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martial arts (Page 3)

Voices beckons you to see new project from Attack on Titan director【Video】

Though the live-action Attack on Titan movie wasn’t the gigantic hit it was supposed to be, director Shinji Higuchi is moving forward and has already been signed to co-direct the 2016 blockbuster Shin Gojira (“New Godzilla“). One would think that the Japanese follow-up to the 2014 American reboot of Godzilla would be enough to keep a director busy, but it seems he is multitasking by working on another project with the action director of the live-action Rurouni Kenshin films, Kenji Tanigaki.

This brand new project is titled Voices and features action-packed footage and some stirring theme music. That seems like some solid preview material, but it appears they have left out one key point, what in the world is “Voices”?

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When Keanu met Sonny Chiba: Veteran action actor surprises John Wick star on Japanese TV

Oh, Keanu, it’s so obvious by now that you’re a big ol’ Japanophile. In fact, Hollywood mega-star Mr. Reeves seems to be spending most of his time in Japan these days. There was the time he tried to be a regular tourist in Akihabara, despite being followed by crowds of adoring fans.  And there was that time he flew all the way here just to meet his idol, Kumamon. We think Keanu should just move to Tokyo permanently!

Yep, everyone here loves Keanu, so much so that when he appeared on Japanese TV this week to promote his action movie John Wick (which is finally coming out in Japan this month) they surprised him with a special gift – a surprise appearance by Sonny Chiba, Japanese martial arts movie star and one of Keanu’s biggest influences!

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Canadian airport staff interrogate Japanese tourist over strange ‘martial arts weapon’ in his bag

Japan is a land with many strange and oddly-shaped everyday items that can be a little hard to identify for Western visitors. But what happens when a travelling Japanese tourist takes along one of these curiosities in their luggage when they embark upon a little trip to Canada?

Well, according to one Twitter user’s ordeal, they might end up getting hauled out of the line at airport security into a side room to “explain” the nature of what Canadian officials took to be… a martial arts weapon?

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Kung-fu rugby invades Hong Kong Sevens 2015

I have fond memories of going to the old Harlem Globetrotter games to watch all the sports-themed hijinks and hilarity of Curly, Twiggy, and the rest of the gang. Even though my father would later lose all of my college savings on ill-advised Baltimore Rocket bets, those games still hold a warm place in my heart.

And so, it’s great to see that this tradition of comedic sports entertainment lives on in 2015 as this brief video showing some highlights from a kung-fu rugby game during the Hong Kong Sevens tournament at the end of March.

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Giving basketball a bit of yin-yang: Chinese martial artist’s amazing performance 【Video】

What happens when you combine the moves of traditional Chinese martial arts with the modern sport of basketball? A whole lot of awesome, that’s what.

A particular group of basketball freestylers have been making waves recently with a video of their impressive tai chi-basketball infusion.

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Enter the double! This is “Afghan Bruce Lee”, and he’s a high-kicking sensation【Pictures】

A 20-year-old Afghan man is being described as “the reincarnation of Bruce Lee” after photos and videos of him striking iconic poses and wielding nunchucks were posted online.

Abbas Alizada, who goes by the name of Afghan Bruce Lee due to his striking resemblance to the star, hopes to show another side to his war-torn country. “The only news that comes from Afghanistan is about war,” he said in a recent interview.

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Old footage shows Aikido master tangle with Robert Kennedy’s security staff

Before his passing in 1994, 10 dan Aikido master Gozo Shioda was living proof that size truly doesn’t matter. At a height of about 156cm (5’1) and weighing in at around 45kg (106lbs) he could still be seen overpowering several larger men at the same time through his training and skill of manipulating his attackers’ own power.

One particular high point of his career was during a visit by then United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1962. During the demonstration he invited one of Kennedy’s bodyguards to take part as well.

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5 Japanese women who can kick your ass (in martial arts)【Women in Japan Series】

We at RocketNews24 previously told you about the awesome Wushu World Champion women fighters. While Japan has plenty of women who participate in Wushu (and have done rather well) more Japanese women have made names for themselves in karate, judo and taekwondo.

Japan leads the world in women’s judo and karate. Both are gendai budo martial arts, or modern Japanese martial arts that started from or after the Meiji Restoration (1866–1869). The ancient martial arts, such as jujitsu or naginatajutsu, predate the Meiji Restoration.

Women’s Judo, an Olympic sport, wasn’t instituted until the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games. While karate is not an Olympic sport, Japanese women have achieved top results in the Asian Games, the Karate World Championships, and the World Games. Japan also has a top woman in the traditional Korean martial art of taekwondo.

Let’s take a closer look at these leading Japanese martial arts practitioners who, even on a bad day could kick our collective arses.

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Women at World Wushu Championships attack each other at the speed of light

Check out this insane performance at the World Wushu Championships. It might look like one woman is summarily beating the other to a pulp, but it’s actually all part of an intricately choreographed martial arts performance that blends dance and fighting into a beautiful and fantastic spectacle.

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Beautiful old footage shows “God of Judo” Kyuzo Mifune gracefully defeat young challengers【Video】

At 159cm (5’2″) tall, Kyuzo Mifune was not a big man. But as this amazing video of the judo master shows, strength doesn’t come from size alone. Mifune is considered to be one of the finest judo technicians ever, and this video of him accepting challenges from high-level younger students shows his incredible power and skill.

