In New York City, young martial artist Bruce "Leroy" Green (Taimak) trains with his teacher, who shoots arrows at him. When Leroy catches a blue arrow in midair, the teacher says that the student has successfully completed his training and is now ready to go out into the world. Leroy disagrees because he has not yet achieved "the Glow"; which is when a warrior's body glows because he has become the best fighter in the world. The teacher gives Leroy a gold medallion and tells him to seek out Master Sum Dum Goy, who will help him achieve "the Glow." Sum Dum Goy will provide training in exchange for the medallion. Later, Leroy watches a film by his idol, Bruce Lee, but a rival marital artist, Sho'nuff (Julius J. Carry III), known as the "Shogun of Harlem", comes to the theater looking for a fight. Sho'nuff believes Leroy is his only competitor for supremacy and wants to fight one-on-one, but Leroy does not believe in fighting unless it is necessary. When Leroy ignores Sho'nuff's challenge, audience members attack Sho'nuff, but he beats them as Leroy sneaks out the emergency exit. Sho'nuff vows to destroy Leroy. Meanwhile, Eddie Arkadian (Chris Murney), a successful video game producer, wants to get into the music business by managing singer Angela Viracco (Faith Prince), and tries to get her video on the popular music show, "7th Heaven." However, the show's host and VJ, Laura Charles (Vanity), is picky about the music she plays. Arkadian sends henchmen to kidnap Laura, so he can force her to watch Angela's video. As Laura leaves the studio and steps into her limousine, Leroy walks by. Just then, Laura realizes her driver is an impostor and attempts to escape. As Arkadian's men overpower Laura, Leroy saves her. After the fight, Leroy flags down a taxicab for Laura, then leaves before she can get his name. Laura finds Leroy's gold medallion on the ground and takes it with her. Arkadian's men return, claiming that Laura's bodyguards attacked them. Later, Leroy retreats to the scene, looking for his medallion. The next day, Leroy teaches a marital arts class, where he tells his students not to fight unless necessary. Just then, Sho'nuff disrupts the class with his gang, demanding Leroy to kiss his feet and declare him "the Master." When Leroy refuses, Sho'nuff's men threaten to harm Leroy's best friend, Johnny Yu (Glen Eaton). As Leroy kneels, Sho'nuff kicks him, proclaiming they will battle one day soon. The next day, Leroy has breakfast with his family, including his younger brother, Richie (Leo O'Brien), who has a crush on Laura Charles. Richie plans on winning the "7th Heaven" dance contest because the prize is a date with the hostess. When a commercial for the show appears on the television, Leroy recognizes Laura. He assumes she has his medallion, and begs Richie to take him to the television studio. Richie believes Leroy is also infatuated with Laura, and teases his brother about his sexual inexperience. However, Richie reluctantly agrees to escort Leroy, but asks him to conceal the fact that they are brothers. Upon arriving at the studio, Richie leaves Leroy alone at the back entrance while he seeks out a secret entryway. There, Leroy witnesses one of Arkadian's henchmen, "Rock," (Mike Starr) forcing Laura into a van. While driving away, Rock accidentally drops a folder labeled "Eddie Arkadian Productions." Later, at Arkadian's studio, Laura is forced to watch Angela's video, and ordered to promote the singer on her show. When Laura refuses, Arkadian's men attack, but Leroy comes to the rescue. Arkadian vows revenge against Leroy, who then brings Laura back to her apartment, introduces himself, and asks for his medallion. Laura returns the item and attempts to flirt with Leroy, but he leaves. The next day, Leroy heads to Chinatown to track down Master Sum Dum Goy, which turns out to be a fortune cookie factory. Outside, he runs into brothers Hu, Lu, and Du Yi, who refuse Leroy entry. Meanwhile in Harlem, Sho'nuff and his men arrive at Leroy's family-owned restaurant, "Daddy Green's Pizza." When Leroy's parents refuse to divulge their son's location, Sho'nuff destroys the restaurant. Moments later, Leroy returns and Richie calls him a coward for not fighting Sho'nuff, prompting Leroy to train harder. One day, Laura shows up at Leroy's studio, asking him to be her bodyguard. Leroy declines, claiming that he must continue training to become "the Master." Back at Arkadian's studio, fighters train to get revenge against Leroy. Angela laments that they will never convince Laura to play her music, and when Arkadian promises to "get rid of" Leroy, she quits. The next day, Arkadian offers Sho'nuff money to fight Leroy, but Sho'nuff agrees to fight for free as long as Arkadian sets a trap. Meanwhile, Leroy returns to Laura's apartment and apologizes. On the way to her studio, Leroy asks her how to seduce a woman, and she offers herself as a teacher. At the studio, Laura plays Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury on the stage's video screen, thrilling Leroy. Moments later, Richie sneaks into the studio, finds Laura and Leroy kissing, and storms away. When Leroy sees a scene in which Bruce Lee disguises himself to get into the villain's lair, he abruptly leaves and Richie returns inside. There, Arkadian kidnaps both Laura and Richie. Back at the Sum Dum Goy factory, Leroy pretends to be a pizza delivery man, gets inside, and demands to see its owner, but the brothers confess to making up the person, "Sum Dum Goy," to sell cookies. When Leroy later confronts his teacher about the lie, he learns that the mastery he is looking for already resides within himself. Meanwhile, Angela tells Johnny about Arkadian's plan to kill Leroy, and Johnny later tells his friend. Leroy gathers his weapons and prepares to fight. When Johnny insists on coming with him, Leroy locks him in a closet, but one of the younger students lets him out. When Leroy walks into his studio, Arkadian's fighters attack, but Johnny and Leroy's other students arrive to join in the fight and even the odds. During the battle, Arkadian and Rock take Laura to another location, and Leroy follows. Richie breaks free of his confinement and follows. In an abandoned building, Sho'nuff finally battles Leroy and gets the upper hand, dunking Leroy's head into a vat of water and demanding that Leroy proclaim him "the Master." While underwater, Leroy realizes his own mastery, and his body glows. Leroy breaks free and defeats Sho'nuff. Unhappy with the outcome, Arkadian shoots Leroy, but Leroy catches the bullet with his teeth. Leroy ties up Arkadian and leaves him to be arrested by the police. Later that evening, Laura tapes her television show, and Leroy arrives with flowers. As they kiss, Richie proudly announces that Leroy is both his brother and "the Master."
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