Is using wires attached to you while acting for wire fu action scenes and stunts in movies actually harder than people think?

[Bullsherdog]

Years ago I saw an a page on TVTropes where some American who grew up watching martial arts movies as a child and he aspired to become a martial artist and stuntsman one day. The page said he eventually accomplished his dream and became so good at action scenes and stunts work that he was able to do a lot of the stuff he saw in the Kung Fu movies he loved watching from childhood....... And it was a gigantic surprise for him to learn so much of the action he saw on TV and films growing up were not really done by the actors themselves but were executed with the assistant of wires and other tricks. It was both a big disappointment and disbelief to learn that for him in the fact of being able to do a lot of the jumpy flipy stuff on his own just by his sheer athleticism and skill.

I wish I can find the exact article but I can't seem to get it no matter how many times I search on TVtropes so you'll just have to take my word for it, That said having finished half of Jet Li's movies and now starting on Jackie Chan, I'm inspired to ask this question just by the fact that while Jet Li used a lo of wires from his 90s stuff, he also did a crap ton of movies whee he was doing all the stunts and fight choreography on his own without any assistance be it from attached wires or stunt doubles or the plethora of other tricks in the movie industry.

Is it easy as 123 doing stunts and fight scenes with wire fu? Like no more difficult than drinking coffee on your comfy couch in the morning before reading the newspaper? Or does it have some challenges? That even movie stars known primarily for their beauty and thus have to use wirework because they aren't conditioned for Wushu such as Lin Qingxia will have to do sometimes preparing themselves physically and rehearsing scenes over and over before filming the actual footage? That Joey Wong couldn't just start filming right away swinging her swords and flying across the sky from building to building and over the sea to land on a nearby ship even though the wires attached to her would ease up the burden so much?

That even people with prior kung fu training such as Michelle Yeoh will have to practise before doing a Wuxia film and stunt professional veteran men will have to specifically learn how to use wires if they never used them before? Why so? I probably got a lot of details wrong but the second paragraph comes from the fact I remember watching videos with Yeo saying she has to get used to moving with the wires and footage of her drilling with wires with a bunch of repeating movements were shown in between the conversation with the person interviewing her. So I'm wondering if wire fu is a skill all by itself that deserves respect and isn't something any run-of-the-mill stuntsmanor martial artist can start using right away for filming?

 

[Buka]

Stunt work is hard. I’ve done a little stunt work for tv, all easy stuff. But two close friends of mine have been stunt performers for decades.

My buddy Garret was the stunt coordinator for all the Avatar movies. (He says James Cameron is the best director you could ever hope to work for.)

Garret was also Optimus Prime in the Transformer movies. I can’t think of much that would be more fun than that.

He’s done all kinds of wire work, the guy could climb anything. It may be easy for him but I don’t think it would easy for the rest of us.

 

[isshinryuronin]

Garret was also Optimus Prime in the Transformer movies.

You even knew Optimus Prime?! That's better than Joe Lewis, Chuck Norris, Ghandi, President Clinton, Zorro and all the others you know! You really get around, Buka. By the way, did you know Miss November 1978 by any chance?