The Martial Arts Mania Podcast

This week, Gavin and I get to share our AWESOME experience we had viewing an absolutely AMAZING entry from the golden era of Hong Kong martial arts cinema, ON THE BIG SCREEN! Not only that, it was a rare first time viewing for the both of us! I am talking about the 1990 action epic, ‘Licence to Steal.’ Starring Joyce Mina Godenzi (aka Mrs. Sammo Hung) and featuring one of the best supporting casts...

New episode alert! This week, Gavin and I are discussing one of the most beloved Cantonese Kung Fu comedies of all time, the Golden Harvest classic ‘Knockabout’. Directed by and co-starring everyone’s favorite martial arts filmmaker, Sammo Hung, and starring his younger Peking Opera brother, the extroardinary Yuen Biao, this tale of ruthlessness, righteousness, and revenge will leave your jaw on t...

This week, Gavin and I are discussing one of the best martial arts movies of the past decade that you probably missed, and maybe one of the GREATEST Manga adaptations to ever hit the big screen… ‘Blade of the Immortal’! Directed by the visionary action maestro Takashi Miike and based off of the long running manga of the same named created by Hiroaki Samura, this bloody, battle-tactic, Bushido bona...

This week, Gavin and I have a VERY special treat for you guys. International espionage? ✅ Nefarious criminal organization? ✅ Helicopter battles?✅ And most importantly….. NINJAS!? ✅🥷 That’s right, We are FINALLY tackling our first James Bond movie- ‘You Only Live Twice’. Starring the OG 007 himself, Sir Sean Connery, this film is the 5th entry in the long running series, and one of the most fu...

New episode alert! This time around, Gavin and I are giving you the 4th edition of our ‘Kung Fu Comfort Films’. Listen in as we share 5 movies each that we go back to time and time again. Whether we want to sit down and just get lost in a great action movie, or simply need some background noise as we work on other things, our Kung Fu comfort films are nostalgic favorites that never disappoint. Thi...

New episode alert! We’ve got a special treat for you this time around, as we are reviewing one of the most unique and powerful martial arts pictures from the early 2000’s. The gritty, action-packed, psychological crime thriller ‘Unleashed’ aka ‘Danny the Dog’. Starring the one and only Jet li, and produced and written by French filmmaker extraordinaire Luc Besson, this film serves as one of the be...

This week, Gavin and I are taking our first exploration into the world of Cambodian cinema, looking at the epic 2017 action thriller ‘Jailbreak’. Starring French martial artist/ stuntman Jean-Paul Ly as well as Dara Our and Tharoth Sam (experts in the ancient Cambodian martial art style of Bokator) this hard-hitting martial arts extravaganza can be looked at as Cambodia’s answer to ‘The Raid’. How...

This week, Gavin and I are going OLD SCHOOL and tackling an early Kung Fu film from the ‘Basher’ era- a time before the slick, fast paced, and clean choreography of the late 70’s. Back when things were still mean, gritty, and rough and tumble! Listen in as we discuss ‘The Prodigal Boxer’, a 1972 retelling of the Chinese folk hero Fong Sai-Yuk! Starring Meng Fei as the titular character, this versi...

New episode alert! This week, Gavin and I are reviewing the brand-new action epic, John Wick: Chapter 4! It’s hard to put down in words just how extraordinary this film is, so I’m going to keep it brief. If non-stop martial arts melees, ballistic bullet ballets, and crazy colorful characters are your jam, then you are absolutely going to love this cinematic experience! With so many stars giving ca...

New episode alert! This week, Gavin and I are finishing off Women’s History Month with an absolute BANG! We are taking a look at the brand-new Netflix martial arts picture, ‘Furies’- a hyperkinetic thrill-ride filled with more carnage, calamity, and chaos than you could possibly imagine! A prequel to the epic 2019 Vietnamese martial arts actioner ‘Furie’, this time around, star Veronica Ngo steps...

This week, Gavin and I are discussing the chaotic, kinetic, and colorfully crazy world of ‘Sister Street Fighter’! Starring one of the greatest martial arts actors you have probably never heard of, Etsuko (Sue) Shihomi, ‘Sister Street Fighter’ holds its own against the previously established ‘Street Fighter’ series starring the one and only Sonny Chiba. Take the hard-hitting, highly intricate figh...

This week, we are discussing the newly crowned academy award winning actress Michelle Yeoh and one of her all-time classic films, ‘The Magnificent Warriors’; a big-budget, international, martial arts adventure epic! Michelle gives Indiana Jones a run for his money as a bad-ass WWII pilot/ secret agent, who goes on a high-risk mission for the Chinese government. Her assignment- to extract the leade...

