wire-fu

wire-fu
(wire-foo)
n.
A cinematic technique in which actors perform kung-fu moves while attached to wires and pulleys that make them appear to fly, run up walls, and so on.
Example Citation:
"Cinematographer Peter Pau and fight choreographer Yuen Woo Ping use the technique of 'wire-fu,' or kung-fu aided by wires and pulleys to give the characters on screen superhuman techniques."
— Michael Ferrara, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' may clean up at Oscars," East Carolinian, March 8, 2001
Earliest Citation:
If you need to take a kid in that difficult post-Disney-but-pre-teen demographic to the movies you could do significantly worse than Warriors of Virtue, which stitches together kid-pic bits and pieces from The Neverending Story to The Karate Kid, all the while giving it a wire-fu spin.
— Gary Dauphin, "Warriors of Virtue," The Village Voice, May 13, 1997
Notes:
Jet Li ("Romeo Must Die") is generally credited with inventing the wire-fu technique back in Hong Kong where he has worked in dozens of martial arts films. The term wire-fu hit the mainstream in a 1997 Village Voice article (see the earliest citation, below).
This is as good a place as any to mention the word chopsocky, which refers to a low-end martial arts film that features mostly fight sequences with little or no plot. The word is most likely a blend of chop suey, "a Chinese-American dish of shredded meat and mixed vegatables" and the verb sock, "to hit somebody or something hard, especially with a fist." This word has been in the lexicon since the late 70s:
Not that actor Stan Shaw, 25, a second-degree black belt in karate, was having trouble getting work. He got to play bone-crushers on TV cop shows, a martial arts maestro in a chopsocky melodrama called 'TNT Jackson,' a Jackie Robinson character in 'The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings.'
— Art Harris, "One of Company C's Troops Takes a Big Step Forward," The Washington Post, February 10, 1978
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  • Wire — (w[imac]r), n. [OE. wir, AS. wir; akin to Icel. v[=i]rr, Dan. vire, LG. wir, wire; cf. OHG. wiara fine gold; perhaps akin to E. withy. [root]141.] [1913 Webster] 1. A thread or slender rod of metal; a metallic substance formed to an even thread… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wire — Колин Ньюман, 2008 Основная информация …   Википедия

  • wire — [wīr] n. [ME < OE wir, akin to LowG wīr < IE * weir < base * wei , to bend, turn > WITHE, Gr iris, rainbow, L vitis, vine] 1. metal that has been drawn into a very long, thin thread or rod, usually circular in cross section 2. a… …   English World dictionary

  • Wire — Wire, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wired}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wiring}.] 1. To bind with wire; to attach with wires; to apply wire to; as, to wire corks in bottling liquors. [1913 Webster] 2. To put upon a wire; as, to wire beads. [1913 Webster] 3. To snare …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wire — [waɪə ǁ waɪr] verb [transitive] 1. to send money electronically from one bank to another: • Prosecutors said Burks moved $45,000 to his girlfriend and wired $13,300 to a bank account in Florida. 2. also wire something up to connect something to a …   Financial and business terms

  • WIRE — (engl. „Draht“, „Leitung“) steht für: Wire (Messe), eine internationale Draht und Kabel Fachmesse in Düsseldorf Wire (Band), eine (Post)Punk und Rockband aus London (ab 1976) The Wire, eine US amerikanische Fernsehserie von David Simon WIRE… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wire — (engl. „Draht“, „Leitung“) steht für: Wire (Messe), eine internationale Draht und Kabel Fachmesse in Düsseldorf Wire (Band), eine (Post)Punk und Rockband aus London (ab 1976) The Wire, eine US amerikanische Fernsehserie von David Simon The Wire… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wire fu — is an element of Hong Kong action cinema, exemplified by the work of Tsui Hark, Yuen Woo ping, and Jet Li, that has been appropriated by Hollywood. [cite book|pages=125|title=Contemporary World Cinema: Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South …   Wikipedia

  • wire — ► NOUN 1) metal drawn out into a thin flexible thread or rod. 2) a length or quantity of wire used for fencing, to carry an electric current, etc. 3) a concealed electronic listening device. 4) informal a telegram. ► VERB 1) install electric… …   English terms dictionary

  • Wire — Wire, v. i. 1. To pass like a wire; to flow in a wirelike form, or in a tenuous stream. [R.] P. Fletcher. [1913 Webster] 2. To send a telegraphic message. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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