EVERYBODY WAS STEAM-FU FIGHTING! Steampunk Martial Arts!!

[Balogun Ojetade]

Steampunk and martial arts sites are abuzz with news of the upcoming release of Tai Chi 0 – the latest martial arts feature film from the Huayi brothers, producers of the mega-hit Kung Fu Hustle. Tai Chi 0, Directed by Stephen Fung and choreographed by mastermind Sammo Hung, is the first Steampunk martial arts film ever  and will be shot completely in China. The Chinese are now the world’s largest consumers of Science Fiction and they love Steampunk. Here is a link to a blog on the subject: http://chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/what-we-can-lea...

Here is the synopsis of Tai Chi 0:

A gifted child with a fleshy growth on his forehead travels far to learn Tai Chi and eventually becomes a master. He then faces an army of Steampunk invaders and must protect the villagers.

“Fleshy growth?” “Steampunk invaders”? I swear I did not make this up!

The release date is tentatively set for 2013. The trailer is already out and I have posted it below. It looks pretty good and I am definitely going to be at the U.S. premiere with bucket of buttery popcorn in lap.

Now, as a martial artist with a lifetime of experience and as a Steampunk and author, this film got me thinking about the state of martial arts in the Steampunk community.

Of course, nearly everyone on the planet – mainly due to films and television (and some hard working martial arts instructors in the ‘60s and ‘70s) – are familiar with the Asian martial arts. Most people have heard of – and millions have studied – some form of Kung-Fu, Karate, Judo, Jujitsu or Ninjitsu. Quite a few are also familiar with the arts of Southeast Asia, such as Muay Thai, Kali and Silat.

Steampunks, seeking to add martial arts to their literature or to their stylistic aesthetic, often incorporate methods of self-defense that were used by Europeans and North Americans during the Victorian and Edwardian Eras.

These martial arts include:

TO READ THIS BLOG IN ITS ENTIRETY, PLEASE VISIT: http://chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/everybody-was-s...