This week, with my esteemed co-host Gavin being on a much-deserved vacation (living it up in Japan!) I am privileged to have a very special guest helping me out this time around, the one and only Tiger Sheu! Actor, stuntman, television personality and lifelong bad ass martial artist, Tiger is not only a polymath of anything and everything martial arts related, but he is also someone I am lucky eno...

This week, we are exploring the strange and wonderful world of the Indie classic- Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. A unique amalgamation of multiple genres and filmmaking styles, this intricate picture is unlike any other we have reviewed before. A Bushido themed film? Absolutely. A dark parody of the mafia genre? Yep. A captivating motion picture that manages to weave its way through a beautifu...

New episode alert! This week, Gavin and I are tackling our highest-flying feature yet! When the world’s greatest hijacker takes over a commercial airliner, only one man can bring him DOWN- security expert John Cutter aka… Passenger 57! Listen in as we discuss this classic 90’s action flick which just happens to be chock-full of shrills, kills, and martial arts thrills! Starring the legendary Wesle...

New episode alert! This week Gavin and I are tackling one of our all-time favorite comedies, which just happens to be a martial arts movie as well! Part Kung Fu, part Blaxploitation, and all-around hilarious, prepare yourself for an uproariously good time with Black Dynamite! Written by and starring the one and only Michael Jai White, this modern day take on the Blaxploitation genre entertains fro...

This week, Gavin and I are discussing one of the greatest Kung Fu films ever made. The wild, walloping, Wing Chun classic- Warriors Two. Starring the Korean kicking sensation Casanova Wong, genre favorite Leung Kar Yan aka Bryan Leung aka Beardy, and co-starring/ directed by the legendary Sammo Hung, this ferocious fight fest is sure to entertain even the most jaded of viewers! With wall-to-wall h...

This week, Gavin and I are FINALLY tackling our first Bollywood picture, the 2016 action/martial arts epic- Baaghi. Starring the insanely talented Tiger Shroff, this film is an amalgamation of both Bollywood and Hong Kong cinema, giving us a modern day ‘gongfupian’ in the least expected place. Switching out Chinese martial arts with the ancient Indian fighting art of Kalaripayattu, the rest of the...

New episode alert! For our first episode of the year of the rabbit, we are tackling an AWESOME top 5 list. One that has been in the works for a while now and is very special to us both, as martial artists, as well as film enthusiasts. We hope you are ready for this extra fun (and extra-long) episode… Our Top 5 Bushido Themed Films! Listen in as we give our personal favorite films that revolve arou...

New Episode alert! In honor of last week’s Golden Globes, Gavin and I are discussing the 1991 straight to video action extravaganza, ‘Breathing Fire’! Produced and co-written by legendary Kung Fu star Tan Tao Liang, aka Flash Legs Tan, this American remake of ‘Shaolin Deadly Kicks’ features some insanely fun, fast paced, frenetic fight scenes that almost seem out of place by how good they are! Fea...

New episode alert! This week, Gavin and I are exploring the weird, wacky and wonderfully wild world of Bruceploitation cinema! Which movie are we reviewing? Well, that depends on who you are asking 😆 After some initial confusion, we tackle one of the best of the bunch, ‘Game of Death II’ aka ‘Tower of Death’. Official Bruce Lee sequel? - not really. A follow up to Game of Death?- Maybe? Kung Fu f...

New episode alert and our first entry of 2023! This week we are tackling one of the greatest martial arts films of all time- ‘Dragons Forever’! Starring the three dragons (Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung & Yuen Biao) this was the final film the Kung Fu trinity would appear in together, after nearly a decade of highly successful collaborations under the Golden Harvest banner. Directed by Sammo Hung and leg...

New episode alert! This week Gavin and I are back with our final episode of 2022! This time around, we are giving you a countdown of our top 5 martial arts moments of the year! Listen in as we discuss some awesome Kung Fu movie screenings, some new films that blew us away and some personal martial arts endeavors that we undertook. Don’t forget to subscribe, download, and share with your friends! T...

New episode alert! This time around, Gavin and I have a holiday themed episode (sort of?)- The 12 Questions of Xmas! Listen in as we ask each other 6 random questions in regards to Kung Fu movies, martial arts training, travel and so much more! You can listen to The Martial Arts Mania Podcast on Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeart Podcasts! Don’t forget to subscribe, download, and share...

New episode alert! This week, different from our usual format, we are giving you a breakdown of our AWESOME experience at LA Comic-con! Listen in as we talk about all the cool new friends we met (like the ultra-talented Jeremy Adams and kicking sensation Gemma Nguyen), how manning our first booth went, and some of the cool stuff that went down that weekend! We will be back with our regular program...