Kung Fu series and You

[SPJ]

like it?

not like it?

it is alrite?

effects on you?

:D

[SPJ]

my brothers like the flashback and thinking out loud part.

yin and yang are not truth

they are ways to debate and find truth from the middle ground of debates

bian zheng 辩证

to differentiate and prove or verify

at first we separate things by a limiting or defined factor.

we then have 2 sides. we then use them to debate and verify all things in life.

it is a method.

---

:)

[SPJ]

I was all interested in the judo fight scenes.

however, I had to wait 50 some min to see the final/end fights in the end.

the rest was --

I meant hurry up.

the truth was I did not appreciate much till older or later.

---

:D

[SPJ]

I am also guilty of being interested in watching only fight scenes in green hornet

I was like 6 year old when they first aired green hornet.

--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuoNLnrPlFM

:cool:

[SPJ]

what would be your favorite episode in Kung Fu series.

me hard to choose.

but

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z1ziP2lY3A

KC killed the prince by accident.

he was not safe in China.

so he travelled to US and moved from place to place

just to avoid bounty hunters from the US and China.

the royal family kept sending people to fight or seize him and to return him to China.

so KC had to fight all the people that came after him.

--

so I said to my brothers at the time Kung Fu series was first aired in Taiwan.

--

--

[SPJ]

so my youngest brother would always ask why this and why that.

my other younger brother would always ask how did KC do that

when we were watching Kung Fu series on TV.

b/c they had hard time to follow the story line.

I already knew some English and some understanding of US history and culture.

so I had to keep explaining things to them.

which was very difficult to explain.

but in the end, it helped me more by answering why and how to my younger brothers.

I meant if you ask why and how, you may enjoy the series more.

20 years later

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep8jDZo2_vY&feature=related

this came.

we all watched with some understanding.

so my brothers left me alone. we all grew up and all had our own views of things and the world.

--

anything valueable to me

I missed the time me and my brothers spent together.

watching TV or playing in the schoolyard

--

we all wept a bit. when we heard DC passed away in Thailand.

--

in a way, we all like him. or have fond memory of him.

:(

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncqntFxkdWg&feature=related

we will miss you.

:(

[B-Rad]

It's was before my time, so by the time I saw some reruns, the fights scenes were very primitive and I couldn't suspend my disbelief of a man who is clearly white being called "chinaman" :p

[Lucas]

I never saw one episode. I just want to comment on holly wood and the death of David C. Look for a new actor and the remake of kung fu series to hit your airwaves. Bad or good not sure.

I never saw it either. I'm familiar with the show, but never got into it. I could go for watching a remake, starring a chinese actor of course. :p

[David Jamieson]

I watched them as a kid.

I liked the series.

[Jimbo]

When it was actually in its original syndication, I barely watched it. I was in 4th or 5th grade, and a friend told me about "kung fu". At the time, the only martial arts I knew about were judo and karate. I thought "kung fu" was supposed to be the character's name.

I ended up watching some parts of some episodes, and even back then, only being personally familiar with judo, I thought Kwai Chang Caine's kicks looked slow and off-balanced, and wondered why all the cowboys would fly backwards after being kicked, instead of just catching his leg and taking him down. Then I heard people calling it "kung fu karate" or Chinese karate. At the time, my only impression was from the show, so I thought kung fu was some new made-up thing.:o Though I'd watched Green Hornet with my older brother years before, I had retained few to zero impressions of the fight scenes, or that kung fu was mentioned on TV back then as well.

It was a few years later, after the show was in reruns, that I actually paid attention to it. The one episode I thought was really good was the one about the old Indian who was dying and wanted his ashes spread on his ancestral land, which was now in the middle of a white town. There was hardly any fighting in it, but the story was a good one. I also liked a couple others: the one where Caine fought a Capoeira guy. Though it was obvious neither actor was much of a representative of their arts. Also, the one where Caine fought a ninja (played by Robert Ito).

