Jean-Claude Van Damme's kicks, Jackie Chan's footwork is still the stuff of legend, with some of his kicks needing to be seen to be believed.

In truth, Jackie Chan's fighting style is better known for its trickery, agility, and ability to make a weapon out of any ordinary household object he happens to find lying around. But it's worth mentioning that Chan's amazing acrobatics, flexibility, and raw pain tolerance has allowed him to pull of a wide variety of gravity-defying kicks, turning his legs into deadly weapons. Wether done via the assistance of invisible wires or simply the result of Jackie Chan's real-life training and sheer athleticism, many of his on-screen kicks are worthy of iration .

10 The Backwards Drop-Kick

Armor of God

A particular specialty of Jackie Chan's combat style as far as kicking is concerned is his penchant for firing off kicks that utilize both feet at once. Finding a variety of ways to dropkick his opponent, Chan has made an art out of striking with both feet at once. A stellar example of this is in Armor of God, a film that serves as Jackie Chan's take on the Indiana Jones series, positing Chan as a similar sort of adventurer archaeologist. In one particularly standout fight, Chan's shrewdly-named Asian Hawk goes up against a coterie of female assassins.

Clad in tight outfights, boosted 80s hair, and high heels, the warrior women first present a deadly challenge for Jackie to overcome. Eventually, he's able to get the upper hand, with the tide of the battle officially shifting thanks to an incredible drop-kick. Simultaneously dodging the last standing femme fatale's desperate tackle, Chan falls backwards, kicking up with both feet and sending his attacker flying upwards. This amazing move proves that no angle is safe from Jackie Chan's powerful legs.

9 The Jumping Roundhouse

Dragons Forever

Even in a relatively serious fight, Jackie Chan is capable of quickly busting out moves that seem impossible to the average layperson. In Dragons Forever, Jackie Chan fires off a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kick against his companion after getting into a heated argument that soon turns into a brawl. As easily as breathing, Chan's character leaps into the air and fires off an airborne roundhouse kick that strikes in 360 degrees, barely giving his opponent enough time to dodge.

It's easy to overlook this kick, but slowing the scene down gives an insight into just how impressive it is. Jackie Chan is able to move seemingly freely in 3-Dimensional space, able to generate enough momentum to deliver a classic roundhouse without even having the benefit of another foot on solid ground. Even more amazing is the fact that Jackie Chan is able to deliver such a blow directly coming out of a dodge, his body twisting unnaturally.

8 The Wall-Jump Kick

Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars

In truth, Jackie Chan's infamous stunts have become more well-known than his kung fu moves, risking his body in a variety of death-defying acrobatic moves for the sake of a fight. In some rare instances, however, Chan is able to combine fighting and climbing into one smooth motion, as is seen in the climactic final fight of the film Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars. Here, Chan's character Muscles is tasked with protecting a famous starlet from a cabal of criminal assassins, doing so in a brilliant final confrontation.

In the final battle, Jackie Chan is impressively able to leap off of a forklift, giving himself enough momentum to deliver another signature double-legged kick to one of his attackers. This hard-to-believe maneuver showcases just how adept Jackie Chan is at effortlessly scaling objects, able to cling to them long enough to use them as a springboard to leap off of and give his attacks some extra oomph. It's hard to say any movie thug stands a chance against Jackie Chan using the environment to his advantage like this.

7 The Outside Crescent Wheel Kicks

Miracles

Sometimes it isn't a single isolated kick that stands out as being impressive within Jackie Chan's arsenal, but a combination of lightning fast blows that flow into one another as smoothly as a clear mountain stream. In Miracles, Jackie Chan demonstrates such an attack, playing a character that stumbles his way into becoming the leader of a deadly Hong Kong crime syndicate. At one point, Jackie Chan takes out another criminal with a precise barrage of three well-placed kicks.

First, Jackie leaps into a traditional spinning kick. While his prey manages to dodge this opening salvo, Chan soon follows up with a quick crescent kick that knocks the thug's hat off. To finish him off, Jackie transitions the motion into a low-lying sweep on the ground, knocking his opponent off his feet and onto the hard floor. This smooth assault of three back-to-back spinning kicks gives Jackie Chan's character the chance to quickly finish off a single opponent in a blinding flurry of pain.

6 The Capoeira Wheel Kick

Meals on Wheels

When it comes to flashy martial arts kicks, it's hard to beat capoeira. The real-life martial art has its origins in Brazil, developed by slaves who disguised the system's attacks as dancing, resulting in some dramatic, graceful spinning kicks that frequently put a capoeirista head-over-heels. Jackie Chan draws from capoeria in his legendary fight with real kickboxer Meals on Wheels, which gave him an opponent powerful enough to force his character to think outside the box.

