Bolo Yeung - interesting facts from life

Bolo Yeung (Chinese: 楊斯, simplified 杨斯, Yáng Sī) is a Chinese actor and bodybuilder.
Yang Ci is the son of a businessman from the suburbs of Guangzhou (Europeans used to call him Canton). The future actor was born on July 3, 1946 and, like many young compatriots, from a young age was engaged in kung fu and acrobatics under the guidance of local teachers. Already at this stage of life, Bolo Yeung shows individuality: he shows interest in hard physical work (lifting weights), unlike most of his peers, who focus only on technique. His body, developed from heavy loads, allowed him to stand out among his young comrades. He has always combined martial arts and strength training, and very successfully.His passion for lifting weights eventually made him the champion of China in powerlifting.





In the mid-60s, avoiding the "bright" communist future or simply in search of new opportunities, the young athlete swam from China to Hong Kong. Even if it's just a legend, it's very easy to believe!



In his new place, Jan began to earn money by teaching bodybuilding and continued to train hard. In the 70s, he won the title of "Mr. Hong Kong", which he held for 10 years. From the late 70s to the late 80s, he repeatedly became the champion of Southeast Asia in kempo (hand-to-hand combat) and even in the 90s he still successfully participated in competitions.



But contrary to the popular misconception of moviegoers who carefully read the credits of the film "Enter the Dragon", Bolo has never been a "champion of Shotokan karate", moreover, he has never been engaged in this type of martial art.



In Hong Kong, the outstanding strongman, of course, was quickly taken note of by the agents of film studios, and in 1969 he was offered a role in the film Shaw Brothers. Until 1971, until Yang Ci parted with this studio, he constantly played hefty brutal villains. The more he built up muscle mass, the larger the roles became, and the more terrible the villains became in his performance. This career would have continued in the same vein if Yang Ci had not met Bruce Lee during the auditions for the Winston cigarette commercial. They struck up a friendship, and in 1973, Bruce invited a friend to play the role of Bolo, the bodyguard of his main on-screen opponent in the film Enter the Dragon.



Filming with Bruce Lee
This role was not too different from the tired role, but the opportunity to star with Bruce Lee would have pleased anyone. During the filming, Yang and Lee became good friends, often training together and discussing kung fu techniques. The main disappointment of visitors to video salons of those years was that the script did not provide for a fight between him and Bruce. The dragon joked: "I will kill you in the next film." This film was supposed to be "Game of Death", on the set of which it was planned to gather masters of a wide variety of styles, but... A week before the premiere of Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee suddenly died.



Touching the legend, of course, greatly influenced the entire further career of Yang Ci - in the 70-80s, he starred in a hundred films about martial arts. And it is thanks to this film that the actor still proudly bears the pseudonym "Bolo Yeung".



Many years later, preparing his son Bruce Lee for the filming of the film Legacy of Fury, Bolo showed extraordinary patience, which, of course, he is reluctant to talk about. Brandon Lee needed to be turned into a plausible opponent in a matter of weeks, and Bolo booked the gym for 9 a.m. so as not to break the routine. The rising star appeared at noon, explaining that he danced in the morning, and came to train only because the producers demanded it.



Van Damme's film "Bloodsport", and then "Double Blow", "Tiger's Claw" and the like again returned Bolo Yeung to the cage of popular actors. And finally, in the "Strongest Blow" dilogy, the "beast from China" got his chance to play the "good guy"! Here, with the standard lack of initiative on the part of the scriptwriter, cameraman and other participants in the process, all his supernatural abilities came in handy, capable of arousing the admiration of the viewer. In the future, Bolo Yeng's filmography quickly faded away. In recent years, the actor has starred in only two films: Close Combat (2007) and The World at Our Feet (2013)



Meanwhile, in real life, which he wisely prefers not to talk about, Bolo Yeung is not so scary and is just a positive hero. He is a respectable father of 2 sons, the eldest of whom, Denny, was born in the late 70s, even before his father moved to the United States. The youngest, David, was born in 1982 and from the age of 6 trained under the guidance of Bolo himself. At the age of 12, he earned a black belt and to this day he is improving in kung fu, karate, taekwondo, yoga and acrobatics. On the American blue screens, David first appeared in the show "Treat Yourself to Tonight". In the film "Painted Faces", he is among the best students of Samo Hung. This flashback film is dedicated to the history, morals, and harsh way of life of students of the Peking Opera School, better known as the place of study of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, and their teacher, master Yu Jim Yuen. According to unverified reports, Bolo Yeng also has a daughter.



Master Yang is the General Manager of The Tapei International Federation Of Body Builders and Chairman of The Hong Kong Gym Business Association. Every morning, he starts with a two-hour resistance training, qigong practice, and performing the Yang family's Tai Chi forms.