The transcript below is from the video “Knife Expert Breaks Down Donnie Yen’s Kill Zone Fight Scene | Scenic Fights” by Scenic Fights.

Logan Lo:

For a blunt object, I’m looking to hit bone. I’m looking to strike elbows, the wrist, side of the head, head. That’s really my primary target.

Logan Lo:

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Scenic Fights’ Fight Scene Breakdown. I’m Logan Lo and I’m here with Chad Vázquez. Today, we’re breaking down Donnie Yen’s and Wu Jing’s Kill Zone. If you like what you see, make sure to like, comment and subscribe. Alright! Here we go!

Logan Lo:

In this first exchange, I don’t know why Wu Jing would have it in an ice pick grip. I’d probably would have started it off in hammer grip. As I said in the John Wick video, for those people that hold it in an ice pick grip, they either really know what they are doing, or they don’t know what they’re doing.

Wu Jing is interesting because he spends most of his time with the blade out slashing. What I would’ve like to see a little bit of the blade in. If he came in with an outside number 1 diagonal slash, I would’ve like to have seen a pass.  Note that there is my capture. I can now grab the elbow for safety, and then I can do a tap, and then a stab. I can do a slash and do a stab, and do another stab here. If you’ve made the conscious decision to have it in an ice pick grip. You should use it to its maximum ability and that involves trapping.

Logan Lo:

And ideally trapping with the knife blade in, and cutting while you’re trapping. There are some traps that Wu Jing does. One trap that he does, when there is a strike coming in, I think it’s a backhand strike. Wu Jing comes in here and he traps it this way. Holding on to the hand. If I don’t hold on to the hand, Chad’s out.  If I do hold on to the hand, I have this. What I would want is, I would want the blade in so I can pull and cut him as I’m pulling in. What Chad wants to do; he wants to punch forward. Boom, then I lose my bite. And he can now pull away, and now we can fight again. Wu Jing took a hit in the back. Normally for weapons work, it’s almost like a boxing stance. You want to be light on your feet. You need to be able to move.

Logan Lo:

Wu Jing has essentially handicapped himself. He made himself small, and attacked the legs in the blender. It’s different if he was here and he throws a number one. Opening himself up.  Boom! I’m here.  I’m slashing or behind the leg. That’s different. That’s a different scenario.  Crouching down when you’re flanking the person is great. You’re cutting out the legs from underneath them literally. You do want to do that. But here, I have no chance at hitting his legs. I have no chance at hitting his leg before he hits me. The longer weapon comes in.  He’s doing a good job using all parts of the baton. I appreciate that.  When Wu Jing attacks with essentially just a straight thrust to Donnie Yen’s throat, like that. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, because I (Donnie Yen), have the superior weapon in terms of length.

Logan Lo:

And Donnie Yen, did exactly what he should’ve done, as he comes in here, he’s like woah, easy there, and just holds him (Wu Jing) back. Injuring him (Wu Jing) at the same time. He (Wu Jing) does it again and he (Donnie Yen) strikes him here, compressing his ribs, and crushing, probably breaking a few of those ribs.  Knives are certainly dangerous against stick fighters, but for what he (Wu Jing) did that lunging in as if he had a long weapon, when in fact he only had a short weapon, doesn’t make sense for this scenario.  I love what Donnie’s doing. He’s using all parts of the weapon.  Hitting high. Hitting low.  Charging in. And there are so many exchanges that is happening here, it’s really hard to see cause it all happens so fast, but essentially, every exchange, that happens, Donnie has an answer for.

Logan Lo:

So, every slash that comes in, Donnie responds, correctly. Wu Jing’s character should really be moving off to the side as much as possible. So, you should be trying to flank me as you go or flank to the other side.  We should be constantly circling each other, but, it’s very linear.  A couple things wrong with that. The reason why is, if he’s holding on to anything but my knuckles. He’s not going to catch me. So, all I need to do is pull my knife in, right and I flanked. I can see his back, that means I own him. It’s just like jujitsu, if I see that back, I own that back, and I’m taking that.  He flips the knife and he catches it, Wu Jing does. Yeah that was cool, I wouldn’t do it, but it’s cool. Donnie Yen’s character blocks this and Wu Jing’s character drops it and catches it and then attacks again. Also, very cool, also completely unnecessary.

Logan Lo:

So, I’m here and if I’ve come in, and I’m Wu Jing’s character, there’s nothing to stop me from either coming in, right, or pulling here and then coming in.  And from here, notice that I have a disarm, right here, and I can come in.  So, there’s no need to do the drop.  And Donnie Yen, just started wrapping.  Wu Jing disarms. Comes back.  Big overhand and he paid for that big overhand, that’s why you don’t wanna do the big overhand. Wu Jing is here, he’s able to bite into Donnie Yen’s wrist, and at the same time, he’s taking the stick and pulling it back, by pulling Donnie Yen is now disarmed. Wu Jing now has the weapon; Donnie Yen does not have a weapon.

Logan Lo:

Now Wu Jing is in a superior position so Donnie Yen has to either run or disarm Wu Jing. The interesting thing is there are so many schools that teach so many different ways to disarm this big aggressive icepick hit, but Donnie Yen didn’t actually do any of them.  He did something I never seen before, he did a two hand, two on one. Notice how week this is.  First of all, hold on tight. There’s nothing to keep me from pulling out at all. I think that they both chose the worst options. [Logan] For Wu Jing to come in with this big looping ice pick attack and for Donnie for stopping it with two hands. If I somehow, did go back, and control this, I would have probably wanted to take the weapon and attack him with it. Rather than allow him to keep it and somehow reverse on me and slash me or hurt me in some manner.

Logan Lo:

Wu Jing is coming with a big overhand right, Donnie Yen stops it this way, bends his arm back, forces it around, pulls it towards him, got the weapon in his right hand, stabs it into Wu Jing and then starts to eviscerate him this way.  I think what would make more sense for me in-terms of a disarm is:  Comes around, boom, here same thing, pop it out this way as well, and then I can come in and plunge it in his back and finish the fight that way.  Either way though getting stabbed in the stomach, probably not the way you wanna go. It’s going to hurt a lot and so again if you ever do find yourself in weapon’s fight, I would run, I would run if I could.

Logan Lo:

I have to say I really enjoyed watching Kill Zone. It’s a great scene. It’s very entertaining. Very frenetic. Action packed. Donnie Yen using the entire stick, the entire time. Using the tip, the side, the punyo part of it. Great, I love that part. There were other parts that I didn’t like, the fact that the person with the shorter weapon just kept charging forward rather than flanking.  Didn’t make a lot of sense and that’s what kinda bothers me, but you can tell that these two gentlemen definitely had real world weapon fight training. This disarming was great. The actual activities were great.  I thought it was really good overall.  Watch the full video for the visual breakdown and final grade: