Biography
This Korean martial artist, showed us what Bruce Lee might look like, if he was a little shorter and had a more muscles. Given the fact that he had pretty good martial-arts skills, on the silver screen they had him "exaggerating" Lee and all of his mannerisms. Instead of giving us a solid interpretation of him (through his own eyes), he had to portray him through the eyes of directors and greedy producers. If he had not started all the silliness that he puts in his impersonations, he could have been the best of the Lee imitators. But shaking his fists and head like he's about to explode and the goofy sounds effects (like he's bursting bubbles), was just a little too much for most.
Throughout all the madness, he did manage to give us some enjoyable films, with Dragon On Fire, being one of the best. A student of Hapkido (he trained with an instructor friend of Super-villain Whang In-Sik) he obviously mastered his moves well, as they were part of his tremendous success. Films like (outrageously) campy Big Boss-2 and Dragon Lee Vs The 5 Brothers -- didn't do much to solidify his place amongst the elite martial-artists doing films at that time. But, for every mediocre film he did, a better one would emerge from the rubble.
The film Enter 3 Dragons (while, somewhat of a farce), actually had its moments, thanks to Kao Fei. His presence in this film added more flair to otherwise a lame, almost slapstick type of production. A personal favorite of mine was the film Rage Of The Dragon, where he got to do battle with the one of the genre's top stars Carter Wong. He also appeared with kung-fu's "Black Dragon" Ron Van Clief, in the muddled Kung Fu Fever. He seems to be a fighter who's better off appearing in films alone, as other stars tend to take away from his scenes (rather than steal them).
Throughout all the madness, he did manage to give us some enjoyable films, with Dragon On Fire, being one of the best. A student of Hapkido (he trained with an instructor friend of Super-villain Whang In-Sik) he obviously mastered his moves well, as they were part of his tremendous success. Films like (outrageously) campy Big Boss-2 and Dragon Lee Vs The 5 Brothers -- didn't do much to solidify his place amongst the elite martial-artists doing films at that time. But, for every mediocre film he did, a better one would emerge from the rubble.
The film Enter 3 Dragons (while, somewhat of a farce), actually had its moments, thanks to Kao Fei. His presence in this film added more flair to otherwise a lame, almost slapstick type of production. A personal favorite of mine was the film Rage Of The Dragon, where he got to do battle with the one of the genre's top stars Carter Wong. He also appeared with kung-fu's "Black Dragon" Ron Van Clief, in the muddled Kung Fu Fever. He seems to be a fighter who's better off appearing in films alone, as other stars tend to take away from his scenes (rather than steal them).
To his credit, he introduced the Single-Nunchuku (1-Stick connected to a chain with a metal-loop for your thumb), which was a different departure from when others went "Nunchuku-crazy" in most films during the 70's. In Golden Dragon, Silver Snake - we found him using a small baseball bat. Being Korean, he made a number of films in his homeland of Korea, as his popularity (there) made him a Superstar. Though, he wasn't widely accepted in Hong Kong, he gained success in America with the release of his film, The Real Bruce Lee.
He would go on the make a number of films with good friend (and fellow Korean) Wang Jang-Li. Films such as 5-Pattern Dragon Claws and Martial Monks Of The Shaolin Temple, gave us a look at two of the genre's best squaring off in some pretty fierce battles. It's obvious he picked up some pretty good skills, and was definitely a totally different impersonator than either Bruce Li or Bruce Le put together. But, if he could have only dropped the impersonations and showed us the real "Dragon Lee" -- now that would have been something to see.
He would go on the make a number of films with good friend (and fellow Korean) Wang Jang-Li. Films such as 5-Pattern Dragon Claws and Martial Monks Of The Shaolin Temple, gave us a look at two of the genre's best squaring off in some pretty fierce battles. It's obvious he picked up some pretty good skills, and was definitely a totally different impersonator than either Bruce Li or Bruce Le put together. But, if he could have only dropped the impersonations and showed us the real "Dragon Lee" -- now that would have been something to see.