Chronology/timeline of MA in popular culture in America

[carly]

-1800s - Chinese railway workers have occasional broadsword fights among themselves, noted by newspapers.
-1900s after WWII - A few ex-US servicemen who studied in Japan bring basic Japanese martial arts to the west
-1960s - Don Draeger and Bruce Tegner books are all that's out there. Ads for judo and jujitsu course in the back of comic books next to the Charles Atlas ads.
-late 1960s - Green Hornet tv show with Bruce Lee awakes interest in kung fu, James Bond films show SMERSH hand-to-hand training camps.
-1970s - Bruce Lee explodes into popularity, Chuck Norris somehow becomes well-known. Wing Chun gets known, karate gets taught in malls.
TKD is popularized and wide-spread
-late 1970s - Ninja craze arrives.
Bruce Lee's former students fight over who owns JKD and popularize Arnis and Kali.
-1980s - government Wu Shu emerges and confuses people who don't know the difference between it and traditional kung fu.
Everyone who studied McDojo karate styles is a little reentful and sceptical about martial arts.
-1990s - Gracie's BJJ emerges through UFC-type events and the MMA craze takes off.
2003 - what's next? And did I miss anything?

[mantis108]

K....

You missed:

Steve Seagal with his not-a-scratch-nor-bruises-on-his-face Aikido. :)

Mr. Van Damage's same script remakes all the time. Oh yeah his splits was once upon a time highlights of trailers. ;)

Karate Kid - who could forget Mr Miyagi? :D

Also Matrix (Keenau tries to look cool in his Wushuie stance), Jackie Chan and -enter- Jet Li!

The list goes on and on...

Mantis108

[carly]

I guess I had just mentally blocked Steven Seagal and Van Damme and friends out of my conscious mind!
And the Karate Kid was of course a big one.

[Serpent]

What about the Monkey tv show?

[Black Jack]

That timeline could not be more wrong. Where did you get that data??

[joedoe]

Monkey Magic rocked.

Speaking of which, I just finished learning the rake set a la Pigsy. Great weapon. Now all I need to learn is the monk spade and I'l have learned all 3 weapons :D

[carly]

Then please add and/or correct it with better data - and I got it off the top of my head, of course.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Black Jack
That timeline could not be more wrong. Where did you get that data??

Easy, tiger, just a bit of fun. You really need to get that stick surgically removed from your ass.

[rogue]

Judo - 1909 Yosh!tsugu Yamash!ta a rolls with President Teddy Roosevelt
Judo - 1944 Blood on the Sun starring Jimmy Cagney.
Here you go Black Jack (http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_Keelaghan_0900.htm)

[Lao Shan]

James Cagney did Judo in the movies.

[Black Jack]

Coming from a tried and true ******* like you serpent I consider that a great compliment.

Calling the kettle black........has there ever been a post that even involves the U.S. in it in the slightest regard that you did not go after like a rapid attack dog. Give me a friggin break:rolleyes:

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Black Jack
Coming from a tried and true ******* like you serpent I consider that a great compliment.

Calling the kettle black........has there ever been a post that even involves the U.S. in it in the slightest regard that you did not go after like a rapid attack dog. Give me a friggin break:rolleyes:

What the hell has that got to do with anything in this thread?

:confused:

[carly]

Blackjack, I enjoy your posts and share your interests, but please take your quarrel with Serpent elsewhere and kindly stop hijcking a light-hearted thread with personal animosity. Thanks.

[Black Jack]

Here is some info. Jui Jitsu has been recorded in America since the late 19th century. Savate, Chausson and Catch wrestling styles have been around since before that by a good shot not to local mention allinfighing methods like those used by the backwood gougers or cutlegging used by PA coal miners to settle disputes.

European fistacuffs like bareknuckle boxing/native rough and tumble wrestling as well. Many European fencing and weapon systems from a variety of countries came to America, some brief examples would be english backsword, bayonet, truncheon, ax, polearms, staff, walking cane, barjitsu, cosh, French cane, bodkin, Irish stick faction fighting/hurly methods, Spanish knife fighting/Navaja, dirk throwing, sword play from spain, germany and italy.Frontier bowie duelling schools and personal methods. American Indian weapon skills like the long knife and their native wrestling methods. I know the Pawnee use a lot of hand-throws.

Lets not forget firearms and their methods. That is a whole martial post onto it self. WWI and WW2 era self defense and military combat systems. There are a TON of books out there way before Tegner. Who by the way was a Marine hand to hand combat instructor. I like Tegner.

[carly]

Thanks, and those are historically correct.
I think where we mis-communicated was when you took this as a careful academic history instead of a wide survey of arts which have made it onto the nation's collective radar screen as large-scale popular culture.
And yeah, Tegner's ok, but when you were looking for more in the old days and all you could find is another copy of one of Tegner's books, it got old.

