Swordsman II

            The Swordsman II is a very compelling movie that defies and crosses the norm of the usual martial arts movie. Its roots go back to traditional Chinese martial arts, but the cinematography and special effects are quit up to par with western films like the Matrix. .
             Ching Siu-teng uses excellent camera work and a well -crafted plot to carefully construct his film the Swordsman II. The overall plot and reasoning behind the film is quit similar to the western film the Matrix. The Dawn and his elite specialized team of martial artists are planning to take control of the world with the power of alchemy. Through mysticism and sacred texts the team can ignite supernatural powers allowing them to engage in warfare. These powers the characters posse, give them some kind of godliness over ordinary people. Everyone seems too oblivious to the powers of the Dawn. Their goal is to take control of the world we know and enslave the human race under the Dawn rule. Their sacred leader uses alchemy to transform his material body into a feminine figure to fool his rival enemy Zen, a Wu loyalist.
             Martial arts alone holds ground to a very sacred and mystical form of self-control and self-awareness. It's been practiced long ago, and is a huge part of ancient Chinese culture. Tai Chi Chuan is one of China's oldest and most sacred forms of martial arts. There are many different stories concerning its origins and creation. The most popular myth is that of Zhang San Feng, "a Taoist who had already mastered Shaolin Boxing, caught sight of a crane fighting a snake. Intrigued by the yielding, smooth evasion and darting counter attacks of both creatures he was inspired to develop a form of boxing, which would embody the natural philosophy of the Tao."( ZHONG DING, http://www.zhong-ding.com/about.htm) .
             There are many benefits and spiritual aspects of Chinese martial arts. It promotes natural correct posture "stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which results in a decrease in heart rate and dilation of the blood vessels resulting in improvement in the circulation.