I recently asked the mancouch ranks
if Tony Jaa was the new Bruce Lee. The answer in the comments section was a resounding "NO! LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU! NO, NO, NO, YOU'RE ALL WRONG!"
I concede defeat, but an interesting discussion did break out in the comments and that was comparing Tony Jaa to Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
So, this got me to wondering, which one of these martial arts masters would win in a fight? Now, Jet Li is 46 and Jackie Chan is 55 while Tony Jaa is only 33 so it's not exactly a fair fight. That's why we're going exclusively by the "in their prime" standard.
Personally, I'm going with Tony Jaa, but that may be my mancrush for him overwhleming the fury of Jet Li's Wushu. But let's see what you guys think.
And if you don't know who Tony Jaa is (and some out there still don't) google the hell out of him right now. It's the least you could do for yourself today.
In their primes, who would win in a 3-way battle royale: Jet Li, Jackie Chan, or Tony Jaa?
Comments (58)
Jet Li. He'd slice 'em and dice 'em and carve up a mean dish. He'd only break a sweat while pulling said dish out of the oven. Those things can get mighty hot.
in their primes i'll have to go with jet li
In a street fight, Jackie Chan in his prime. Resourceful, acrobatic, athletic, and crosstraining in many different arts including kickboxing and Wing Chun.
jet li, no question.
Definitely Jet Li.
@B2yan_C@xanga - I'm not sure, (gotta check my sources) but I think Jackie Chan was trained more to entertain while fighting than trained to win a fight.. Like all the flips and spins he does, it wouldn't help in a real fight. It'd just waste time- he could be punching someone instead of flipping in the air. And you don't need to do a flip in order to dodge a hit..moving to the side is enough.
Jet Li would win. He has more training in all types of weapons, so he isn't limited to just his arms and legs like Jaa. I won't even consider Jackie Chan, cuz he's more of an entertainer than a fighter.
Jacki Chan has never been and will never be a martial artist. He is an acrobat. A clown really ( by training). His Kung-Fu flourishes are all show and really quite absurd. he's a great entertainer. Nothing more , nothing less.
Jet Li was several times the champion of Wushu in China. He's the real deal. He's superfast. If you go by brute force alone, Tony Jaa would win. But I think ultimately Jet Li will prevail. He has more inner control.
@justaloner@xanga - Ong Bak 2 = Tony Jaa + Weapons
@justaloner@xanga - Where that is all true, it does show that jackie has way more versatility with any environment that is thrown at him..though yeah, he is an entertainer.
I have to give it to Jackie though just because...well, loved his movies the most.
@nprospect - Ah. My bad. Only saw the first one. But I still think Jet Li would win.
@justaloner@xanga -You seem to have Jet Li and Jackie Chan confused in some ways. Jet Li was a Wushu champion who also trained Shaolin, meaning most of his martial arts are for show and look like beautiful dance moves. Not to say Jet Li probably hasn't trained in anything else, but he's mainly a Wushu martial artist, which makes for amazing beautiful butterfly kicks and 9
Jackie Chan has trained in the following: Kung Fu (Wing Chun, Mantis, Bak Mei, Shaolin [from Opera School days]), Kickboxing, Hapkido, Judo, and Tae Kwon Do. He has said that his personal fighting style is probably a mix of Wing Chun and a few other striking arts. More functional than flashy at all.
@justaloner@xanga - Jet Li's Wu Shu was for exhibition competition, not for practical use. See above paragraph for Chan's training. Hm.
Jackie Chan, just because he's Jackie Chan. He was my idol growing up. D:
I believe I was called each of these and then some today at a party lol
Jet Li.. because Tony Jaa is just whatever, and Jackie Chan says himself that he is not a martial artist.
Tony Jaa should be the best out of them followed by Jet Li, then Jackie.
Tony Jaa fights like a real man on the streets - barefisted and raw. He doesn't need fancy wushu steps or fancy stunts to make box office hits. Plus he can really act.
Jet Li has gone soft and his recent US movies sucks. He needs to go back to his roots.
Jackie Chan has become an acrobatic circus clown. That man can't act to save his life.
tony jaa for his ability to use ANYTHING as a weapon. also, he does ALL of his own stunts. ALLLLLLLL.
Jet Li=)
Jet Li got this one
Jet Li, FTW
its almost insulting to pit them against each other in a way i wouldn't dare say that any of them have lost skill so much as altered their skills. Jackie Chan is very much so a traditional kung fu martial artist and thats what it is fighting in an artistic way. Aside from that they use completely different styles so it would depend more upon the effectiveness of whatever style they were using and mastery of it as well as individual skill. Sometimes aging gives you even more skill so although styles have changed i wouldn't doubt the skill of any of them yet today. Jet li used to be about speed, tony jaa about power, and jackie was innovative and acrobatic so it could end up being luck that ultimately decided a winner so from a subjective unbiased point i'd say its pretty well split
I vote for Michelle Yoeh.
tony jaa, then jet li.... and at very last place, jackie chan
JET LI, FTW.
I am pretty upset that Donnie Yen isn't mentioned here. He recently played "Ip Man" as Bruce Lee's master and his moves are sick.
I'm pretty sure that Jackie Chan is not a master of any style of martial art. Yes, he had training, but no more than enough to augment his acting and choreography and stunts.
I don't think he should be considered in this competition