Sing (Kung Fu Hustle)

Sing is the main protagonist of the 2004 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film, Kung Fu Hustle. He is a loser in life who aspires to join the Axe Gang. He specializes in the Fut Gar Buddhist Palm technique. When the Beast attacks beats Sing to a pulp, it "resets his qi flow," releasing the natural-born Kung Fu Master within him.
He is portrayed by Stephen Chow, the film's director. In the Japanese dub of the film, he was voiced by Koichi Yamadera, who also voiced Donald Duck, Donkey, and Tenshinhan.
== Story ==
In 1940s Shanghai, petty crooks Sing and Bone aspire to join the notorious Axe Gang, led by the cold-blooded killer, Brother Sum. The duo visit a rundown slum known as Pigsty Alley to extort the residents by pretending to be Axe members. Sing's actions eventually attract attention of the real gang, who confront the villagers. Gang reinforcements arrive but they are all quickly dealt with by three of the slum's tenants: Coolie, Tailor, and Donut, who are actually kung fu masters. However, fearing the Axe Gang's retaliation, the slum's Landlady evicts the trio.
Brother Sum captures Sing and Bone, intending to kill them for posing as gang members. However, Sing and Bone narrowly escape, impressing Brother Sum, who offers to let them join the Axe Gang, on the condition that they kill someone. Sing recalls his childhood to Bone when he was tricked by a vagrant into buying a martial arts pamphlet with his meager savings. After practicing the pamphlet's Buddhist Palm technique, Sing attempted to save a mute girl named Fong from bullies, but was instead beaten and humiliated. Sing became adamant that heroes never win, and resolved to be a villain.
Sing and Bone return to Pigsty Alley to kill the Landlady, but fail and are chased off the premises. Sing retreats to a traffic pulpit where his injuries mysteriously heal instantly. Meanwhile, Brother Sum, intent on vengeance against Pigsty Alley, hires two Harpists that use a magical guzheng as their weapon. They successfully eliminate the three masters, but are defeated by the Landlady and her husband the Landlord, who reveal themselves to be skilled fighters as well.
A frustrated Sing attempts to rob an ice cream vendor, but discovers that she is actually Fong. When she recognizes him and offers him a lollipop, which reminds him of the day he tried to save her, he smashes it and leaves in shame. Brother Sum offers Sing immediate gang membership if he uses his lock-picking skills to free the Beast, a legendary assassin, from a mental asylum. Sing succeeds and brings the Beast back to the Axe Gang's headquarters.
Brother Sum is initially skeptical of the Beast due to his flippant attitude and sloppy appearance, but quickly changes his mind when the Beast stops a bullet midair. The Beast meets the Landlady and Landlord at the casino next door, engaging them in a fierce fight that ends in a stalemate. Sing, realizing the error of his ways, attacks the Beast, who angrily retaliates. The Landlady and Landlord grab the unconscious Sing and flee. The Beast eliminates Brother Sum and takes over as leader of the Axes.
The Landlady and Landlord treat Sing at Pigsty Alley and are surprised by his quick recovery. The Landlady deduces Sing is, in fact, a natural-born kung fu genius. With his newfound powers, Sing effortlessly dispatches the Axes before fighting the Beast. Sing embraces the Buddha and uses the Buddhist Palm to neutralize the Beast, who concedes defeat.
Sing and Bone open a candy store with Fong's lollipop as their logo. Fong visits Sing at his store, and the pair embrace. The vagrant who sold the pamphlet to Sing can be seen outside selling other pamphlets.
==Personality==
Sing is a down-to-his-luck person who seeks to join the deadly Axe Gang. When he was a child, a crazy man told him he was a "natural-born kung-fu genius", selling him a secret manual on the Buddhist Palm kung fu technique for 10 dollars, which was only worth 20 cents. Using the manual, Sing studied Buddhist Palm with no success. Having attempted to protect a mute girl from a band of bullies attempting to steal her lollipop, Sing was beaten up and urinated on. The girl offered him her lollipop, but he ran off humiliated. Since then, believing good guys have the worst luck, he has sworn to be a bad person.
However, after joining the Deadly Axe Gang, Sing has a change of heart and helps the Landlord and his wife escape but then he is brutally beaten up by the Beast for his treachery. Sing may appear to be heartless and cold at first, but he is revealed to be really just misguided when he attacks the Beast, and displays a sense of romance towards the end of the film. When told that the mute ice-cream vendor is the girl he saved in his childhood, he sat on the pavement with his head down, ashamed of himself for mugging her. Before the final battle with the Beast, the wounded Sing is asked by the Landlord and Landlady if he had any final wishes. He then drew the lollipop on the ground, with his own blood, symbolizing his regret. At the end of the film, Sing invites the vendor into his newly opened lollipop shop and makes up with her.
== Abilities ==
Sing have been proved himself to be a quick learner, able to replicate other forms of martial arts through his final fights such as Coolie kicking techniques, Landlord Taijiquan and so on. Likewise, he has the technique that enables him to release powerful shockwaves that strong enough to destroy a chunk of building or crushed the enemy under intense pressure.
== Trivia ==
* He shares the same name as another character previously portrayed by Stephen Chow, who's instead from Shaolin Soccer (also directed by Chow).
* All of the moments where Sing made physical contact with the Beast with the use of the former's own hands foreshadow the latter's eventual defeat, where it involves the use of the sacred Buddhist Palm.
* Ironically, Sing hitting the Beast with a detached wooden leg is what started the latter's defeat as a brutal martial artist, as this involves the activation of the former's inner "qi flow".
Category:Male
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