The transcript below is from the video “Donnie Yen VS Jet Li | Wing Chun vs Wushu” by Combat Sports TV.
Combat Sports TV:
Donnie Yen VS Jet Li
Donnie Yen and Jet Li are two of Hollywood’s most well-known martial artists. So, what would happen if these two celebrities got into a brawl on the street? Who has the upper hand in terms of physical strength? Who’s the faster and strongest of the two? In today’s video, we’ll go over these topics and more. Let’s take a look at these two stars’ histories before we get into the fight. This is Donnie Yen Vs Jet Li. But hey, before going on with our video, hit that subscribe button to watch more videos like this one. Now, let’s get going.
We want to know who would win a fight between two of the biggest martial arts movie actors Jet Li or Donnie Yen in the spirit of locker rooms worldwide. According to Kang Fan, the two had known each other for more than 40 years, but their initial encounter was more of a passing acquaintance during Donnie Yen’s brief stint, training under Jet Li’s instructor, Wu Bin. They reunited 15 years later in Hong Kong for the production of Once Upon a Time in China II. Despite the fact that both actors featured in the picture, Jet Li had already established himself as a martial arts movie star, while Donnie Yen made his breakthrough with this film.
Combat Sports TV:
Jet Li
Jet Li is a Chinese-born Singaporean, who was born on April 26, 1963 in Beijing, China. He’s an actor, a martial artist, a director, a producer of films and an author. When Jet Li debuted in the 1994 film Fist of Legend and the 2002 film Zhang Yimou, he won the hearts of many moviegoers. He grew interest in martial arts, particularly Wushu after the death of his father, when he was just 2 years old. Li’s Wushu’s skill was evident as early as the age of 8. He then joined the Beijing Wushu Team and was a part of the team’s martial arts performance in the All China Games, where he was taught by famous Wushu teachers Li Junfeng and Wu Bin.
From 1975-1979, Li developed his martial arts skills and won the national all-around champion. He did it when he was just 12 years old. Li has mastered numerous Wushu forms throughout the years including the Northern Longfist Style, known as Chángquán and the Tumbling Fist style, known as Fānziquán. Other techniques he studied include Supreme Ultimate Fist, Drunken Fist, Shape Intent Fist, and Praying Mantis Fist. Simply, Li is an expert in the art of Wushu. Li has also mastered the primary weapons of Wushu, including the straight sword or Jian as it’s known, or Sanjiegun or Three Section Staff, Gùn, and the Broadsword or Dao.
Combat Sports TV:
Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen was born on July 27, 1963 in Guangzhou, China. He is an actor, a martial artist, a film director, a producer, and a choreographer of action scenes. When Yen was 2 years old, his family relocated from China to Hong Kong then to Boston, Massachusetts. Yen was exposed to martial arts by his mother when he was a child and he dabbled with a variety of various martial arts disciplines, including Tai Chi.
Yen began training Kung Fu at the age of 9 and began focusing on Wushu at the age of 14. Later, he was transferred to Beijing for a 4-year training program with the Beijing Wushu Team, where Jet Li also trained. It was there that the two stars met for the first time. Yen began Taekwondo at the age of 16 and went on to obtain a 6th degree black belt in the discipline. Yen was a multiple winner in numerous Wushu events after he returned to the United States and he is a multiple-time Wushu world champion.
Donnie Yen believes that integrating different martial arts to create the most efficient and harmonious style is the best way to go. In keeping with this attitude, he studied various martial arts forms and earned black and purple belts in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He also knows Boxing, Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Karate, Wrestling, Hapkido, and Wing Chun, among other things.
Now, let’s see who would win against each other.
Combat Sports TV:
Pedigree in Martial Arts
Jet Li is a master of Wushu. He was a five-time national all-around champion and a coach for the Beijing Wushu Team. In a street battle, however, Li’s reliance on Wushu will not protect him against a Donnie Yen, who appears to have mastered all of the martial arts disciplines available. Yen holds a Taekwondo 6th degree black belt, a Judo black belt and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. To top it all off, he has won several global Wushu tournaments, that qualifies him as a master in Jet Li’s field of confidence as well as a good performer in other areas. As a result, we must award Yen 9 points and Li 5 points in this category.
Combat Sports TV:
Physique
Li is 5’6″ tall. He is 57 years old and weighs 66 kg. Yen, on the other hand, is 57 years old and weighs 75 kg. We know they are both older but simply by looking at them, Yen appears to be the more toned of the two. He also appears to be in greater physical form than them despite their age. Li has been battling with health concerns, particularly hyperthyroidism for a long time. As a result, Yen wins this round. Yen gets a 7 and Li gets a 5.
Combat Sports TV:
Skills
Donnie Yen will be a difficult opponent for Li. Using a mix of martial arts skills, Donnie Yen’s fighting style is better suited to a street battle than Li’s. In fact, Li has been cited as saying that “keeping up with quick athletes may be tough”. He’ll be up against a powerhouse in Donnie. Donnie Yen triumphs once more. Yen gets a 9 and Li gets a 7.
Combat Sports TV:
Improvisation
It’s a little tough to predict who will win here. With Yen’s skillset, he could be able to come up with something in a street battle. Li, on the other hand, appears to be a more meticulous person. We’ll award it to Yen despite the fact that it’s a close call. Yen gets a 7 and Li gets a 6.
Combat Sports TV:
Final Standings
So, who emerges victorious in this hypothetical battle? Donnie Yen wins with 32 points, while Jet Li comes in with 23.
Combat Sports TV:
Conclusion
We feel Donnie Yen will have the upper hand in this sparring bout as you may have deduced from the preceding information. Even if we ignore health concerns and envision a situation in which both are at their best, the difference in intensity in which each pursues martial arts tilts the scales in Donnie Yen’s favour. First, he continued to explore and develop outside of the system he began with. And second, while Jet Li’s preference for inner being and using Wushu as an art form to express oneself is admirable, it’s not necessarily the best way to prepare for the final match. As he notes in his essay, “I can barely see what they are doing since they are moving so rapidly. There is also no taste. Wushu isn’t a sport. It shouldn’t be like other sports, where the athlete with the fastest time wins.”
This is, in our opinion, a landslide triumph for Donnie Yen. Do you agree with this statement? Leave your thoughts in the comments area. If you want to see more videos like this, press the subscribe button and the bell symbol next to it to make sure you don’t miss any of our future ones. Thank you for tuning in.