Join us after the jump for a sprightly energy burst, as the man they call the “God of Judo” skips, jumps and runs rings around his young challengers.

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Real-life Fruit Ninja! Watch Isao Machii slice up flying fruit like a boss 【Video】

They call him ‘The Modern-Day Samurai’. Master swordsman Isao Machii can slice a BB gun pellet in mid-air. He holds four World Records for swordsmanship – so what’s he doing slicing up fruit in this ad for Toaster Strudels?

It’s still a cool video, though, as he slices his way through watermelons and pineapples at lightning speed. Join us after the jump for a look at this “live action fruit ninja” vid. What would Gretchen Weiners’s father think?

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Martial arts “master” demonstrates his incredible technique, leaves us laughing

When it comes to martial arts, there’s almost as much fantasy as there is reality. Despite the rise of MMA and full-contact contests designed to ferret out the “ultimate” style, debate still rages about everything from who’s the best fighter to whether or not Shaolin kung-fu is totally awesome. (It is.) One controversial topic that simply won’t die, though, is chi. Is it actually possible to project your chi out of your body like a Street Fighter character? Or is reality actually just a total bummer?

Normally, this would be when Dr. House would hobble into the room and smack someone on the head with his cane, but instead we have a video of a middle-aged Japanese demonstrating the fearsome power of his…eyes??

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Millennia of martial arts wisdom distilled in one video: 100 Ways to Attack the Groin

YouTube has really established itself as an invaluable resource for the information age. Through a simple search you can learn how to play the solos from Freebird, tie a windsor knot, get infinite 1-ups in Super Mario, and so much more.

Of course there are plenty of clips that teach us how to fight as well. But even with the convenience of streaming videos, learning a martial art takes patience and training. Actually it did until now. A new video by Ameri-Do-Te Master Ken has consolidated everything you need to know to win a fight in one video: 100 Ways to Attack the Groin.

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The official Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist trailer just made our day【Video】

We bring good news and bad news. Remember back in February when we brought you a collection of gorgeous Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist production stills? Well, Machinima, Assassin’s Fist Limited, and Capcom U.S.A. have stepped it up with an official trailer and release date, and the trailer is as awesome as we hoped it would be.

The bad news is, the release date isn’t until May 23! That’s…too many sleeps away!

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Japanese archery: The coolest school club ever?

Bukatsu, or club activities, are a big part of school life in Japan. In the majority of schools, all kids are required to become a member of a club, be it track and field, judo, or even computer club, and have to attend every session regardless of the time of year and the weather (yes, athletics club kids jog up and down the hallways when it’s raining heavily). Naturally, there are distinct levels of coolness that students are more than aware of when they sign up, with clubs like baseball generally considered to be for the jocks, and soccer-bu for those who want to look good while sharpening their shooting skills.

Japanese archery, or kyūdō to use its native moniker, may not be considered the coolest club to belong to by kids in Japan, but as this video from Japanese culture blogger Danny Choo shows, as far as non-Japanese are concerned, it’s pretty epic, and if we were somehow reincarnated as a Japanese high schooler it’s definitely the club we’d sign up for.

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Adorable judo girls still years away from making us scared, already able to make us smile

In a way, small children are scary. Their language skills aren’t fully developed, so you can’t negotiate with them. When they’re angry, their lack of adherence to societal norms means they’re likely to scream at or even bite you. Really, the only thing that keeps them from being paralyzingly frightening is the superior size and strength we have as full-grown adults.

So when we first heard about toddlers practicing judo, which would eventually allow them to use our strength against us, we assumed they must be terrifying. Then we watched this video, and learned that they’re somehow even more adorable as a result of their training in Japanese grappling techniques.

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Karate dojo students practice under freezing waterfall… in the middle of winter

Karate has always been one of those martial arts forms that never really had much appeal to me. The idea of repeating the same kata routines – with names like “Black Dragon Karate Chops 20 Weasels at Midnight” or whatever – to commit the moves to muscle memory always seemed kind of boring and counter-intuitive to me.

And now, upon learning that at least one school has students train half naked, in freezing water, in the dead of winter, I’m even less inclined to try the sport. I’d rather go four rounds in the Octagon with Brock Lesnar.

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Live-action series Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist could well be all kinds of awesome 【Photos】

Based on Capcom’s hugely popular Street Fighter fighting games, upcoming TV series Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist began life back in 2010 as a mere seed of an idea. Three years later, fans of the video games went nuts when the project surfaced on Kickstarter asking for funding, only for it to suddenly disappear again when it was snapped up by a private production company.

Since then there has been so little news about Assassin’s Fist that we were starting to wonder if it would ever see the light of day, but recently released photos and one website’s extremely positive first impressions have our hands tingling with hadouken power more than ever.

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Kung-fu youths film the best action video in Singaporean history【Video】

Asian films can’t hold a candle to Hollywood films in terms of worldwide popularity, but when it comes to movies with intense fighting action, Asian stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li shine above the rest with their impeccable kung-fu moves. But such agile movie stars are hard to come by, so film-makers often rely on filming techniques and computer graphics to boost the intensity of action scenes.

Four Singaporean youths brought things back to the basics with an amateur action video clip and showed us that you don’t need state of the art CG to show the audience a powerful kick. All you need is some powder. And of course, some sleek martial art skills.

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