Summary
- Martial arts movie training montages are a constant in the genre, showcasing the protagonist’s preparation for intense competitions or fights to the death.
- Popular training montages include Mr. Miyagi’s unorthodox methods in The Karate Kid, Jean-Claude Van Damme’s intense Muay Thai training in Kickboxer, and Jackie Chan’s comedic drills in Drunken Master.
- Ip Man takes a unique approach, with the protagonist passing on his knowledge to workers of a cotton mill, while Jet Li’s Once Upon A Time in China impresses with a hundred students training in perfect unison.
Martial arts movie training montages are a staple of the martial arts film genre. Martial arts movies vary wildly in the kinds of stories and scenarios they place their protagonists into, ranging from historical epics to action-heavy films in a modern setting. What is always a constant is that martial arts movie protagonists have to be prepared to spring into action with everything they’ve got, and that’s where training montages come into play.
Training scenes are often seen in martial arts tournament movies, in which the hero or heroine must prepare to face a strong antagonist to win the competition. Other times, martial arts training montages involve heroes preparing for literal fights to the death, while they also can be something as simple as the main characters keeping their fighting skills sharp as part of their daily routine. However they end up being implemented, training montages are frequently a major highlight of the best martial arts movies.
10 The Karate Kid (1984)
Few training montages in martial arts movie history are as iconic and beloved as Daniel’s martial journey with Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid. Admittedly, Mr. Miyagi’s methods of passing on his knowledge of karate are a little unconventional, but his “wax-on, wax-off” trick works like a charm in instilling defensive techniques in his young karate protégé’s muscle memory. From there, The Karate Kid‘s training montage set to Joe Espoito’s “You’re The Best Around” is one of the film’s highlights, showcasing Daniel’s growth as a martial artist that later comes to serve him well in The Karate Kid movie sequels and in becoming a sensei himself on Cobra Kai.
9 Kickboxer (1989)
Jean-Claude Van Damme trains in the brutal art of Muay Thai to avenge his brother’s crippling in the 1989 cult classic Kickboxer, and the movie’s final training montage is a real treat of Van Damme’s kicking skills and flexibility. Adapting to the taxing training methods of Muay Thai takes plenty of time and effort for Van Damme’s protagonist Kurt Sloan under his wise mentor Xian Chow (Dennis Chan). Once Kurt’s training is complete, he kicks and drops into a split with the sharpness and power that is Van Damme’s trademark. Naturally, Kickboxer also makes sure to let Van Damme shatter at least one water pot with his signature helicopter kick.
8 Drunken Master (1978)
Jackie Chan finally rose to stardom throughout Asia with his 1978 back-to-back hits Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master, with Jackie Chan tackling the role of the legendary kung fu master Wong Fei-hung in the latter. In Drunken Master‘s comedic tale of Wong Fei-hung’s life, the protagonist trains to master the art of zui quan, or drunken fist, with his arduous drills and exercises culminating in Drunken Master‘s training montage of Wong going through each of the eight drunken gods. With so many hilarious and exhilarating fight scenes in Drunken Master, the movie’s training montage is as refined and timeless as they come.
7 Ip Man (2008)
Typically, martial arts movie training montages focus upon their protagonist honing their skills, but Ip Man‘s takes a different angle with its eponymous Wing Chun kung fu master passing his knowledge onto the workers of a local cotton mill. Set to the iconic Ip Man theme, the film’s training montage shows Donnie Yen’s Ip Man in top form as the near-unstoppable Wing Chun sifu he’s remembered as, while his students train both under him and among each other in domestic and office settings to master the intricacies of Wing Chun. In all, Ip Man‘s training montage is as epic and sweeping as any historical kung fu movie’s must be.
