Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving punching and kicking techniques. The word Taekwondo can be translated as tae, kwon, and do. In addition to its five tenets of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit, the sport requires three physical skills: poomsae (품새), kyorugi (겨루기) and gyeokpa (격파).
Bruce Lee was a Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines. Credited with helping popularize martial arts films in the 1970s, Lee is considered by some commentators and martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is credited with promoting Hong Kong action cinema and helping to change the way Chinese people were presented in American films.
Hapkido is a Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. It also teaches the use of traditional weapons, including knife, sword, rope, nunchaku, cane, short stick, and middle-length staff, gun, and bō (Japanese), which vary in emphasis depending on the particular tradition examined.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to martial arts:
Chopsocky is a colloquial term for martial arts films and kung fu films made primarily by Hong Kong action cinema between the late 1960s and early 1980s. The term was coined by the American motion picture trade magazine Variety following the explosion of films in the genre released in 1973 in the U.S. after the success of Five Fingers of Death. The word is a play on chop suey, combining "chop" and "sock".
Tang Soo Do is a Korean martial art based on karate and can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. From its beginnings in 1944 to today, Tang Soo Do is used by some Kwans to identify the traditional Korean fusion of fighting styles. In the mid 1950s, it became the basis for the martial art taekwondo when the Korean Nine Kwans united.
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Kong filmmakers combined with elements from Hollywood and Japanese cinema along with new action choreography and filmmaking techniques, to create a culturally distinctive form that went on to have wide transcultural appeal. In turn, Hollywood action films have been heavily influenced by Hong Kong genre conventions, from the 1970s onwards.
Gary Edward Daniels is an English actor, producer, martial artist, fight coordinator and former world light heavyweight kickboxing champion. Born and raised in London, England, Daniels started to take martial arts lessons at the age of eight. By his late teens, he became a competitive kickboxer. In 1980, Daniels moved to the United States to continue the sport. In 1990, he won the WKBA California State Light Heavyweight Championship and the PKA World Light Heavyweight Championship.
Angela Mao Ying is a Taiwanese actress and martial artist who appeared in martial arts films in the 1970s. One of the most prominent martial artist actresses of her time, she is nicknamed "Lady Whirlwind" and "Lady Kung Fu". She was positioned as a female version of Bruce Lee.
Dragon Lee, originally known in South Korea as Keo Ryong and born Moon Kyoung-seok, is an actor and practitioner of taekwondo and hapkido. He made a name for himself as a martial arts film star in the 1970s and 80s.
Hwang In-shik is a South Korean actor and hapkido teacher. He is known for his work in various Hong Kong martial arts films such as Bruce Lee's Way of the Dragon, Jackie Chan's The Young Master and Angela Mao's Hapkido. He was awarded a 10th degree black belt, the highest rank possible in the art, by the World Hapkido Association.
Daniel Richard McBride is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. The accolades he has received include nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and four Satellite Awards.
Jody Hill is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. In 2006, he directed, co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred in his first film The Foot Fist Way, which he based on his experience as a Taekwondo black belt and instructor. His follow-up film, Observe and Report, stars Seth Rogen and was released on April 10, 2009. Hill is also co-creator, director and executive producer of the HBO series Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, and The Righteous Gemstones.
Joseph Stephens is an American multi-instrumentalist, film score composer, and songwriter. He composed music for the television show The Righteous Gemstones, the film Observe and Report, directed by Jody Hill as well as the HBO series Eastbound & Down, produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez Productions.
Patrick E. Johnson was an American martial artist and actor. He was a 9th degree black belt in American Tang Soo Do and was the president of the National Tang Soo Do Congress, which was originally created by Chuck Norris in 1973.
![<i>Bruce Lee: The Curse of the Dragon</i> 1993 [[Cinema of the United States|United States]] film](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/BruceLeeCurseoftheDragon.jpg)
Bruce Lee: The Curse of the Dragon is a 1993 American documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies. The film is directed by Tom Kuhn and Fred Weintraub and written by Davis Miller, author of the books The Tao of Muhammad Ali, The Tao of Bruce Lee and "Approaching Ali."
Eagle Han-ying, Korean name Kim Young Il (김영일) was a South Korean actor and martial artist, who rose his fame in South Korea through various Korean drama series from the 90. Outside of Korea, he is best known with his appearance with many kung fu films from the range of Korean, Hong Kong and Taiwanese production.
Sang-chul Lee is a Korean born Taekwondo grandmaster 8th Dan, US Olympic Taekwondo head coach, entrepreneur, and owner of the US Taekwondo Center. Sang-chul Lee is a leading taekwondo innovator and missionary and has played an instrumental role in the promotion and development of Taekwondo throughout the United States and the world.
Jun Lee is a Korean American Taekwondo Grandmaster 9th dan and the founder of Black Belt World, a Taekwondo school of the Korean Martial Arts. He has been referred to as one of the top ten martial artists in the United States. He holds the world record for breaking 5,000 one-inch thick boards in seven hours. The Kukkiwon named Grandmaster Lee its spokesperson for International affairs on February 22, 2021.
Benjamin Terrell Best was an American actor, writer, musician, and producer.
