A note about the weapons: One really clever thing about this fight is that these weapons were not just selected randomly, each of these weapons were meant to counter a straight sword, meaning Michelle Yeoh's character was thinking strategically throughout the fight. First she tries to overwhelm the Zhang Ziyi's single sword by doubling her weapons, and then chooses a spear which is supposed to outclass a sword in reach, then she tries to capture the sword with the hookblades, and then finally tries to outright smash through the sword with a sword breaker. She then decides to stop trying to outclass the green destiny but use it to her advantage, and chooses her last weapon in line with this strategy. Very smart action design with a ton of depth, as expected from the world class team behind this film.

fun fact about the spear - the red horsehair tassel is actually quite insidious. not only does it stop blood from getting onto the users hands after they poke a few holes in the opponent, it also functions as a distraction because of how brightly colored it is. the opponent will focus on the big red blob moving towards their face. if they try to block the red blob, they'll get hit by the smaller, harder to see metal point which is actually a few centimeters in front of the tassel.

I saw this in the movie theater. When Michelle Yeoh busted out the double handled straight sword. Some dude said "Yo. She got the Sword Of Omens out on her". Another dude yelled "Thundercats! Ho!" and the entire theater started laughing. I remember that to this day😂

This guy's pronunciation is class.

I finally finished the 32 chapters of romance of the three kingdom for my school project

Its a gentle mans sword. Scholars carry this sword

The hooked swords used to be displayed on the wall at my kung fu school. I never understood them. This video helped me under stand that I still don't understand them.

I used to think legendary weapons as a thing of fantasy, until I thought of the first guy to forge a sword out of meteoric iron in the bronze age.

I remembered this movie took the west by storm when it came out. Great cast, great story, great pair up of a yuen wo ping and Ang lee. It was the perfect storm. Thank you and I’m inspired to watch that movie all over again!

From the fight scene to the themes about freedom and choice.. man this movie hit hard. Just beautifully crafted.

Great fight choreography you motivated me to watch the movie again thanks

The double handed sword at the end was the only weapon not chosen personally by Ang Li. All the others were his choice for this iconic scene that has yet to be beat.

There will never be another movie like Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon. It was one of a kind. The flight scene where they were chasing each other on the roof and soundtrack was amazing. Everyone in the theater were applauding.

Sorry, you got one wrong. The one after the Monk's Spade is not 锏, but 鞭. It's a common mistake, as the two look very similar, and used the same way. They served as anti armor specialty weapons. Where 鞭 is rounded, 锏 has four edges, basically a cuboid.

This was a fun video. That fight scene was my favorite part of the movie. Thanks.

My first wuxia/kung fu movie ever in VHS. Still love it to this day

Thanks for explaining the difference between the mace and the whip. I've always wondered the difference. :)

Great rundown on the weapons used in what I think is one of the greatest fights ever filmed. Thanks also for the explanation of the weapons.

Bonus info:  Northern Kung-Fu holds spear left hand forward / Southern holds it right hand forward
Shaolin Kung-Fu is left hand forward, just FYI

It wasn’t a sword breaker, it was an actual Bian which was from the Spring and Autumn period. They varied in shape and material. Most today weight up to 8 kilograms and the technique Michelle Yeo showed is the right one. She used the weapon’s weight to block sideways as well as to swing it like a dao.

The double handed Jian was used in the Second World War against the longer katana (Chang dao or long sword version) of the Japanese army.
Mantis Kung fu has included it in their sophisticated material.
So, not as rare.