Otherwise, Carradine never really seemed Asian enough to me to be convincing as immediately recognizable as a "Chinese" to every character in the show, esp. since as a kid in the flashbacks, he was even less Asian-looking (i.e., zero). But I guess everything worked out; had Bruce Lee actually starred in the show, it's possible he wouldn't have become the mega-star he ended up as.

[Yao Sing]

I never cared much for the show and only watched to see the monks in action. I changed the channel if it didn't have a good flashback to the Temple.

[Mr Punch]

My mum didn't let me watch it! I was allowed to watch educational programmes, so like craft programmes, documentaries, (kids') news etc. And not much of that. Was also allowed Doctor Who for some mystifying reason, and my old man used to like the old movies (b & w westerns) and Bonanza, so if I was really 'lucky' I could watch those! It's a wonder I made it through! :eek: :D

I did catch Kung Fu a few times. It was all right. Thing was, from about age 3 or so when I first caught it I remember being confused and not liking it because I could never understand how the bloke was supposed to be Chinese, when our Chinese lodgers had looked very, well, Chinese! Guess I was a pretty literal kid at times. :D

[Mr Punch]

Just read everybody else's comments... seems nobody could swallow the 'Chinese' bit! And yeah, the Chiense temple bits were cool, and the fights were hokey and spotted as such from an early age!

[SPJ]

In early 1970s,

there were

1. vietnam war/conflict

2. President Nixon visit to China.

to establish relationship and end vietnam war by asking China to stop aiding the north vietnam.

3. cultural revolution in China

4. then watergate

--

I was in junor high, so I started to understand more things

--

somehow, Kung Fu series made more senses to me or I could enjoy more than the news and world events.

in each episode, KC was looking for his US brother and family or his other root.

he helped other people along the way and in return he also grew with them, he was also closer to his quest for his family.

there were little personal stories. why and how so and so would do things in a certain way, right or wrong, for better or worse--

--

in early 1990s,

I already lived in the states for a few years and frequented china town in LA for a while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxCIKQb0iTI&feature=rec-HM-rn

so watching the legend continues

I felt a bit differently. I was also older like in my early 30s.

--

the stories did not register as much in my mind.

--

but anyhoo, my brothers and I did watch together most of the episodes.

:)

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2HeaRex0Dg&feature=related

the movie was alrite.

:)

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gASY7Lj5GPQ

so KC finally grabbed the pebble and was ready to leave the temple.

he completed his study and training.

he was reminded that despite of all his achievements so far, he would be wise to remain humble all the time.

mmmm

let me think about that

--

mmm

still thinking

ok

time to practice some long fist and tan tui

--

:D

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DhnAnGd8PY&feature=related

run away.

:cool:

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmQNBSQmXCE&feature=related

all creatures are one with nature.

:cool:

[Mr Punch]

It taught me that white people like a white face on things.

Just as Copernicus plagerized Arab texts, white people will prefer Caradine and Chuck Norris to Bruce lee. They want M&M, Jerry Lewis and Elvis Presley.

Its not something that will change, so its something that I can make use of.

American Karate anyone?

Systema? Pankration? Krav Maga? Patented medicines for Chemo and malaria based on Chinese medicine?

And people wonder why China can't take US copyright seriously.What on earth are you babbling about? You have a point to a certain degree... but jeez, a lot of black people thought Elvis was pretty good too, and he brought a lot of black music to white people's attention...

And WTF have Krav Magar, Pankration and Systema got to do with racism? :rolleyes: Donkey! :p

[TenTigers]

I was hooked on Gung-Fu since age 11, Kato in the Green Hornet.
I had all the poses down, even had a black nehru in fifth grade-(closest thing I could get to Kato's chauffeur's jacket)

I read Bruce Tegner's Complete Book of Karate. It had four pages in the back on Gung-Fu. (learned those poses too)

Ed Parker's Secrets of Chinese Karate told about the Shaolin Temple, the entrance tests, the hall of wooden dummies and the urn, branding the Dragon and the Tiger. (I used red magic marker and drew them on my arms.)

