreographer, and actor. Yuen attended the China Drama Academy and was one of the Seven Little Fortunes. In Hong Kong, he worked on several ...

. It was released by Golden Harvest.

Plot

It is 1934, in Japanese occupied Korea. Yu Ying, Kao Chang and Fan Wei are sitting and talking in a park when they are approached by a group of Japanese toughs. The leader of the Japanese begins to make unwelcome advances, and Yu Ying tries her best to ignore him. Fan Wei loses his temper and a melee ensues. These three have just graduated, learning the art of

Hapkido Hapkido ( , , ), also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do'' is a Korean martial art. It is a hybrid form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, chokeholds, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. ...

and they return to China in the hopes of setting up their own school, which they do. The Japanese, who consider it an inferior martial art, try to run them out of town with some traitorous Chinese, including Chou Ba-tien. Yu Ying, Kao Chang and Fan Wei do not want any trouble as it goes against the wishes of their master and his teachings. It is Fan Wei who finally loses it after being insulted by some Japanese. This does not go down well and Fan Wei becomes a wanted man, having to hide out while Yu Ying and Kao Chang try to reason with The Black Bear Gang without much luck. Finally the Japanese go too far, killing both Kao Chang and Fan Wei, which forces Yu Ying to fight back along with her Hapkido Elder Brother, killing the leaders of the Black Bear Gang.

Cast

as Yu Ying *

as Kao Chang *

as Fan Wei * Wong In Sik as Elder classmate * Ji Han Jae as Teacher Shih Kung-chan * Pai Ying as Chou Ba-tien *

Nancy Sit Nancy Sit Ka-yin ( zh, 薛家燕; born 30 March 1950) is a Hong Kong actress on the TVB network. Her acting career dated back to the 1960s, when she was a popular teen idol alongside Connie Chan Po-chu, and Josephine Siao. Sit recorded many ...

as Hsiao Hsiu * Goro Kumon as Toyoda Yaguma (

Nihongo is the principal language of the Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora worldwide. ...

: 豊田矢車, ''Yaguma Toyota'') * Ping-Ao Wei as Chang Pu-tse * Lan Sun as Sung Chung * Di Chin as Hsiao Lao-fu * Wei Yang as Traitor *

Leung Siu-lung Bruce Liang (28 April 1948) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong martial artist and actor who has appeared in many Hong Kong martial arts film, martial arts movies. He often appeared billed as "Bruce Leung", "Bruce Liang", "Bruce Leong", or "Bruce Leung Si ...

as Hu Chia * Ka Ting Lee as Chief disciple

Cameos/Extras

* Hsu Hsia as Black Bear Student with a sword * Billy Chan as Marketplace fighter * Ching-Ying Lam as Marketplace fighter *

Ching Siu-tung Ching Siu-tung (Chinese: 程小東, born October 31, 1953), also known as Tony Ching, is a Hong Kong action choreographer, actor, film director and producer, who has directed over 20 films, including the critically acclaimed supernatural fantasy ...

as Black Bear Student *

Alan Chui Chung-San Chui Chung-San (often known as Shu Zhong Xin, Tsui Chung-San, Hsu Zhong-Xin or Alan Hsu; 16 August 1954 – 2 November 2022) was a Hong Kong actor, director, choreographer, martial artist and stuntman. He was known for being an action director ...

as Black Bear/Hapkido student *

Yuen Wah Yuen Wah (born Yung Kai-chi; 2 September 1952) is a Hong Kong action film actor, action choreographer, stuntman and martial artist who has appeared in over 160 films and over 20 television series. Early life Born Yung Kai-chi on 2 September 195 ...

as Black Bear/Hapkido Student *

as Black Bear student *

as Hapkido student *

Peter Chan Peter Ho-sun Chan (born 28 November 1962), also known as Peter Chan, is a Hong Kong-born filmmaker best known for directing films that span a wide range of genres, including romantic comedies, musical dramas, and historical epics. He is r ...

as Hapkido student

Reception

In September 1973, the film topped the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

box office, briefly overtaking the

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

blockbuster ''

Enter the Dragon ''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Ahna Capri, Bob Wall, Shih Kien and Jim Kelly. ''Enter the Dragon'' was ...

'', which eventually regained the top spot several weeks later. It was digitally re-mastered and restored by

Hong Kong Legends Hong Kong Legends was a United Kingdom DVD distribution company, based in Hertfordshire and operating from the UK and Australia between 1999 and 2007. Hong Kong Legends was initially part of Medusa Communications, who, along with Soulblade bough ...

in 2006.

References

External links

* 1972 films 1972 martial arts films 1970s Cantonese-language films 1970s Hong Kong films Films set in Korea under Japanese rule Girls with guns films Hong Kong martial arts films Kung fu films Hapkido films Japan in non-Japanese culture Second Sino-Japanese War films {{martialart-film-stub