American Shaolin

For the unrelated 2007 memoir American Shaolin, see Matthew Polly.

American Shaolin is a 1991 American martial arts film directed by Lucas Lowe and starring (among others) Reese Madigan, Kim Chan and Daniel Dae Kim.

American Shaolin
American Shaolin DVD Cover
Directed by	Lucas Lowe
Written by	Keith W. Strandberg
Produced by	Keith W. Strandberg
Starring	Reese Madigan Trent Bushey
Cinematography	Viking Chiu Luis Cubilles
Edited by	Allan Poon
Music by	Richard Yuen
Release date	1991 (1991)
Running time	106 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

While training for the Jersey Shore Karate Championship, ruthless and sadistic kickboxer Trevor Gottitall (Trent Bushey) is put up against a fierce and determined competitor. However, when the competitor's pants unexpectedly fall down during the fight, leaving him in his blue briefs as everybody in the room laughs at him, his humiliation distracts him long enough to allow Trevor to easily defeat him. Trevor's trainer uses this opportunity to remind Trevor that beating an opponent is not enough. He also must humiliate his opponent, so that whoever he’s fighting will fear him for life.

During the actual championship, Trevor makes it to the finals, where his opponent turns out to be teenager Drew Carson (Reese Madigan). Drew puts up a determined fight against Trevor, who decides that he must take his trainer's advice and humiliate Drew in order to win the match. Trevor pulls off Drew's belt, which causes Drew’s pants to fall down. Trevor then rips off Drew’s pants, sending Drew flying through the air and landing on the floor in his tighty whities, as the hundreds of spectators in the audience laugh mercilessly at him. Humiliated, Drew crawls out of the ring trying to cover himself up while being forced to endure the audience’s (and Trevor’s) laughter at his expense.

To add to the insult, Drew's teacher Master Kwan (Kim Chan) confesses that he is not—as he had claimed—a Shaolin monk, and therefore he had not passed on the actual knowledge of Shaolin kung fu to Drew. Determined to learn the actual art to prevent another such situation, Drew departs for China and arrives at the Shaolin Temple. At first, the monks do not let him enter, but with the help of a pretty tea shop waitress, Ashena (Alice Zhang Hung), and an old monk (Henry O) who gives him a decisive advise, he waits outside of the temple for a week, after which he manages to be admitted. The old monk also turns out to be the abbot of the temple, Master San De, and he and his stern taskmaster train Drew and a number of other young apprentices in the ways of the Shaolin.

At first Drew causes much trouble as his American teenage temperament clashes with the tranquility within the temple and with his fellow student, Gao (Daniel Dae Kim), but under the rigorous physical and mental training he both improves his fighting skills and learns the meaning of discipline, humility, and patience. He makes friends with Gao and also manages to pass the two final tests: the Test of Spirituality, and the Test of the Chamber. Accepted as a full-fledged member of the Shaolin Monastery, he accompanies—along with Ashena—a delegation of his fellow students and the abbot to a martial arts tournament in Shanghai.

At the tournament, Drew encounters Trevor once again. Trevor taunts Drew before proceeding with this match against Gao. Gao initially gains the upper hand, but Trevor resorts to his dirty fighting techniques and injures Gao. With Gao pinned against the ropes, Trevor demands a match against the "American Shaolin". Drew rises, but sits down again, refusing to fight Trevor on the principle of non-violence and selflessness. Infuriated, Trevor continues to beat up Gao and hurls him out of the ring. Encouraged by Master San De, Drew finally enters the ring to fight Trevor. Trevor immediately uses dirty tricks again by pantsing Drew and exposing his white boxer shorts to the crowd of spectators. But Drew prevails and even offers his hand to the defeated Trevor. The crowd voices their support for Shaolin, and Master San De declares that "this is the future of Shaolin".

Cast

• Reese Madigan as Drew Carson
• Trent Bushey as Trevor Gottitall
• Daniel Dae Kim as Gao Yun
• Kim Chan as Master Kwan, Drew's original teacher
• Billy Chang as Li
• Alice Zhang Hung as Ashena
• Cliff Lenderman as D.S. (short for "Drill Sergeant" as he was the head teacher of the newcomers at Shaolin)
• Henry O as Master San De, the Abbot of Shaolin Temple (credited under his birth name of Zhang Zhi Yen)
• Jean Louisa Kelly as Maria
• Andrew Shue as Competitor
• Tokey Hill as Trevor's Coach
• Marcos Antonio Miranda as Coach
• Paul Mormando as Trevor's Sparring Partner

Production

• During the only day of filming within the walls of the Forbidden City, the entire film cast and crew were inexplicably ordered to leave by the government, despite having been granted permission to shoot there. The principal photography on American Shaolin took place from May through late August 1991, two years after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and the filming, particularly within Beijing itself, was under heavy governmental scrutiny.
• In the United States, the film was released on video by Academy Entertainment as American Shaolin: King of the Kickboxers 2. Although both this film and The King of the Kickboxers share the same director, they are completely unrelated in terms of plot and characters. The film has never been released on DVD in the United States.
• The film was the debut performance of Daniel Dae Kim, who at the time was a Taekwondo black belt.
• The DVD is available in Australia.

External links

• American Shaolin at IMDb