The leading stars of '100 Yards,' a martial arts action movie, spoke in Beijing on Friday at the film's premiere about their challenging yet rewarding experience of learning martial arts.
The story, set in north China's Tianjin City in the 1920s, concerns the fierce fights between the son of a martial club's leader and his leading student.
Xiang Zuo and Tang Shiyi, the leading actor and actress of the film, shared their experience of learning martial arts from Liang Shaohong, their Kung Fu teacher in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, in southern China.
Xiang, a long-time action movie star, said that learning Wing Chun, a concept-based traditional southern Chinese Kung Fu style, and Bazhandao, a series of techniques using a pair of short swords, still posed a challenge for him.
"Wing Chun and Bazhandao use strength in the opposite direction compared with the martial arts I learned before. I had to relearn how to use my strength. So, my martial arts teacher Liang spent a lot of time teaching me, about three to six hours per day," said Xiang.
Tang, a professional dancer with no prior experience in martial arts, said that learning Kung Fu alongside fellow actors and actresses helped forge strong, genuine bonds within the film's production team.
"Because of the movie, director Xu Haofeng invited me to come to Zhuhai, and I am very honored to have learned Wing Chun from martial arts teacher Liang Shaohong. We learned a particular style of Wing Chun, and we learned it step by step from the teacher and the senior martial artists. We were just like a huge family and the atmosphere there was relaxed," said Tang.
"100 Yards" stars share their experience of learning martial arts
