Bus Auntie's martial-arts performance a major hit on YouTube

First there was Bus Uncle. Now there is Bus Auntie. A middle-aged Chinese woman has become a kung fu legend around the world after showing off her prowess on a San Francisco public bus in the city's Chinatown this month. The woman went into an obscenity-laced shouting match in multiple languages and dialects with another woman after she was refused a seat. The other woman apparently had her shopping bag on the seat and would not take it off.

From the video clip, which was shot by a passenger and put on YouTube, the woman with the shopping bag appeared to have thrown the first punch - little did she know whom she was dealing with. Bus Aunty immediately went thermonuclear. She performed a combination of kung fu punches and karate chops on the woman, then landed a mid-air kick on her chest. Pleas from fellow passengers finally stopped her. By that time, the other woman was already kicked out of the bus.

The urban-rage clip, barely a week old, has attracted almost 600,000 viewings. A heroine to some, a menace to others - you decide.