In celebration of the growing popularity of martial arts cinema,
Black Belt asked me to devise a list of the top
20 martial arts film stars.
In reality, this list could have been
different for each decade since the
1970s because in years past, one could reflect only on
names with which the audience might be familiar.
But today’s kung fu film fans are more
sophisticated and aware of not only who the
biggest martial arts stars of today are but also who the legends of yesteryear were.
So this ranking promises to stand the test of time.
The actors were chosen based not on their
martial arts abilities but on their
impact on the history and development of the genre.
