Return to the 36th Chamber
The sequel to the legendary Shaw Brothers film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and the second of the 36th Chamber Trilogy, Return to the 36th Chamber continues the awesome performance of Gordon Lu as a Shaolin monk willing to break new ground in both tradition and the martial arts (though with a twist this time!).
Because the three films are only loosely connected, they can be watched in any order without losing continuity. As a child, my first exposure to the series was Return - making it my favorite.
If you're into kinetic fight choreography, quirky characters, and a robust sense of humor check it out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_the_36th_Chamber
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTW0lVM-qvE
This is my first dip into the Shaw Brothers, thanks to Netflix feeding me a ton of recommendations.
In the original 36th Chamber and Disciples, there's something going on with Canton and Munchuria. Google gave me information about WWII and Manchuko, but I can't tell if that's the backdrop to the conflicts that start these two films.
Can someone link me to some history about the time period these films are supposed to be set in, so I can get a better grasp of the subtext which the films seem to expect you to know, since it feels (to me) like it's in a cultural shorthand?
Thanks a ton!
San Te fights them one at a time, with no breaks between battles, in this order: Scorpion, Lizard, Toad, Snake, Centipede.
How far does he get?
Intro
Shaolin doesn't really have any dependable tricks you can just spam. You will need to assess your opponents at all times. Over the course of a match they will adapt and you will need to change with them to remain successful. In a 4v4 that means remembering that the JJ has dodged all your Sun Kicks and that the Shaman has been lighting you out of Qi stance for instance. In other words, you will need to remember each opponent's unique response to your mix ups. Shaolin relies heavily on conditioning your opponent, purposefully repeating the same pattern until they adjust to it, then exploiting that with your next attacks. Let's get in to it.
Getting in to Qi Stance Mix Ups
All your mix ups come from Qi stance and the main way in to Qi stance will be your neutral lights. Top light is 400ms and the sides are 500ms. Most players know this now and if they are playing static guard heroes, they will keep their guard top and react to your side lights. In regards to side lights, you will need to master both the double light in to Qi stance and the triple light. The double lights do 18 damage, with the third light doing 6, Qi Sun Kick to light doing 20, and Qi side heavy doing 30. So most of the time you will double light or top light to Qi stance since this can net you more dmg than triple light (though not guaranteed), but this muscle memory can screw you for instance if your opponent only has a bar left. In that case, you want to do your triple light instead since this will guarantee the kill.
Since your lights are the most common way to get in to Qi stance, many opponents will be expecting this and going for light parries. This will often give you free dmg with raw heavies which also get you in to Qi stance. Do this every now and again to keep them honest and make your lights safer to use. I've often gotten away with three raw heavies before they picked up on things and stopped going for light parries. This again is part of conditioning. Light until they get parry happy, heavy until they calm down, then go back to using lights etc.
The best general defense against Shaolin is to block top, react block side lights (or parry for the pros), and parry heavies. This neuters his offense and forces him to whiff to get in to Qi stance which is much easier to punish since he has no follow ups with hyper armor for trading. Shaolin's only answer to being attacked in Qi stance is his superior lights since he cannot dodge and cancelling has a very long
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Visceral attack during a lightning call! My heart's still beating so hard.
I see it every time I'm there early in the morning. Today it's seemingly wrapped around the block. What's up?
Shaolin's self to enemy teleport is absolutely stupid. It's a long range, un-counterable attack essentially. The only real way to deal with it is by standing with one's back to a ledge constantly, which isn't really a counter. After losing a dominion 1v1 to this very move I'm honestly fed up with it and want to see it either changed or removed entirely.
