> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# A Mesmerizing Animation of Kung Fu Movements
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/a-mesmerizing-animation-of-kung-fu-movements/
- Published: 2016-07-06T23:01:05.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:29:09.000Z
- Description: From 19th-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge to Italian Futurist sculptor Umberto Boccioni, artists throughout history have attempted to capture the complexities of athletic human motion in their work.
- Author: Carey Dunne
- Tags: Art, Futurism, Review, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:17 (2016, 2017, part 1)

![rfg1gW9 - Imgur](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/06/rfg1gw9-imgur.gif)

Tobias Gremmler, clip from “Kung Fu Motion Visualization” (2016) (GIFs by the author for Hyperallergic)

From 19th-century photographer [Eadweard Muybridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadweard%5FMuybridge?ref=hyperallergic.com) to Italian Futurist sculptor [Umberto Boccioni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto%5FBoccioni?ref=hyperallergic.com), artists throughout history have attempted to capture the complexities of athletic human motion in their work. In “Kung Fu Motion Visualization,” Munich-born, Hong Kong-based designer [Tobias Gremmler](http://www.syncon-d.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) gives the artistic motion study a 21st-century update. Using live Kung Fu masters as models, Gremmler translated an ancient Chinese martial art into a mesmerizing visualization.

The short film was commissioned by the [International Guoshu Association](https://www.facebook.com/guoshuintl/) as part of [a Kung Fu festival](https://www.facebook.com/guoshuintl/posts/1744151199131534) in Hong Kong, intended to preserve the legacy of martial arts.

Kung Fu Master Wong Yiu Kau and Master Li Shek Lin served as artist models. They swiveled, lunged, and brandished tridents while Gremmler recorded their movements. It took Gremmler about 10 days to transform the motion data into abstracted graphics, using the animation program Cinema 4D. It’s beautifully done, with silver, slinky-like motion trails. In some clips, the subjects look like choreographed swarms of bees. In others, they look like animated versions of Umberto Boccioni’s Futurist sculptures, such as “[Unique Forms of Continuity in Space](http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/485540?ref=hyperallergic.com),” which was inspired by the motions of a football player mid-pass. By depicting their lightning-fast blocks and charges as slow-motion animations, Gremmler makes hard-to-see movements visible, casting an ancient martial art in new light.

![rQiiOf4 - Imgur](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/06/rqiiof4-imgur.gif)

Tobias Gremmler, clip from “Kung Fu Motion Visualization” (2016)

![M4gSEBg - Imgur](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/06/m4gsebg-imgur.gif)

Tobias Gremmler, clip from “Kung Fu Motion Visualization” (2016)