Scene of the Week: China O’Brien II – Back Alley Brawl

The China O’Brien films are two of my favorite martial arts movies, and that’s a sentiment I seem to share with most action fans my age. The movies are best known as starring vehicles for Cynthia Rothrock, who had found fame overseas and was now coming to dominate the American action movie market. The films served their purpose, enabling Rothrock to become a phenomenon while also boosting the careers of several of her co-stars. A perfect example of that is this Scene of the Week which reunites two stars from another action classic, The King of the Kickboxers, and features them battling on the back streets during China O’Brien II‘s third act.

Dakota (Keith Cooke, who played Prang in The King of the Kickboxers) is doing his part as one of China’s deputies by taking out several of ex-con Charlie Baskin’s thugs, when up walks one mean looking mofo in Reebok high tops and Zubaz pants. That badass is played by none other than Tae-Bo founder Billy Blanks (the villainous Khan from The King of the Kickboxers and the “kung fu janitor” in Showdown), who doesn’t seem too happy that the lawman in the leather jacket has just cleaned house on all of his friends. What follows is a fast, fun fight between the two martial artists that emphasizes Cooke’s precision and quickness and Blanks’ raw power. This has always been one of my favorite film fights, and I’m hoping that some day soon we’ll see an official Blu-ray release of China O’Brien II (Vinegar Syndrome, are you listening?). Until then, let’s all give thanks to YouTube for keeping this clip up so that we can enjoy one of the highlights from that film!