Some Basics About Fight Choreography

Lately I have been delving into the topic of fight choreography in martial arts movies. What may seem like a simple matter of punching and kicking to the layman is actually a complicated and multifaceted process incorporating actors, stuntmen and specialists. Many martial arts movies are made specifically to showcase the action – a fact made obvious by the dearth of plot, character development, acting, and overall merit in these films. But what factors makes a good fight scene? That is the question that often is so elusive and ever-changing.

One of the major issues is the disparity between the choreography found in Western (i.e. American) martial arts movies and Eastern (i.e. Hong Kong) movies. Fight choreographer Craig Reid explains that this is due to differences in the editing techniques and structure of the fight scenes. The American style of choreography in the last few decades has been exemplified by stars such as Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. These actors are probably the three biggest names in American martial arts cinema and were very influential for their time. All three utilized choreography that highlighted powerful moves, while not necessarily focusing on speed or fluidity. This brutal strength, combined with stylized editing including frequent cuts made the fight scenes somewhat blocky.

American cinema often uses tight angles and quick cuts to mask the poor fighting ability of actors who are not very skilled in martial arts. One notable example is Batman Begins, where all the fight scenes were somewhat disjointed and fast paced, and the action was not really discernible. The overall effect was disappointing as we wanted to see Batman actually do something, instead of an almost stroboscopic action effect. Hong Kong movies are famous for making non-martial artists look like experienced fighters through a combination of well placed stunt doubles and expert choreography. These movies often use wider angles and longer takes that enhance the realism of the scene and showcase the techniques much better.

Fluidity is a trademark of Chinese martial arts, which is why many of them are referred to as “soft styles.” Many American martial artists have Japanese Karate backgrounds which is a more rigid style and not as circular and flowing as the Chinese martial arts. Circular and intricate movements are more pleasing aesthetically – exemplified by China’s Peking Opera, a combination of martial arts fighting and performance. In the past, Hong Kong cinema also benefitted from more relaxed regulations for stuntwork, which resulted in dangerous but spectacular feats performed by Chinese stuntmen. Today, this mantel of dangerous but breathtaking stunts has been taken over by Thailand, which is producing many top stuntmen who are willing to risk their lives for a martial arts fight scene.

These are just a few of the factors which make up the notable differences between American fight scenes and their Asian counterparts. Today the gap is beginning to shrink due to the practice of Americans bringing over choreographers from China to do a lot of high profile work, but still some of the American filmmaking practices are not conducive to making a highly stylized fight scene. With the ability of martial artists and filmmaking technology improving constantly, more refinements and developments in the area of choreography are sure to come.