ok we all know of bruce lee jackie chan jet li ext?

Question

but are there any great martial artist women out there

and why aren't they heard of

Answer 1

At the risk of making this sound like a feminist tirade...
Probably you don't hear of female MAs as much because it's been male-dominated for so long. Most martial arts come from patriachial societies, such as Japan and China. Women traditionally weren't encouraged to learn the martial arts. Those who did were usually taught by their father, uncle, or a family friend.
In fact, judo wasn't taught to women until the early 1900s... and that was by a man who truly respected women and assigned them equal value, a trait that was very uncommon in Japan in those times. (Still is.)

But there have been many great female martial artists throughout history. Mok Kwei Lan for instance; she was known as the Tigress of Canton because of her kung fu skills. Also, it is a well-known fact within the martial arts world that wing chun was founded by a woman. Yu Niu, a female swordswoman, competed in a 7-day competition with over 3,000 contestants and she won.

There is also Cynitha Rothrock, Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh, well-known female action heroes. (Well, OK, maybe not so much Zhang Ziyi, but she still kicks butt. :D )
Side note: Interestingly, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi had no prior martial arts experience before they started acting. They simply did what the fight choreographer told them to do, and they adapted to martial arts so well because they had an extensive dance background.

As time goes on, hopefully we'll see more of these great female martial artists.

Answer 2

Bruce FREAKIN' Lee man! Go get the collection. This dude beat up Chuck Norris. He tore that fool up. Seriously, Bruce Lee is the truth and always will be the truth. If he were alive, he be about 68 or so. He would still give it to them. I would have to go Jet Li over Jackie Chan because he's a little younger.

Answer 3

Yes their is. Their is a few, their is this one woman young, nicknamed the "Mouse" and was in Kickboxer III or IV she has been in a few films. Not super popular yet, but ive seen her in tournaments run by USAKF and AAU and she is good in form so I can see why she was chosen.

Then you cannot forget the 80's and early 90's with Cynthia Rothrock. SHe made A LOT of B rated MA films.

Other than that I cannot think of any others Lucy Lui but I am not sure how much of hers is real MA and how much is Hollywood.

There are many great female MA but as to why they are not famous i cannot say, that may not stay that way long. In my only opinion I can think of is that the arts were a male dominated art for so many centuries that woman are only in the last couple centuries being allowed to learn the arts openly so maybe that has something to do with it, you cannot go back to the 1900's and 1800's and find female Grandmasters of the era.

Today I am sure you can find female masters, I know a few Shihans personally.

Answer 4

Actually, there were quite a few female martial artists who starred in movies during the 80s and 90s, but most of them starred in B movies which didn't get much international exposure, some of which went straight to video, others appeared in television shows. So only a true blue martial arts movie enthusiast or just a plain movie freak(like me) remember them : P These are some of them that I remember....Karen Shepherd, Cynthia Rothrock, Graciela Casillas, Kathy Long, June Castro, Michelle"The Mouse" Krasnoo and Christine Bannon Rodrigues. Contrary to popular belief, Michelle Yeoh and Zang Zi Yi are actually actresses with backgrounds in Ballet dancing and are not true martial artists, they just perform choreographed martial arts moves in movies.


P.S. Here's a little movie trivia...Did you know that Oscar winner Hilary Swank, the star of such movies as "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Reaping" starred as Mr. Miyagi's new student in the fourth installment of the the Karate Kid series? Check it out, it's titled "The Next Karate Kid" : D

Answer 5

Michelle Yeoh

Answer 6

jet li is the best