When the pilot came out, I was so excited. I had no idea anyone knew about Gung-Fu, the Shaolin Temple, the brands, etc except me. Well, me and Ed Parker.

When I saw the TV commercial for Chinese Connection-I freaked. Bruce Lee, my childhood hero, was making MOVIES!!!!Holy Crap!!

They played the Green Hornet reruns on a uhf channel. Once a week, My friend and I rigged up coat hangers, foil, etc to squint our eyes through a snowy picture just to catch a glimpse of Kato.

I watched Kung-Fu religiously.
When it went off the air, they showed reruns several years later on some cable channel at 4am. I would set my alarm, watch it and then go back to sleep.

The special episodes with Brandon were horrorshows. The beginning of the end.

Then...Kung-Fu, the legend continues came on-I threw up on the TV set.
Carradine's downward spiral...

Carradine in Lone Wold McQuade? Still doing Kwai Chang poses, trying to do mantis diu sao, and attempting the Bruce Lee head wave?- Again, it took an hour to clean the puke off the TV. (all those nooks and crannies...)

Carradine had truly lost his mind. He produced the whole thing. I thought it might be good, but Christ-after twenty years, all he could do was a sloppy crescent kick and a palm strike? My worst students with a month of training were better than that. -I knew better this time("better bring a bucket")

I bought the DVD of the first season, which includes the pilot.
It's still great.

no, the fight scenes aren't good, although the ones Kam Yuen choreographed were better than David Chow's, but the whole concept, the philosophy woven in, the moral lessons, the whole vibe is cool.

I also bought the entire series of Green Hornet.

If we could get into the archives and burn all the stuff he did after the original series, David Carradine would be an icon.

[David Jamieson]

It taught me that white people like a white face on things.

Just as Copernicus plagerized Arab texts, white people will prefer Caradine and Chuck Norris to Bruce lee. They want M&M, Jerry Lewis and Elvis Presley.

Its not something that will change, so its something that I can make use of.

American Karate anyone?

Systema? Pankration? Krav Maga? Patented medicines for Chemo and malaria based on Chinese medicine?

And people wonder why China can't take US copyright seriously.

Jeez Andy, got self-loathing there?

In the days of Copernicus, there was a real shortage of knowledge, and translating, verifying and disseminating hardly qualifies as plagiarism. not to mention, a great deal of so called arab texts weren't Arab to begin with, they were translated from earlier Greek, Chinese, Sanskrit and other texts.

Is there a lot of white people on tv in china playing the roles of white people? How about black people?

And yes, American Karate! lol. USAF were the first to adopt Karate traditions in America and flavoured it accordingly in many ways.

Karate was originally Chinese wasn't it? Why is it called Japanese then?

medical knowledge is for the world. there's quackery in all of it. But there is a lot of quackery in tcm there is no denying that.

Pankration is Greek, Systema is Russian, Krav Maga is modern Israeli system of h2h based on many different arts studied. It makes no bones about it.

copyrights not taken seriously is entirely different than the millions of dollars that are literally stolen from the rest of the world through practices that are essentially theft and piracy.

anyway, just pointing out that perhaps this is one of those posts where you are having a bad morning or something...

pretty myopic in intent.

man! :confused:

[David Jamieson]

Its not self loathing, but a loathing of racism. Its a human tendency to want to claim things based on some tribal/racial line. Its foolish at best, insulting and possibly damaging at worst.

According to many in Korea, Zhu Ge Liang and Jesus Christ are Korean.

Many so called western martial arts came directly from Asia, however, the unspoken rule is that you don't have to cite sources that aren't European. The last I heard Krav Maga was from the Macabees and perfected in concentration camps and Pankration was several thousand years old.

