The Truth About Donnie Yen's Five Rules Of Martial Arts Mastery:

Donnie Yen:

Donnie Yen is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Regarded as one of Hong Kong’s top action stars. Yen has displayed skill in an array of martial arts, being well-versed in Tai Chi, Boxing, Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, Mixed martial arts, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Hung Ga, Sanda, Judo, Wing Chun, and Wushu. Donnie Yen has worked as an actor, director, stuntman and fight choreographer since the 1980s, bringing his talents to international hits such as Ip Man and Rogue One. Moreover, he has established himself as a skilled martial artist, learning tai chi and taekwondo from childhood, and then moving on to wushu and mixed martial arts. Today, he is considered an authority on the noble art of punching and kicking, and in an interview with Kung Fu Magazine, he laid out his personal five-step recipe for success.

Yen’s most famous works include films such as Flash Point and SPL: Sha Po Lang. Yen’s work as a choreographer won him the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Award for Best Action Choreography at the 2008 and 2011 Golden Horse Awards. Yen was the fight choreographer for the 2010 film Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen. He won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography four times, being one of the most frequent winners of this coveted award. He has won awards for his choreography in films such as The Twins Effect, SPL: Sha Po Lang, Flash Point, and Kung Fu Jungle. Although uncredited, Donnie Yen was also action co-choreographer for Hong Kong Film Award winners such as Ip Man, Ip Man 2, and Bodyguards and Assassins.

Rule One: Don’t Talk About Fight Club:

Step one, says Donnie, is more or less “fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals.” Yen states that a practitioner must turn their basic movements “into perfect jewels,” emphasizing the importance of training hard in the basics and never stopping.

Step Two:

train athletically. Basically, exercise. It’s good advice whether you want to be a living action figure or not. Exercise gives you endorphins.

Step Three:

“emphasize fa jing.” This one’s neat. It’s a combination of spiritual and physical efforts to create a burst of energy, making blows more powerful. It’s also the technique behind the one-inch punch that Bruce Lee fans still mess their Dungarees over.

How Donnie Yen’s Early Hollywood Roles Wasted The Action Icon

Step Four:

“Strive for versatility and a wide exposure to different disciplines.” Diversity is important. Monotony is the mind killer.

Step Fifth:

Finally, Yen stresses the importance of combining beauty with power, allowing time to make your movements aesthetically nifty and kickass. Love is in the details, people.