The movie that made Martial Arts

[Drac]

I was told by a couple of local Sensei that their enrollment doubled after the Karate Kid came out??

 

[Patrick Skerry]

That doesn't suprise me at all. My father told me that the TV series Kung Fu quadrupelled the number of kids learning karate in the 1970s.

I was told by a couple of local Sensei that their enrollment doubled after the Karate Kid came out??

 

[Patrick Skerry]

A movie theater in Boston's Chinatown used to do the same thing, they used to play Chinese Kung fu movies something like 12 hours a day. Then it turned into a porno theater, and now its a restaraunt.

Also, David Carradine when he was playing in the TV series, Kung Fu, didn't know a thing about the martial arts. I think he has studied a little since then so he could add credibility to all his kung fu video tapes he's making.

I guess he wasn't kidding when he said JC Penny $3.95 you like? Or something like that, hehehehe. I still love the movie anyways. I have to mention the 5 deadly venoms though. A local tv station used to have Kung-Fu Sunday's and would show MA movies all day long. I LOVED IT!!!!

 

[M.C. Busman]

Karate Kid differed from most other m.a. films in that it was set in a "real world" backdrop, with charachters portraying fairly "normal" everyday folks with normal everyday problems most people could identify with. "Normal" characters as far as Hollywood goes at least, as opposed to fictitious death match champions, magical monks, or supercops. No supernatural powers, no unbelievably bloody scenes, I don't think a single person dies in the film--unusual for martial arts.

But oh, what a marketing tool (if an unwitting one)! Martial arts being taught for strength and character development...the bullied wins over the bully fairly after working hard and entering a competition, despite cheating from the other side...the "bad" sensei loses face, the "humble" sensei wins through his apprentice in his [insert accent] ancient orientah inscrutiable way [/accent]. Karate as ethical training.

This movie brought on the true "Kiddie Boom" of the '80's...and the marketing that annoys so many of us now hasn't let up since. Also all those annoying "Daniel-san" quips are a nice break every now and then from "Grasshoppah".

Yeah, The Last Dragon & Big Trouble in Little China were also fun.


Happiness,

M.C. Busman

 

[Vadim]

I would also say that Kung Fu Theater on USA played a part in getting some people interested in martial arts.

I think that the Karate Kid was a good movie. Daniel-san did have a temper problem though :karate: .

-Vadim

 

[Ronin Moose]

Hey gang, after reading the last three pages of comments I came to the conclusion that we are all, indeed lucky to have experienced these movies - either in first release (I'm aging myself) or on video, etc. These flicks all made certain contributions toward martial arts in general, and I think they mostly showed the audience that there are more than a few folks left with honor. My fellow Kenpo bros. must agree that The Perfect Weapon sure gave Kenpo a boost also.

Regards,

Garry

 

[Jade Tigress]

Oh man...as a baby of the 80's let me tell you that this movie rocked....I would say it's impact on martial arts was absolutely huge...

The best part was that Pat Morita was a computer programmer that quit his job to become a stand up comedian...talk about a career move...


"sweep the leg..."
"but sensei..."
"you gotta problem....sweep the leg..."


man...good times

I'm a child of the '80's too and I love this movie. It's your classic underdog movie, full of '80's cheese, bad music, great lines such as the one Nick quoted, and some very funny acting at times but an absolute CLASSIC. Plus it went deeper in showing MA as a way of life and for self defense vs. tropheys and ego. Love it.

 

[Randy Strausbaugh]

My fellow Kenpo bros. must agree that The Perfect Weapon sure gave Kenpo a boost also.

I definitely agree. Too bad that nothing to compare to it (Kenpo-wise) has been made since.

 

[someguy]

Ninja turtles>all
I mean come on Cowabunga Awesome etc.

 

[Eldritch Knight]

I never really noticed that whole Karate Kid thing. As a matter of fact, I watched it for the first time only a few years ago. It was the Ninja turtles that got me started into martial arts, so I'm gonna side with that for now.

 

[Andy Cap]

The movie that convinced me that i must learn martial arts was called "Budo" It is pretty hard to find now, but what an awesome movie.


It is a documentary on japanese martial arts. Well worht watching.

 

[Simon Curran]

We are forgetting the ultimate cheesy martial arts movie of all time, and the introduction of Jean Claude Van Damme to the mainstream...
No retreat, No surrender..

"You gotta help me sensei Lee"
"You call me Lee Dai Gar"

 

[Randy Strausbaugh]

The movie that convinced me that i must learn martial arts was called "Budo" It is pretty hard to find now, but what an awesome movie.
It is a documentary on Japanese martial arts. Well worth watching.

Amazon.com has a DVD called Budo:Art of Killing. It's a Japanese documentary about martial arts. The info on it says it has been digitally remastered, so I assume that it may be the one to which you refer. The "Art of Killing" part might be an add-on to promote sales.

 

[arnisador]

Mr. Hartman tried to explain a technique to my son this past weekend. He said "It's like wax on, wax off" and got a blank stare in return. So, that evening, while the rest of us sat around at the pool eating pizza and wings, he was assigned to watch "The Karate Kid" upstairs so he could udnerstand his arnis lessons!

I liked the movie at the time, but the fallout was annoying--every time I was in a gi going to and from class people would shout out things from the movie.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

I dunno...I watched Green Hornet and Kung Fu growing up; but, it wasn't until much later in life, when I first saw Legend Of The Drunken Master, that I really got interested in MA. Sure, though Karate Kid was cool and I couldn't watch reruns of Happy Days anymore without thinking of it; I have to say it was Chan that drew me into MA. Oh, yeah, and Mortal Kombat, too. I fully admit to liking the cheesy movies. Kids From Shoalin was another one. Kung Pow, too. This is not to say I don't own any 'legit' MA movies. I have a nice collection of Sonny Chiba, too

egg