Finally figuring out Urquidez's unnamed thug, Jackie Chan's character is able to psych him out, literally pointing out his feinted knee, leading to an exchange that ends with Jackie pivoting on one leg to spin his body at an unbelievable angle. Rotating on his hip, Jackie flings his head downwards while bringing his other leg up, delivering a thunderous blow to Urquidez and dodging his own attack in one fluid motion. The power of the strike noticeably rattles Urquidez, sending him reeling into a chair and leaving him bloodied and bruised.

5 The Kangaroo Kick

Police Story

The Police Story movies are full of stunts that put Jackie Chan's own body in great peril, including the kicks he uses in the first film's fight scene. In the first film, Police Story, Jackie Chan's Inspector Chan Ka-Kui is tasked with protecting a valuable witness from legions of thugs sent by a powerful Hong Kong crime boss. At one point, a battle against a couple of criminals sees him leaping across the rooftops of two parked cars, which soon become the centerpiece of the fight.

At one point, one of the attackers gets the bright idea to follow Inspector Ka-Kui up to the roof, engaging him on his own turf. Chan's character rewards the baddie for this intrusion by leaping up to deliver a booming two-footed dropkick that sends him flying into the car in front of them, cracking its windshield with his body. Not only does this kick take some real athleticism, but it also draws on Jackie Chan's pain tolerance, looking almost as painful to perform as it does to be on the receiving end of.

4 The Leapfrog Kick

Dragon Lord

Of course, Jackie Chan's double kicks continue to be a grand staple of his career, even very early on. In 1982's Dragon Lord, Jackie Chan once again plays a lone martial artist, Dragon, who gets in bad with a dangerous gang. At one point, Dragon gets involved in a tear-down fight with a gangster in an isolated barn. Of course, the setting is the perfect place for Jackie Chan to show off his ability to turn any location to his advantage.

Provoking his opponent, Jackie Chan runs up a ladder, an impressive enough feat on its own, as his attacker chases him. Amazingly, Jackie Chan's dragon is able to leapfrog off of the ladder and over the head of his opponent, lashing out with both feet at the apex of his jump to send him square into the wood head-first. Between the evasion, use of the environment, and classic twin-foot strike, this move is a classic example of Jackie Chan's strongest choreography early on into his career.

3 The Spinning Bird Kick

City Hunter

While Jackie Chan didn't star in the 90s Street Fighter movie, he put forth an arguably more faithful, if sillier, live-action adaptation of the video game series in City Hunter. Here, Jackie Chan's character is electrocuted by an arcade machine, which apparently causes him to hallucinate that the following fight against the film's antagonist is a live-action match of Street Fighter II. While the villain's Ken is initially able to beat Jackie Chan's E. Honda, Chan comes back with an unexpected character change, dres as the iconic Chun-Li.

Jackie Chan's imitation of Chun-Li's mannerisms are hilarious enough, but it's his interpretation of the video game character's famous Spinning Bird Kick that steals the show. With the help of wires, Chan holds himself upside-down in the air while spinning both of his legs like a helicopter, making the impossible fighting game special move a reality. The new Street Fighter movie will have a hard time topping this incredible spectacle.

2 The Butt Drop

The Young Master

ittedly, calling Jackie Chan's unbelievable final move in the last duel of The Young Master a kick is a bit of a stretch, but glutes are still an important part of the leg. Once again, Jackie Chan plays a young upstart named Dragon who faces off against an escaped criminal. In one of the longest fights of Jackie Chan's career, Dragon slowly gains his footing, officially turning the tide of the battle when he drinks from an opium pipe, imbuing him with a ferocious bloodlust and an impossibly high pain tolerance that allows him to close out the fight.

It's the move that Dragon uses to officially take down his opponent that comes as a shock. After lifting his fellow combatant up over his shoulders and dumping them on the ground, Dragon leaps into the air and comes down hard with a butt-slam that leaves a reverberating impact on the helpless convict. The gravity of this movie juxtaposes with the silliness of its execution in a way that needs to be seen to be believed.

1 The Lying Cross Kicks

Shanghai Knights

Shanghai Knights isn't even considered among the best films of Owen Wilson's career, let alone Jackie Chan's. However, if nothing else, the Anglophilic sequel to Shanghai Noon is notable for its dizzying final action scene, in which Jackie Chan gets a chance to fight fellow martial arts movie legend, Donnie Yen. Thwarting his assassination attempt, Chan's character has to engage Donnie Yen with the danger of an automatic gatling gun spinning and spraying bullets at head-level in a circle around them.

To avoid being riddled with holes, both opponents lay prone on the ground, still trading blows with one another and attempting to get each other to stand. Amazingly, despite lying on his back, Jackie Chan is still able to kick high enough to strike Donnie Yen at head level, wrenching his feet up to meet face in a stunning display of flexibility. It's a quick couple of blows Jackie Chan fires off with this technique, but it's a move that anyone who struggles with touching their toes can appreciate the skill of.