When Jackie Chan first made waves in Hollywood, many saw him as Bruce Lee’s successor. However, Chan developed his own style of action cinema. Jackie captivated the audience with his acrobatics and martial art skills. However, he had to go through grueling training from the age of six to gain mastery of Chinese kung fu.

After ruling Hong Kong cinema for decades, Jackie Chan revolutionized the action comedy genre in Hollywood. In 2010, the celebrated international star appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. During the segment, Ross asked Jackie about his experience at a Peking Opera School.

A day in the life of Jackie Chan at opera school

Ross said most Americans think of an opera school as a place where people learn to sing and dance. However, he also said the school taught the tradition of Peking dramatic arts coupled with martial arts training. “How old were you?” Ross asked Chan. Chan replied he was six and a half years old when he joined the opera school.

Ross asked Jackie to explain the training routine at the school. Jackie said he and his fellow students woke up at 5 a.m. “First is a run without bouncing, and with two full cups of water in hand,” said the martial arts legend. Chan explained while running, he needed to keep the upper body stable while moving the legs. He also said that everyone carried two cups of water in their hands while running.

If someone dropped the cups or spilled water, the teachers would punish them. After running with the cups, everyone had to do handstands. However, they had to perform handstands for one hour. After hour-long handstands, the punching and kicking routines began. While the techniques were like Karate or Hapkido, there was a twist.

READ MORE: “You Can Get Hit Every Day”: Bruce Lee Would Rush to the Rescue of Jackie Chan After He ‘Pretended’ to Get Hurt From His Martial Arts Stunts

During the routines, the teachers would tell them to hold the most challenging poses for 20 minutes each time. “Was that fun, or was it just horrible?” asked Ross jokingly. “Horrible! You try it!” Chan told Ross, showing him a pose and asking him to hold it for 20 mins. Jakie finally revealed he had trained at the school for ten years. “I want(ed) to leave,” said Jackie.

A boiling pot of talent

The Peking opera school Chan learned martial arts and acting was called China Drama Academy. However, Chan wasn’t the academy’s only start student. Jackie’s master, Yu Jim Yuen, also trained seven others. The collective later became known as “The seven little fortunes.”

Yuen also trained Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, and more. Jackie even worked with some of them later in his career.

Watch this story – Arnold Schwarzenegger bowed down to martial arts legend Jackie Chan during their iconic reunion in 2019

What are your thoughts on the ten years of grueling training Jackie Chan went through?