This 46-Year-Old Martial Arts Classic Has One Of The Best Kung Fu Training Scenes Of All Time (Because It Was Real)

1978’s kung fu movie classic Invincible Shaolin has one of the best training sequences in the entire martial arts genre – and it’s so great because it was (partly) real. Alternatively known as The Unbeatable Dragon, Shaolin Bloodshed, and North Shaolin vs. South Shaolin, Invincible Shaolin revolves around Shaolin’s long-standing rivalries with the Qing Dynasty. The movie was directed by Chang Cheh and stars the Venom Mob (a Brat Pack-esque name for a company of actors who frequently worked with the Shaw Brothers).

Training montages are a classic trope of kung fu movies: Mr. Miyagi’s iconic if impractical “Wax on, wax off” training from The Karate Kid has become a staple of pop culture. Drunken Master mixes slapstick comedy into its martial arts action. The Shaolin Temple sees Jet Li training with a purpose: to avenge his father’s death at the hands of the corrupt emperor. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is essentially one long training montage. But one of the kung fu genre’s greatest training scenes belongs to Invincible Shaolin.

Lo Mang’s Invincible Shaolin Training Scene Is Based On His Real-Life Martial Arts Background

Invincible Shaolin has a lot of great training scenes wrapped up in its 98-minute runtime, but the best training scene in the movie – and one of the genre’s best as well – goes to Lo Mang. Lo is perhaps best known as the star of The Brave Archer trilogy. In Invincible Shaolin, he plays Zhang Cheng, a loyal disciple of Mai Qi, who is brought in to help with the roaring rampage of revenge. A big part of what makes Lo’s training scene in the film so impressive is that it uses the training he received in real life.

In the movie, Lo’s character has to learn Southern Praying Mantis, which is what the actor actually practises in real life. So, it made sense for the filmmakers to add in the exercises that Lo had to do in real life and get footage of those exercises to use in the movie. Southern Praying Mantis is a Chinese martial art that originated with the Hakka people and is closely associated with Hakka-created styles like Bak Mei and Southern Dragon Kung Fu.

How Much Of Lo Mang’s Training Scene Was Real?

Lo’s training scene in Invincible Shaolin isn’t exactly a documentary. Some parts of his training regimen may have been exaggerated for the purposes of the movie. But for the most part, that training scene is true to life with very little embellishment. And with a training routine like that, it’s no wonder why they call him the “Shaolin Hercules.”