Dragon Fighter 1973 Crewneck Sweatshirt

Martial arts in movies are primarily traced back to early Chinese kung fu movies. This Far Eastern genre originated in the theatricality of Chinese opera and "Wuxia" novels, a romantic genre of Chinese folklore, often featuring a lone sword-wielding hero on a chivalric quest. The oldest films on record were shot in the '20s, most of which are lost to the sands of time. As the genre took off, mainland China banned Wuxia for promoting backwardness and superstition. The ban would last until the '80s, but production moved to Hong Kong during this time, and martial arts movies flourished. This was when Bruce Lee brought his kung fu martial arts to the screen, and these films gained worldwide recognition and popularity.