The mid-1980s were an odd time for martial arts cinema, which was declining in Hong Kong but thriving in the U.S.

Kung fu movies thrill audiences with astonishing choreography and blend reality with entertainment in iconic martial arts moves. Techniques like the realistic Eagle Claw and acrobatic Butterfly ...

This story appears in the March 2011 issue of National Geographic magazine. The master spent ... the man who had taught them kung fu. Some wore monks' robes and offered blessings as they entered ...