[Black Jack]

Carly- I reread my post and I did not notice that it came across a little strong. That was not supposed to be the case. I am a little tired.

Serpent- It has tons to do with the topic. I just found it funny that a poster who uses every chance he can get to hijack a thread for his own political rantings on why he hates the U.S. to state that I should have something removed from my own arse and lighten up.

Hey at least I know I need to lighten up. Sheesh.

Now if this came from someone like Braden or Rogue or Merry or **** near anybody else I would of taken notice quicker. But coming from you I just found it odd when I consider your own posting methods to be a LITTLE irate and out of place.

[carly]

I like the same stuff you do and value your posts here.

[Black Jack]

Sorry bro. I think I am a little caught up with a post down the row a few. Again I did not mean to word it so sh!tty. I should make it a habit to slow down from a heated topic to one that is just for fun. Oh well....live and learn.

Your stuff is onpoint for the later part of it though. Just change around the stuff from the 60's down a bit. As for the chinese arts that is anyone's call as the culture is very secretive. For most people my age it would be the Samurai Sundays and Bruce Lee.

I would say though that the Japenese arts have had a much greater influence than any other asian martial art in existance in terms of American soil. Maybe that culture is more open to teaching others its combative methods.

[carly]

Toshiro Mifune's samurai flicks from the 50s and 60s, So-Bad- they're-good Shaw Brothers kung fu movies in the 70s, Chow Yun Fat/John Woo stuff in the 90s, and Crouching Tiger hidden Dragon.

[shaolin kungfu]

Samauri Sundays? Is that the IFC stuff?

Not exactly martial arts, but I think you should include Kurisawa(sp). Jon Woo as well.

[Ben Gash]

So it's my fault now :rolleyes:

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Black Jack
Sorry bro. I think I am a little caught up with a post down the row a few. Again I did not mean to word it so sh!tty. I should make it a habit to slow down from a heated topic to one that is just for fun. Oh well....live and learn.


You admit this, yet you have a go at me for telling you to lighten up? You're weird.

Sure, I hate America and I often hate Americans. I'm never angry or irate as such... more exasperated. And there are many Americans, including many on this board, that I respect as individuals. Of course, you're not one of them.

As someone famous once said, "Individuals are usually just fine. It's people I can't stand."

Remember BJ, (Heh heh.. BJ!) I'm always smiling on the inside.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Ben Gash
So it's my fault now :rolleyes:

Ah, he's got something against both of us, Ben. I think we scare him with the lack of rabid ferocity in our views that contradict his.

[carly]

Please be at least as decent as blackjack and stop hijacking this thread with your personal vendetta against him. Thanks.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by carly
Please be at least as decent as blackjack and stop hijacking this thread with your personal vendetta against him. Thanks.

Hey, he started it!

But OK, I'll step out now. I won't respond to him any more unless it's on-topic.

:)

[carly]

You have disrupted the flow of this thing though - could you do me a favor and go throught he thread and delete the off-topic posts?

[Serpent]

No. Get a life!

[SevenStar]

you gotta put the power rangers in there somewhere...

[Oso]

and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles !!

If all you ever saw was the movies/cartoons you missed the early beginnings of TMNT as a dang good comic series. OH, how I regret selling all that stuff !!

[SaMantis]

LOL Oso, that was you who created TMNT? ;)

And yeah, the power rangers, heh - the first time I heard hapkido mentioned as a MA was on that show.

Karate Kid was mentioned a bit back in the thread as a pop-culture influence ... what was significant in its relation to actual MA is the number of kids who entered martial arts programs skyrocketed after the film's release. Most kids' programs didn't exist in any MA prior to Karate Kid. (This info comes from the Discovery Channel - maybe TLC - one of those "authoritative" programs on MA)

I remember seeing the film and walking straight from the theater to the TKD school in the same shopping center and signing up.

[shaolinboxer]

OK guys.

ROBERT W. SMITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hehe, my point is Robert W. Smith wrote (he collaborated with Donn Draeger to write "the Complete Guide to Asian Fighting Arts") Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods, along with books on Tai Chi, HsingI, and BaGua. He lived in Taiwan (I believe he was stationed there) for several years and met many amazing Chinese masters who had fled there during the revolution. This guy is to chinese martial arts as Donn Draeger is to Budo.

His latest book, martial musings, includes photos and stories of his life, the many great masters he met and trained with, etc. He was an orphan and a boxer and a Judo player and a close student of Chen Man Ching (please excuse the spelling). It is an amazing book and I'd run out and read it right away.

Robert W. Smith.....and amazing author, a real authority, and one interesting son of a *****.

[rogue]

It is an amazing book and I'd run out and read it right away. D@nm you Shaolin, there's no book outside my house! I hate it when I fall for that trick. :mad: