The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter
The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter
五郎八卦棍
Overview
"Following the devastating betrayal and massacre of the Yang family generals by a treacherous government official and the Tartar army, the surviving sons react differently. The fifth son flees to a Shaolin temple to become a monk and channel his rage into pole fighting, while the sixth son returns home driven mad by trauma."
Iconic Tracked Scenes
- ▶
The horrific opening ambush where the Yang family generals' superior pole techniques are countered by the Tartars explicitly targeting their weapons.
"yang family massacre""tartar ambush" - ▶
Overcome by grief and rage, the fifth son furiously shaves his own head to force the pacifist Shaolin monks to take him in.
"shaving head in rage""forcing entry to shaolin" - ▶
The incredibly violent final showdown where the fifth brother and sister use modified hunting poles to brutally extract the teeth of their enemies.
"teeth pulling fight""eight diagram pole finale"
Why It's Remembered
- ★The opening sequence where the Yang brothers are systematically and brutally dismantled using pole tactics.
- ★The fifth son violently shaving his own head out of rage, forcing the monks to accept him.
- ★The final battle featuring 'de-fanging' techniques to rip the teeth out of the Tartar soldiers.
Cultural Context
- ◈A remarkably dark and intense film for the Shaw Brothers, driven by the real-life tragedy of star Alexander Fu Sheng dying in a car crash mid-production.
- ◈Gordon Liu takes over as the primary protagonist, delivering one of his most manic, enraged performances.
- ◈Features incredible, aggressively violent pole choreography that perfectly matches the film's theme of unspeakable grief and anger.
About the Action Elements
The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter is widely celebrated among martial arts cinema fans for sequences involving ambush, yang family, massacre, poles broken, tartar. One of the most memorable sequences features Gordon Liu naturally executing yang family massacre, where the choreography and unique set pieces become the unexpected highlight of the film.