I'm the Kung Fu Flid
..and I'm bored of political correctness
By Chris Pragnell, 27/05/2009
THE star of controversial new film Kung Fu Flid, Mat Fraser, has heard all the jokes before.
He grew up in a tough north London environment with stunted arms after being born with Thalidomide birth defects.
Kung Fu Flid star Mat Fraser on his controversial new film
Now he's playing the lead role in independent martial arts flick Kung Fu Flid - a name that's bound to raise a few eyebrows.
The drug Thalidomide was first introduced in the late 1950s in Europe to ease morning sickness suffered by pregnant women.
A decade later it was revealed that babies born to women who took the drug were more than 20 per cent more likely to be born with problems such as extremely short or missing arms and legs.
And the term 'flid' became an offensive tag given to these babies and children.
Now BBC actor Mat is trying to change public perception of this term.
"Yeah, I'm a flid - what of it?" says Mat. "I'm aware it's going to sound negative to some people, but it's like the n-word. That's negative, isn't it?
"Then it was reclaimed by the rap community. I'm trying to reclaim the f-word, if you like, as something positive."
Whether or not other disabled people agree, many will credit his straight-talking approach.
He suggests that offensive terms have a generational link.
"Some people are imprisoned by political correctness," he argues. "I'm bored of political correctness - it hasn't really done me a lot of favours in my life.
He held up a board - I kicked right through it. So I guess I'm a bit of a natural
"I've shown young people the trailer to this. All flid means to them is a man with short arms who kick the hell out of everybody, who gets the girl back. It's a pro-active thing.
The Brit film, directed by Xavier Leret, sees disabled Mat taking on the bad guys using a variety of martial arts techniques and - judging by the trailers - there's no holding back in terms of gore and violence.
He stars alongside ex Steps babe Faye Tozer and This Is England star Frank Harper.
Mat is ideally placed for the role not just because of his disability, but because of his martial arts background. The 47-year-old has trained in several disciplines, including hapkido, tae kwon do and choi kwang-do, for many years.
It's utterly, quintissentially British
Recalling his first visit to a north London gym, he says: "It sounded like something that would appeal to me. I asked, 'Do you think I could do that?
"The instructor said 'I don't know, can you kick through that?' and he held up a board. I kicked right through it. So I guess I'm a bit of a natural."
The film tells the story of Jimmy, a thalidomide short armed kung fu star and his other half, Lu, who are trying to get their daughter back from the claws of child trafficking gangsters who, unbeknown to them, want to fry her in acid.
Mat, who is an accomplished actor, has been on our screens since 1997 - appearing in programmes for the BBC, C4, ITV and Sky.
But he's hoping Kung Fu Flid will raise his profile further.
The film is "utterly, quintessentially British," he says. "News of the World readers will hopefully take the film as they see it."
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