Mentioning the genre of martial arts movies to people usually elicits a groan or possibly a borderline racist impression of what the speaker considers Chinese people shouting sound like. However, for those of us who love them, the mocking changes nothing.

The origins of martial arts films lie, predictably, in the East. The spectacular acrobatics and familiar storylines blended perfectly with some rudimentary movie magic. Sadly, the clunkiness of the flight effects jar our CGI-conditioned minds and the only enjoyment they can give these days is ironic. Quaint, old-fashioned and enjoyed almost exclusively in China, Kung-fu flicks were all that was on offer up until a certain dragon exploded on our screens.

Bruce Lee redefined the martial arts scene. His dynamic, hard-hitting approach and modern-day setting made his movies the first of the genre to conquer the American market and brought eastern combat styles into a world that had never seen them before. Lee’s incredible athleticism and intensity shine through the mists of time and as you engage more and more with his inimitable style you to forget the slightly shoddy production quality and incessant yowling as you are swept away in a whirl of high kicks.

Even more influential than Bruce Lee is Jackie Chan. Trained in traditional Chinese opera, he started out as just another stuntman on the kung-fu movie scene. However, his approach to the genre was something entirely new. While his early storylines followed the familiar “brash young martial artist loses, learns new style, discovers wisdom, wins” pattern, his wonderfully lively and creative persona captured hearts all over the world. Fight scenes involving several people attacking simultaneously were virtually unknown before Jackie Chan and his inventiveness in using his surroundings as a weapon is something that modern films (particularly the Bourne trilogy) emulate.

Classic martial arts films often showcase particular styles. In Chinese films this usually results in some animal impersonations as Eagle Claw and Maddened goat styles face off. The crucial element was that characters had their distinctive style, their gimmick, something that defined their brand of combat. This, though less explicit, is still around. Van Damme gave us Kickboxer and Steven Seagal showed us his own brand of Karate but many modern films cast their net further afield. Chris Nolan’s Batman employs Keysi, a martial art developed in Spain, while Jason Bourne uses a Filipino system known as Kali.

If the future of action films as a whole lies in ever more creative martial arts sequences, where does that leave pure martial arts films? Lately, the return to the Chinese opera style has produced some beautiful pieces of cinema that we finally have the technology to do justice to. The more visceral style pioneered by Bruce Lee is being carried on by the new generation of young stars like Tony Jaa. It’s clear that, for those of us who like to see people beaten up in new and exciting ways, the future is bright.