An action icon in the world of martial arts cinema has passed.

Corey Yuen, a former stuntman and actor turned stunt coordinator in both Hong Kong and the West, had passed away in 2022. However, his death was kept quiet until earlier today, when Yuen’s former classmate and fellow action icon Jackie Chan announced the news on his Weibo.

Corey Yuen Kwai was born Ying Gang-Ming on February 15, 1951 in Hong Kong. He joined the China Opera Academy run by the late Sifu Yu Jim-Yuen, where under the name “Yuen Kwai”, was a member of the Seven Little Fortunes troupe. Members of the troupe included Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Ng Ming-Tsoi, and Meng Yuen-Man.

In 1968, Yuen made his film debut in The Jade Raksha in a small role. Yuen would continue work in small roles and made his debut as a martial arts fight director in Duel of the Dragons in 1973. He earned his first major role as the student of Hwang Jung-Lee’s villain “Rubber Legs” in 1979’s Dance of the Drunk Mantis, an official sequel to 1978’s Drunken Master.

The 1980s would be the breakout decade for Yuen. Aside from his work in Hong Kong, he would break ground when he teamed up with producer Ng See-Yuen on the 1985 film No Retreat, No Surrender. The film would be known for its Hong Kong-style choreography in a modern American setting, with Kurt McKinney, the late Kim Tae-Jeong as the spirit of Bruce Lee, and the Belgian powerhouse that is Jean-Claude Van Damme. Yuen would also help launch the career of Loren Avedon when he directed the martial artist in No Retreat, No Surrender II: Raging Thunder.

Yuen had worked with the likes of Stephen Chow, Joyce Godenzi, and many others throughout the 1990s. In 1998, Hollywood came calling when Yuen was hired as the martial arts choreographer for Jet Li in Lethal Weapon 4. This led to a massive collaboration with Yuen and Li as they worked together on films like Romeo Must Die, The One, and Cradle 2 the Grave. He also worked as the martial arts chorographer for the Wolverine-Mystique fight in X-Men, which was assisted by Ke Huy Quan. In 2002, Yuen directed The Transporter for Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp, which gave us a martial arts fighting Jason Statham and worked on the 2005 sequel. In 2006, Yuen was hired to direct the live-action adaptation of the video game franchise with DOA: Dead or Alive before working as choreographer on the Li-Statham vehicle War.

Yuen would end up going back to Hong Kong and China to continue working on his career. His last film was 2017’s Soccer Killer, which he acted and served as martial arts director.

Yuen is survived by his family and friends. WorldFilmGeek sends its condolences to the family of Corey Yuen. Here is a video uploaded by Hoang Danh which shows Corey Yuen talking about his style of action: