A warm love bytes welcome to author Kelly Jensen joining us here today for her blog tour on her release of “Block and Strike”.

Kelly tells us about her favourite Martial Arts movies and she brought a giveaway to participate in!

Welcome Kelly 🙂

My Favourite Martial Arts Movies

Have you ever watched an epic martial arts film and thought, “I wish I could do that?” Whether it’s authentic or not, I want to fly about on wires, pretending that years of training and meditation have given me wings—and skill with a sword. I also want the ability to kill someone with my thumb. (Maybe not kill, but leave a bruise that will have them thinking twice before taking me on a second time.) Also, black is very flattering. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered that the dojo I finally picked out uses black uniforms.

Finally, my dreams of being a ninja could be realised!

Not so much, but as you’ll read in some of my other tour posts, studying self-defense has been amazing in other ways. Here, I want to talk about the movies that inspired me. I could have listed a hundred movies here. I’m going to limit myself to five and they’re not super representative of the entire genre. More, they’re the films I watch over and over and recommend to friends.

Kung Fu Hustle

My favourite martial arts movie EVER. I adore this film! I’ve watched it maybe twenty times. If I meet someone who hasn’t seen it, I make them watch it. Yes, I’m that person. The quote from Roger Ebert on the cover says part of it: “Imagine a film in which Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meet Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny.”

One of the core stories of any martial arts movie is that if you work hard enough, you will succeed. What I love about Kung Fu Hustle is that it delivers this message while simultaneously riffing the genre—in an affectionate manner. You can tell writer/director Stephen Chow loves martial arts movies and that even while he’s having fun with his heroes, he wants them to succeed. For more of his brand of storytelling, check out Shaolin Soccer and CJ7.

Enter the Dragon

This movie is an absolute classic. Watching it will make you giggle. But if you’re a Bruce Lee fan, you will watch it regularly, always remembering the first time you watched it and how cool you thought it was. J

Another must for fans of Bruce Lee is of course Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. It’s another of my favourites and another I watch regularly.

Ip Man

This is the story of the man who trained and mentored Bruce Lee. It’s an amazing movie and one I consider another must—not only for the skill evidenced and the philosophy, but because of the historical impact. It’s a movie for martial arts fans as well as those interested in the history of the discipline.

 

 

Jackie Chan Adventures

It’s going to come as no surprise that I adore Jackie Chan and while I could recommend a number of his films, the project of his that I loved above all others was the cartoon series, Jackie Chan Adventures. To me, this cartoon embodied everything I admire about Jackie Chan—particularly his self-depreciating humour. As is typical of a cartoon, the stories champion the underdog. Bumbling your way to a win works—so long as you’re fully invested. You have to want it hard enough to make it work. This is martial arts, folks. Anyone can learn a few moves. But when you get to the upper belts, it’s skill+attitude, and I’m not talking about the need to kill someone with your thumb. 😉

Hero

Jet Li has made a number of really great movies, so many of which have deeply thoughtful plots. Hero is my favourite. It’s the classic tale, well told. Director Zhang Yimou is probably better known for House of the Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower, both of which are movies I really, really like—but more for the cinematic sequences and the ethereal beauty of the sets than the actual stories. I expect I’ll enjoy his newest, The Great Wall, for exactly the same reason. While Hero is just as pretty and well-choreographed, it’s the story that gets me.

Thanks for following my tour! At the end of every post, I’ll be asking a question. Leave a comment with your answer (and your email address). Every comment throughout the tour counts as an entry in my giveaway. Two winners will each receive $25 (US or equivalent) to spend at the Dreamspinner Press store.

Question: Do you have a favourite martial arts movie?

Block and Strike

Jacob Kendricks is three months out of prison, estranged from his daughter, and ready to get his life on track. Taking care of the bum curled up on his doorstep isn’t part of the plan. When he realizes the man has been assaulted, Jake takes him to the hospital, where he learns that Max is his downstairs neighbor… and that he could really use a friend. Keeping Max in the friend-zone would be easier if he wasn’t so damned cute.

Maxwell Wilson has been bullied for years and the only person who ever cared lives too far away to come to his rescue. Now his upstairs neighbor is offering support. Max remains cautious, suspecting he is little more than a project for the handsome Jake. When he learns Jake has had boyfriends as well as girlfriends, Max has to reevaluate his priorities—and muster the courage to take a chance at love.

Just when a happy future is within their grasp, life knocks them back down. A devastating blow leaves Max lower than ever and Jake wrestling with regret. They both have to find the strength to stand on their own before they can stand together.

Buy Links:

Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Dreamspinner Press

 

About Kelly

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Connect with Kelly: Twitter | Facebook | Website

 

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1/11     Love Bytes “Martial Arts Movies”

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