The Man with the Iron Fists is Wu-Tang Clan rapper-turned-actor/director RZA's love letter to the martial arts movies - but he's not the only hardcore fan of the genre out there. Martial arts films were a bridge between different cultures long before international cinema gained the sort of foothold it has today in the U.S., and there are plenty of people who can claim a kick-ass fight scene as an indelible part of their memory.

In honor of all that Man with the Iron Fists celebrates, we've gone back through the archives to pick out 12 martial arts movie fight sequences that earned a place in our hearts - whether it was the impressive fight choreography, the sheer scale of the battle, or simply because it featured some iconic martial arts stars throwing down against one another.

Check out 12 great martial arts movie fights (listed in no particular order):

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Neo vs. Agent Smith (The Matrix)

Admittedly, it's hard to find a Hollywood film that can match the level of fight choreography being put out by the Asian film industry - but The Matrix was definitely one of the them - thanks in no small part to the influence of legendary fight choreographer/director Woo-ping Yuen, whose work appears numerous times in this list.

Aside from actors like Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving impressing us with their level of martial arts ability - and some clever little touches to the choreography (throat jab FTW!) - the climatic battle between hacker-turned-hero, Neo (Reeves) and the nefarious program Agent Smith (Weaving) included something that only the best cinematic duels do: great dialogue and character development.

Hearing "Mr. Anderson" utter the line "My name... is NEO!" before putting the finishing touches on that Agent Smith beatdown was at once a pivotal moment for our hero, and a kick-ass finale to a great fight.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_su7Kdz3pg

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The Bride vs. The Crazy 88 (Kill Bill Vol. 1)

While there have been some truly legendary one-on-one fights in movies, it's a whole other ballgame when one person takes on an entire multitude of enemies. In his own love-letter to the martial arts movie genre, Kill Bill, writer/director Quentin Taratino concocted and executed (no pun) a fight sequence that stands toe-to-toe with the very films that inspired it.

All things being honest, few people ever imagined that actress Uma Thurman could be taken seriously as an action star - let alone a martial arts action star. However, that all changed when Thurman (as the vengeance-seeking "Bride") drew a katana sword and took on no less than eighty-eight members of O-Ren Ishii's (Lucy Liu) Yakuza army - including psycho teenage bodyguard, Gogo (Chiaki Kuriyama). Check out this epic battle to the last (wo)man standing:http://youtu.be/fWqnZTTRkm4

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Tang Lung vs. Colt (The Way of the Dragon)

There are martial arts fight scenes that earn their reputation through sophisticated choreography - and then there are those that are remembered for their iconic nature. Even now, forty years later, it is still awesome to see Bruce Lee battling Chuck Norris in Way of the Dragon.

Tang Lung (Lee) is trying to defend family and friends from a local Roman mafia - but when he proves to be an obstacle, mob lieutenant "Ho" hires foreign martial artists to solve the problem - including fearsome karate fighter, Colt (Norris). Like gladiators of old, Tang and Colt have their epic showdown in the halls of the Colosseum - and for awhile Colt holds the upper hand. But Bruce Lee is Bruce Lee, so losing was never really an option.

Even though the telegraphed punches and kicks seem dated by today's standards, the awesomeness of seeing one of the greatest martial artists of all time battle one of the most badass action stars of all time never fades. Plus: there's a kitty-cat referee!

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