Shaolin vs Lama
Shaolin vs Lama
少林與武當
Overview
"A young, arrogant fighter wanders the land seeking a master powerful enough to beat him, eventually forcing a Shaolin monk to accept him as a student. Meanwhile, an evil Lama from Tibet steals a sacred martial arts manual from the temple, forcing the newly trained student to face off against the Lama's seemingly impenetrable defense."
Iconic Tracked Scenes
- ▶
The arrogant Sung aggressively challenges the meditating master, demanding to be taught, while the master effortlessly blocks him without looking.
"bothering the monk""arrogant challenger" - ▶
The evil Lama storms the temple, defeating multiple monks using overwhelming external power and stealing the sacred text.
"lama attacks the temple""stealing the manual" - ▶
A blistering, exhausting final fight in a meadow where Sung has to hit the Lama's specific pressure points to break his invulnerable armor.
"shaolin vs lama final fight""breaking the lama's armor"
Why It's Remembered
- ★The protagonist aggressively bothering the monk while he tries to eat or meditate.
- ★The Lama's use of 'Buddha's Palm' techniques.
- ★The exhausting, endlessly paced final meadow battle against the Lama.
Cultural Context
- ◈A prime example of independent Taiwanese martial arts cinema from the early 80s.
- ◈The English dub of this film is famously sampled throughout the Wu-Tang Clan's entire discography.
- ◈Known for its absolutely relentless, machine-gun pace of combat choreography featuring Alexander Lo Rei.
About the Action Elements
Shaolin vs Lama is widely celebrated among martial arts cinema fans for sequences involving arrogance, challenge, annoying, blocking, meditating. One of the most memorable sequences features Alexander Lo Rei naturally executing bothering the monk, where the choreography and unique set pieces become the unexpected highlight of the film.