It's a shame this was saddled with such a generic name as it's much more interesting than it sounds - it's a pretty weird name considering nobody appears to be a Shaolin disciple - one thing at least that was improved in Johnnie To's 1993 remake, The Barefoot Kid.

It treads very similar ground to BOXER FROM SHANtUNG, but with a character tailor-fit to Fu Sheng, making it one of his best roles. There's a touch of Bruce Lee in his swagger, making The Big Boss a salient reference point too I guess.

Unlike The Big Boss (as far as I remember) it offers interesting commentary on the fundamental antagonism between the interests of the working class and the owner class in a capitalist society... whether Chang Cheh and Ni Kuang intended it to or not :p