\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.i-scmp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/1280x720\/public\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2025\/10\/31\/ba9acf48-afdb-4aac-86c8-8e9ed8e9e48d_4d10d76d.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Hong Kong actor Chan Koon-tai may not have been the best-looking of Chang Cheh\u2019s \u201csecond wave\u201d of martial arts heroes in the early 1970s, but unlike his colleagues, he had studied martial arts before embarking on his film career.<\/p>\n
Chan had trained in the \u201cMonkey and Axe Hammer\u201d style since he was seven and was a regional kung fu champion. His exceptional martial skills saw directors put him to good use on the screen.<\/p>\n
Co-directed by Chang Cheh and Pao Hsueh-li, who also co-directed Boxer<\/em>, the story is much leaner than the original and does not possess its epic sweep.<\/p>\n Man of Iron<\/em> is more of a standard one-against-many revenge tale, but its straightforward nature makes for an unencumbered watch and provides a good enough framework to display Chan\u2019s top-notch kung fu skills.<\/p>\n \u201cThey thought I could be a rival to Lee, as I was an action star with real-life martial arts training,\u201d Chan said in the Hong Kong Film Archive\u2019s Oral History series.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBack in 1972, Shaw Brothers studio wanted to capitalise on Chan\u2019s kung fu prowess to set him up as a rival to Bruce Lee<\/span>, who was signed to Shaw\u2019s competitor Golden Harvest.<\/div>\n