Amazing Kung-Fu Puppets From Taiwan

Footage of Taiwanese glove puppetry (Potehi or Budaixi) filmed in Yunlin, Taiwan for PuppetVision: The Movie, a feature length documentary about puppeteers and puppetry around the world that is scheduled to be released in late 2012.

Potehi is a traditional form of glove puppetry that is performed throughout Taiwan. The Taiwanese artists who operate these puppets are remarkably skilled technical puppeteers who perform in a style that is unlike anything seen in the West.

The Taiwanese puppeteers who appear in this video are (in order of appearance):

Master Chong Jen-pi (鍾任壁)
"A-Zon" Chen Han-zon (阿-忠)
Master Huang Shih-chin (黃世志)

Special thanks to the volunteers and staff of The Yunlin International Puppetry Festival and Yunlin Storyhouse in Huwei, Yunlin, Taiwan for all their assistance, support and friendship.

• Category

  Entertainment

[fudged71]

Slowed down video doesn't do any of this justice... I'd like to see this with a faster framerate camera.

[PuppetVision]

Are you referring to the shot that starts around the 1:30 mark? That seems very slowed down for some reason on YouTube, but it isn't it the original video. I'm wondering if that was somehow caused by YouTube's encoding process?

But you're right, the speed some of these puppeteers work at is really impressive.

[jetli80]

Is this in anyway related to the shadow puppets?

[PuppetVision]

No, not really. Although there is shadow puppetry in Taiwan, this style of glove/rod puppets seem to be the most popular. Master Huang (the third puppeteer to appear in the video) does some shadow puppetry work and actually taught a few basic techniques that are used to perform Chinese shadow puppets.

[UkeliDokeli]

These are amazing!

[zythepsarian]

very cool thumbs up :)

[zvastianx]

Any video of the actual show? Not really interested in how it works from behind the scenes.

[Mrcodecam]

Amazing! 

[zero00tolerance]

These puppets can kick my ass thats for sure....

[kingkingjustin]

awesome skills