6 Best of the Best 2 (1993)
With Best of the Best 2 being the greatest of the Best of the Best martial arts movie series, it is hardly surprising that it should have multiple training montages that rank as the series’ best. When Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) and Alex Grady (Eric Roberts) train to take down their friend’s killer Brakus (Ralf Moeller) in the Colosseum, Best of the Best 2 puts them through the ringer of training for their final showdown under the tutelage of Tommy’s adoptive brother James (Sonny Landham). Best of the Best 2‘s training montage could’ve come right out of the modern MMA playbook, and of course, the blood-racing Best of the Best 2 guitar theme makes it even better.
5 Bloodsport (1988)
The Muscles from Brussels made his big break with 1988’s Bloodsport, in which Jean-Claude Van Damme plays American soldier Frank Dux, who trains to compete in a secret martial arts tournament in Hong Kong known as the Kumite. The dubious veracity of the real Frank Dux’s claims notwithstanding, Bloodsport is a masterpiece of ’80s martial arts movie glory, with its training montage of Frank mastering Ninjutsu under Senzo Tanaka (Roy Chiao) an all-time classic. What makes Bloodsport‘s training montage even better is how much it emphasizes the blood, sweat, and tears that Frank endures, which makes his eventual victory in the Kumite one well-deserved by a true warrior.
4 Ong Bak 3 (2010)
The capper to Tony Jaa’s Ong Bak series, 2010’s Ong Bak 3 follows on the cliffhanger of Ong Bak 2: The Beginning with Jaa’s protagonist Tien a man broken physically and spiritually. However, Tien rallies and nurses himself back to his full fighting spirit in Ong Bak 3‘s pulse-pounding training montage, which is elevated even further with Tien finally unifying the vast collection of martial arts disciplines he has been taught into a fighting style all his own. In both showcasing such a powerful blend of martial arts and showing the triumph of Tien’s warrior spirit, Ong Bak 3‘s training montage is the best of Tony Jaa’s career.
3 The Perfect Weapon (1991)
Jeff Speakman never quite hit the big time as a martial arts movie star, but he still succeeded in bringing the art of Kenpo Karate to the big screen in 1991’s The Perfect Weapon. Speakman’s protagonist Jeff kicks off The Perfect Weapon with a training montage in his apartment, with Jeff going through a fluid Kenpo form with masterful precision and speed. What really solidifies The Perfect Weapon‘s training montage as a classic is the use of The Snap’s “The Power,” power being a trait Jeff undeniably displays throughout The Perfect Weapon‘s amazing fight scenes.
2 Once Upon A Time In China (1991)
Jet Li leaped into the role of Wong Fei-hung with 1991’s Once Upon A Time in China, with director Tsui Hark wasting no time in establishing his legend as he trains literally a hundred kung fu students on a beach. Li Wong and his students all transitioning from movement to movement in perfect unison is a harmonious marvel, while the soundtrack gets Once Upon A Time in China‘s training montage going with perfect gusto. The Once Upon A Time in China movie series is the definitive tribute to Wong Fei-hung as a Chinese folk hero, and its opening training montage is what kicks it into high gear.
1 The Shaolin Temple (1982)
At just 19 years old, Jet Li went from an unknown but gifted Chinese wushu champion to his home country’s biggest star, thanks to his role as the heroic Shaolin monk Jue Yuan in 1982’s The Shaolin Temple, the first of Jet Li’s Shaolin Temple movie series. While The Shaolin Temple‘s fight scenes are groundbreaking for their time, the movie’s real crowning achievement is its training montage in which Jue Yuan departs the temple to train alone. Making Jue Yuan’s training montage truly memorable is the fact that it unfolds over the course of a year.
As summer, fall, winter, and spring pass, Li progresses through a series of blindingly fast and jaw-dropping forms, ranging from fist forms to different weapons forms. Li’s precision with each and every technique is absolutely flawless, with the training montage helping The Shaolin Temple to have a genuine real-world impact in China. After the movie’s release, the real Shaolin monastery became a Chinese landmark like never before, leading to a surge in popularity of both kung fu and movies centered around the Shaolin temple. With that distinction and its sweeping four seasons scope, The Shaolin Temple‘s training montage takes the title of the greatest martial arts movie training montage.