History Film / The36thChamberOfShaolin

* TheBlacksmith: After leaving Shaolin, San Te happens upon a brawl between a local blacksmith and three Manchu soldiers. Although the smith is clearly very skilled and immensely strong, the soldiers' superior numbers are getting the better of him until San Te advises him to shorten his grip on his [[DropTheHammer hammer]] (a trick he picked up from the Fourth Chamber). With this technique, the blacksmith wins the fight and becomes one of San Te's disciples.

* WaxOnWaxOff: The methods of training in the early chambers are all pretty bizarre (and hurtful, even) but the monks explain in detail what every chamber is supposed to develop their strength, endurance and agility in some way, which then gets put into practice later on in the advanced chamber via muscle memory.
** As per the TropeNamer, some of the exercises have the benefit of getting some necessary work done, like the monastery's laundry.

* MartialArtsStaff: During San Te's first bout with the Justice Officer, he uses a simple bo staff. After that fails, he switches to a [[BladeOnAStick Shaolin spade]], before eventually building a three-section staff, with which he finally triumphs. This remains his weapon of choice for the rest of the film.

* DevilsAdvocate: The Justice Officer seems to consider it his job to test San Te's worthiness for his meteoric advancement. He even (politely!) challenges the abbot on the subject.

The 1978 [[MartialArtsMovie martial arts film]] produced by Creator/ShawBrothers, starring Creator/GordonLiu, considered one of the greatest and influential martial arts films of all time by many film fans.

The rap group Music/WuTangClan are big fans of this movie, and gave their debut album the subtitle "36 Chambers" in its honour. Wu-Tang member Masta Killa also takes his name from a MarketBasedTitle this movie had.

The rap group Music/WuTangClan are big fans of this movie, and gave their debut album the subtitle "36 Chambers" in its honour.

* BaldHeadOfToughness / BaldMystic: San Te's shaved head signals that he is the more mystical kind of tough guy.

* ImportantHaircut: Yu-De's full head of hair (pretty clearly a wig) disappears in a time skip after he joins the monastery, and he sports a shaved head for the rest of the film. This would become Gordon Liu's signature look for most of his career.

* ImportantHaircut: Yu-De's full head of hair (pretty clearly a wig) disappears in a time skip after he joins the monastery, and he sports a [[BaldOfAwesome shaved head for the rest of the film]]. This would become Gordon Liu's signature look for most of his career.

* ChekhovsSkill: Every single idiosyncratic skill San Te learns in training turns out to be useful in a fight outside of the monastary.

* InstantExpert: Relatively speaking. San Te masters all the chambers in record time, and is promoted 8 times during the 5 years he is there. However, he does fail the first few times at basically every one of the chambers, as well as his duel with the Justice Officer, emphasizing that - while an extremely fast learner - none of this is coming easily to him. He succeeds because he puts in the work.

* TookALevelInBadass: Liu Yu-De goes from politically-active but over-his-head student to becoming San Te, badass Shaolin martial artist, who returns to his home town and leads a successful uprising against the corrupt government.
* TrainingFromHell: The protagonist subjected to such training alongside other trainees at the temple, including carrying heavy buckets of water with arms held straight out to the sides (with bladed bracelets that cut into trainees' ribs if they lower their arms) and having to ring a bell with a heavy, long-handled hammer. With one arm, as long as one's wrists can take it. While strenous and painful, it's not for the sake of sadism -- the monks make clear what each training method is supposed to develop their strength, agility and endurance necessary for the more advanced training later on, when [[WaxOnWaxOff they utilise their previously honed skills via muscle memory]] in the context of hand-to-hand and weapon-based combat.

* UseYourHead: The Head Chamber conditions your head's toughness. San Te uses headbutts often in subsequent fights.

A failed assassination attempt by a rebel leader inspires some young men to join the local Canton rebellion, only for the Manchu government (led by Creator/LoLieh) to find out about their involvement. In order to crush the local rebellion they begin a brutal campaign to exterminate the rebels, leaving one wounded and desperate student, Liu Yu-de, to seek refuge at a secretive monastery. Fueled by his desire for justice over his loss of family and friends at the hands of the Manchu, he undergoes a grueling program of martial arts training that hones his strength, agility, and endurance in order to defeat his enemies.

* HardWorkMontage: Not an UrExample but one of the earliest examples and unique instead of glossing over what he does to improve, the film goes into great detail early on at least to show him learning how to get of the basic steps that each chamber is supposed to instill.
* InstantExpert: Relatively speaking. San Te masters all the chambers in record time, and is promoted 8 times during the 5 years he is there.

* RiteOfPassage: Liu Yu-de, after being accepted into the Shaolin monastary is renamed and his advancement through the 35 chambers is seen as something like a RiteOfPassage.

* ItsPronouncedTropay: When San-Te is trying to get something to eat, he falls into the water when trying to cross the wooden planks to the cafeteria. Knowing that he has to hurry or starve, he tries to enter soaking wet only to be stopped by a monk who calmly says "Do not enter the dining hall until you are fully cleans-zed."

A failed assassination attempt by a rebel leader inspires some young men to join the local Canton rebellion, only for the Manchu government to find out about their involvement. In order to crush the local rebellion they begin a brutal campaign to exterminate the rebels, leaving one wounded and desperate student, Liu Yu-de, to seek refuge at a secretive monastery. Fueled by his desire for justice over his loss of family and friends at the hands of the Manchu, he undergoes a grueling program of martial arts training that hones his strength, agility, and endurance in order to defeat his enemies.

** As per the TropeNamer, some of the exercises have the benefit of getting some necessary work done,like the monastery's laundry.

The 1978 [[MartialArtsMovie martial arts film]], starring Creator/GordonLiu, considered one of the greatest and influential martial arts films of all time by many film fans.