Biography
A Tae Kwon Do stylist, when it comes to kicking, it would be impossible not to include him, in a list of the genre's top kickers. His is one of the first names to pop up, when people discuss the best kickers in the business. Nicknamed "Flash Legs" -- this small, quick, dynamic fighter, had unreal kicking range and superior leg control. It was his "Leg Control" that actually seperated him from the rest. His balance allowed him to stand on one leg, while the other one is firing out [in machine gun cadence] up to (10) or more head kicks. Two film stars in their own right - John Liu and Kam Kong, actually trained under him, earlier in their career.
His films always seem to delight fans, who never got tired of seeing him display the type of agility, that most kickers can only dream of. Films like The Hot, The Cool, & The Vicious and The Leg Fighters have helped him to become one of the most recognizable faces, in kung-fu cinema. It's just a shame, that we were never treated to such onscreen battles of him, against the likes of other well-known leg-fighters such as Cassanova Wong, Wang Lung-Wei, or the genre's top villain, Wang Jang-Li. Personally, I would have loved to see him pitted against the other (2) Left-Legged kickers - Wang In-Sik and Kwan Yung-Moon -- but I think has more to do with pride, than anything else.
His films always seem to delight fans, who never got tired of seeing him display the type of agility, that most kickers can only dream of. Films like The Hot, The Cool, & The Vicious and The Leg Fighters have helped him to become one of the most recognizable faces, in kung-fu cinema. It's just a shame, that we were never treated to such onscreen battles of him, against the likes of other well-known leg-fighters such as Cassanova Wong, Wang Lung-Wei, or the genre's top villain, Wang Jang-Li. Personally, I would have loved to see him pitted against the other (2) Left-Legged kickers - Wang In-Sik and Kwan Yung-Moon -- but I think has more to do with pride, than anything else.
Since most of the genre's best Kickers are Korean, maybe they felt that it was fruitless to be seen onscreen, trying to take each other's head off or trying to best each other. Not only would it have been exciting to see, but I [also] think, it would have settled a lot of unanswered questions, as to who the best kicker really was. Yet, these are things that kung-fu fanatics wondered about, during the height of the craze. Regardless of this minor infraction, he has made a number of excellent films and given some of the genre's better performances -- when it came to displaying kicking techniques. He was one of the first Korean kickers [to gain fame on the big screen] after the Bruce Lee-era, help push the genre.
In the mid-70's, he signed on at Golden Harvest and with the film Hand Of Death (featuring a [then] unknown stuntman named Jackie Chan) and quickly got noticed. The film The Himalayan [which was a much more solid story], wasn't pushed as much, as other films from the studio, at that time. After leaving the studio, he hooked up with director Lee Tso-Nam (who should be credited as making him a star) and made some of the best films of his career (which included Challenge Of Death). Lee directed him, along with Wang Tao and choreographer Tommy Lee and began to make hit after hit.
In the mid-70's, he signed on at Golden Harvest and with the film Hand Of Death (featuring a [then] unknown stuntman named Jackie Chan) and quickly got noticed. The film The Himalayan [which was a much more solid story], wasn't pushed as much, as other films from the studio, at that time. After leaving the studio, he hooked up with director Lee Tso-Nam (who should be credited as making him a star) and made some of the best films of his career (which included Challenge Of Death). Lee directed him, along with Wang Tao and choreographer Tommy Lee and began to make hit after hit.
He was later paired with Meng Fei, for numerous action-films like - Enter The Whirlwind Boxer, Secret Of The Shaolin Poles, and Secret Of Snake & Crane. In these films, he basically played the role of the sidekick (buddy) -- when it was obvious, that he was the more talented of the two. Roles in films like Tornado Of Pearl River, were excellent vehicles for someone with his skill. The 8 Escorts should have given him more to do, while Duel With The Devils reunited him with his Himalayan co-star (Angela Mao) in a Game Of Death-type film, featuring that famous "Yo-Yo" scene.
I was [most] impressed with him, when he did a role-reversal and started taking villainous roles. Some of his best standout roles as a villain were - Showdown At The Cottonmill and Blooded Treasury Fight -- where everyone was a suspect, in their pursuit of golf ball sized pearls, hidden in an old mill. Other villainous films Godfathers Of Fury and the obscure Heroine Of Tribulation, where he got to play a "White-haired" villain, who battled Polly Shang-Kuan in one of her final films (before retiring from the industry). His, was a name that was synonymous with good action and a excellent kicking skills -- what more could a fan ask for?