From movies I have learned that the following people are caucasian: Jesus Christ, shaolin monks, ghentis khan, Moses, Egyptian Pharoes, and Ghandi.

I'm supprised they let a black guy play Kunta Kinte or Shaka Zulu. The days of black face and natives wearing prosthetic noses are gone right? The mayans wore them in Apocalypto to look more "mayan". We'll see how they recast Caine.

I'm suprised no one else finds this embarrasing.

If you want to get a message out, you will always reach the widest audience by using cultural relevancy.

The times, they are a changing. It takes time for people to learn to tolerate something, nevermind come to accept it.

If Kungfu had used a chinese person in the lead, it simply would have never exposed as many people as it did to the thinking behind the messages that were relayed.

I don't find it embarrassing, because we can see the progress that is made through the use of this methodology.

It is impossible to force people to accept things. If however, you wean them from their fears and intolerance gradually and allow them to form the ideas on their own, they will indeed come round.

Look how long it took the US to elect a Black man. That wouldn't have ever happened in the 70's

Humans aren't instantaneously filled with wisdom and knowledge and understanding. It takes time, exposure and experience for each and everyone of us to shed our ignorance.

the world we live in now is nothing like it was 100 years ago and won't be anything like this 100 years from now.

:)

[TenTigers]

If Kungfu had used a chinese person in the lead, it simply would have never exposed as many people as it did to the thinking behind the messages that were relayed.
:)

Doubtful. Bruce Lee became a sensation simply by being Kato in a very short lived series playing to a limited audience-kids, mostly.
As Kwai Chang, he would've exploded on the media. I don't think we give the public enough credit sometimes.

[David Jamieson]

Doubtful. Bruce Lee became a sensation simply by being Kato in a very short lived series playing to a limited audience-kids, mostly.
As Kwai Chang, he would've exploded on the media. I don't think we give the public enough credit sometimes.

I don't agree. I think it would have been relegated even further in cult viewers.

Instead, by using Carradine, white bread land got a taste as well.

the green hornet was not a popular show by any stretch of ratings. there was exactly one season of it. and Bruce was not the lead either. he was the chaffeur!

Whereas Kungfu got 3 seasons out and reached a huge audience.

It is very difficult to get one culture to readily accept the concepts of another unless you can frame it contextually to the target culture.

That much appears to be true.

Bruce's difficulty with the english language would have been an issue as well.

Just pointing it out that societal norms have changed since then sure, and maybe this series could be remade with appropriate characters, but back then, it wouldn't have had the appeal that it did to the North American audience at that time.

[kwaichang]

Kwai Chang was half Chinese and Half American he would not have looked as Chinese as Bruce Lee did. That was the point that the Shaolin Temple made an exception to the rule. I started watching Kung Fu from the beginning and still love it . I know what "real" Kung Fu is and still like it it is a multi level series. Based on many philosophies and religions The flash back scenes are the best part of the show. I still train because of the show. I love the message it sent. and sends. BTW what does electing a Black man who doesnt really look Black have to do with anything, ?? About as much as a half chinese american that doesnt look asian does. The jury is still out about Obama he hasnt shown me anything yet!!! KC

[Yao Sing]

Don't mean to sidetrack the thread but if Obama is half white and half black why is he always called a black man?

Wouldn't calling him a white man be equally correct?

Just wondering.

[David Jamieson]

Don't mean to sidetrack the thread but if Obama is half white and half black why is he always called a black man?

Wouldn't calling him a white man be equally correct?

Just wondering.

People of mixed race face this all the time.
Generally it usually works out that neither race will fully accept them as one of theirs.

this is an error in thinking in the first place, so it will pass and we can all move on with judging people on their personal merit as opposed to what they look like, sound like etc.

we're barely past apes at that social understanding level of things, but I think we're coming along.

[Shaolinlueb]

didnt like the first or second one.