In the 80s in Hong Kong, kung fu movies were very popular, and there were many kung fu superstars, such as Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Zhen Zidan, etc., but when it comes to the real martial arts master, it must be Yu Hai, who is Jet Li's master in "Shaolin Temple".
Yu Hai, born on July 18, 1942 in Yantai, Shandong Province, learned the authentic mantis fist in 1954 under the guidance of Mr. Lin Jingshan, the descendant of the Seven Stars Mantis Fist.
In 1958, when participating in the national, provincial and municipal martial arts competitions, he broke through three levels in a row, and was recruited by the Shandong Provincial Institute of Physical Education and Sports Technology with excellent moral and technical results, becoming a national official martial arts athlete; in the same year, he represented the Shandong Provincial Wushu Team to participate in major competitions held in East China and the whole country, and won the champion of swordplay, stickplay, mantis boxing and all-around champion for many times.
In 1960, the whole country twice formed a Chinese martial arts delegation, Yu Hai accompanied the delegation to visit Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, and at the end of the year, accompanied by Premier Zhou Enlai and Foreign Minister Chen Yi, he visited Myanmar.
In 1982, Yu Hai co-filmed the martial arts film "Shaolin Temple" directed by Zhang Xinyan, with martial arts star Jet Li, in which Yu Hai played the master and also served as the action martial arts director of the film. With the image of a strict teacher and a loving father in the film, it has won the love of the majority of audiences.
In 1986, he played the role of a master in the film "North and South Shaolin" directed by Liu Jialiang.
In 1990, he starred in the costume film "Elder Tongtian" directed by Yao Shoukang, in which he played Elder Tongtian.
In 1993, he starred in the film "Taiji Zhang Sanfeng" directed by Yuan Heping, playing the role of Master Bo in the film.
In 1999, Yu Hai co-starred with Wu Jing in the martial arts TV series "New Shaolin Temple" directed by Zhang Xinyan, playing the role of "Generation Grandmaster" Tan Zong.
In 2012, he co-starred with Hong Kong film star Cheng Ka Ying in the historical TV series "Ip Man" directed by Fan Xiaotian and played Dong Zhanpeng in the play.
Yu Hai relied on his years of research, and hundreds of mantises in the same room, on the basis of the original "mantis fist" made improvements, so he is known as a generation of "mantis fist" master, and now 77 years old, still alive and well. His life has made great contributions to the cause of Chinese martial arts, and I hope that he can spend more time with his family and enjoy the joy of heaven in his later years.