Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast

Martial arts legend Ron Van Clief never wanted to be a movie star. Known as the 'Black Dragon' - a name originally given to him by Bruce Lee and adopted as his screen persona in a series of Hong Kong kung fu movies in the 1970s - Ron was dismayed at the lack of genuine martial artists he met when working in action movies. For the Brooklyn-born former US Marine and New York City cop, Ron's passion for the fighting arts was formed from an early age in real-life combat situations - the trauma of which still remain with him to this day. He fought in the Vietnam War where he lost his younger brother; in the early 1960s, he narrowly survived a lynching at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. The attack inspired the name of his autobiography, 'The Hanged Man', which has been made into a documentary by the martial artist and filmmaker, Robert Parham. In spite of this - and his continuing battle with PTSD - Ron remains steadfastly dedicated to developing his skills in the martial arts, with accolades too numerous to mention