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Was Karate Kid the main reason for the 80s martial arts movie resurgence
Posted on 3/27/20 at 9:41 pm
Posted on 3/27/20 at 9:41 pm
It's crazy looking back at all the karate/martial arts movies that dominated the 80s and made the sport even work its way into real life with karate and Tae Kwon Do studios popping up all over the country.
In the 70s, there were b-movie foreign dubbed kung fu films, but they weren't that mainstream. I was not around when Karate Kid hit theaters but looking back it may have been the biggest reason for American studios finally getting into the martial arts film game on a real level.
In the 70s, there were b-movie foreign dubbed kung fu films, but they weren't that mainstream. I was not around when Karate Kid hit theaters but looking back it may have been the biggest reason for American studios finally getting into the martial arts film game on a real level.
9
Posted on 3/27/20 at 10:06 pm to Jack Ruby
quote:Your wanton disrespect for Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris is duly noted.
In the 70s, there were b-movie foreign dubbed kung fu films, but they weren't that mainstream.
Posted on 3/27/20 at 10:12 pm to Jack Ruby
No it was the death and popularity of Bruce Lee. Karate Kid was a product of that, not the source.
Posted on 3/27/20 at 10:23 pm to Jack Ruby
Hollywood caught up late honestly with Bloodsport.
Kids loved Bruce Lee movies. Ninja and Karate mags were the rage.
Karate Kid probably helped but the Bruce Lee/Ninja Black Belt stuff was already going on.
No kid saw Karate Kid and was like, what's this Karate thing?
Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee movies were hugely popular with 80's kids.
There's a reason Hollywood made The Karate Kid when they did, they saw the demand.
Kids loved Bruce Lee movies. Ninja and Karate mags were the rage.
Karate Kid probably helped but the Bruce Lee/Ninja Black Belt stuff was already going on.
No kid saw Karate Kid and was like, what's this Karate thing?
Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee movies were hugely popular with 80's kids.
There's a reason Hollywood made The Karate Kid when they did, they saw the demand.
Posted on 3/27/20 at 10:41 pm to Samson
quote:
don't forget Bloodsport
Don't forget The Last Dragon
Posted on 3/27/20 at 10:52 pm to Jack Ruby
No. USA Network had Kung Fu Theatre on Sundays around noon. This was before The Karate Kid. They'd play all the classic Shaw Bros movies. Five Deadly Venoms. 36 Chambers etc. I used to take them every Sunday
Posted on 3/27/20 at 11:04 pm to YNWA
You're so right and that was part of the popularity with kids.
Totally forgot about that. So many Kung-Fu movies on Sunday morning. Saturday mornings were cartoons, Sunday mornings were Kung-Fu.
Kids were bringing throwing stars to the playground.
You could order them from the back pages of any Martial Arts magazine.
That'd get you expelled today. Or arrested.
Everyone wanted Nunchucks and a Butterfly knife too. It was a martial arts craze, especially the "secret" Ninja.
Nobody knew any better so Kung-Fu, Karate, Ninjas, were all lumped in together.
So when Daniel says, he needs to learn Karate...like that's the ONLY way to defend himself...you know he's been thinking about it for awhile (hell, he took lessons at the Y.) And this was 1984.
Karate Kid was just reflecting what kids had already been doing...reading those mags, watching Kung-Fu movies on Sunday, Bruce Lee, etc.
Totally forgot about that. So many Kung-Fu movies on Sunday morning. Saturday mornings were cartoons, Sunday mornings were Kung-Fu.
Kids were bringing throwing stars to the playground.
You could order them from the back pages of any Martial Arts magazine.
That'd get you expelled today. Or arrested.
Everyone wanted Nunchucks and a Butterfly knife too. It was a martial arts craze, especially the "secret" Ninja.
Nobody knew any better so Kung-Fu, Karate, Ninjas, were all lumped in together.
So when Daniel says, he needs to learn Karate...like that's the ONLY way to defend himself...you know he's been thinking about it for awhile (hell, he took lessons at the Y.) And this was 1984.
Karate Kid was just reflecting what kids had already been doing...reading those mags, watching Kung-Fu movies on Sunday, Bruce Lee, etc.
Posted on 3/28/20 at 12:33 am to Jack Ruby
I was born in 1980 so maybe my perspective is too young for this topic. But for me and my friends it was Karate Kid, Kickboxer, Bloodsport, and then TMNT in the late 80s.
Posted on 3/28/20 at 1:12 am to YNWA
quote:
USA Network had Kung Fu Theatre on Sundays around noon
In Houston we had Saturday Kung Fu Theater on Channel 39. I imagine UHF stations in other cities had the same.
Karate Kid was big with my generation of elementary school kids, but my older brother and his friends were already into Bruce Lee and martial arts magazines, as another poster said. They thought they were so cool if they got their hands on a pair of nunchucks or a fake throwing star from the flea market.
And Chuck Norris was huge. Maybe bigger here once he became a Houstonian/Texan. As an adult, I saw him at a charity dinner one time and was shocked by how short he was.
Posted on 3/28/20 at 6:39 am to Samson
quote:
don't forget Bloodsport
This gem says hi as well.
Posted on 3/28/20 at 7:37 am to Jack Ruby
quote:you got it backwards. karate was already pretty common and popular by then. A key reason the movie was about karate is bc of its popularity in the early 80's. The karate kid idea developed from a true story of a mom who turned to martial arts to help her bullied son.
dominated the 80s and made the sport even work its way into real life with karate and Tae Kwon Do studios popping up all over the country.
Posted on 3/28/20 at 9:08 am to Jack Ruby
quote:
I was not around when Karate Kid hit theaters
quote:At what? You weren't alive.
looking back
Karate Kid was the result of the exploding popularity of martial arts movies, which began to be more mainstream and western in the very early 80's.
Some posters here credit Bruce Lee's death, but he was killed in 1973. His death may have accelerated the popularity of martial arts films, but it was a slow burn until more mainstream, bigger budget English language movies were released regularly.
If I had to credit one movie for bridging the gap between foreign martial arts movies and The Karate Kid, American Ninja, The Last Dragon, etc., I'd say it was actually three movies - The Ninja Trilogy, by Sho Kosugi, beginning with Enter the Ninja (1981), Revenge of the Ninja (1983) and Ninja 3: The Domination (1984). Big studios saw the potential of karate movies set in the USA with American actors, and the Karate Kid phenomenon began.
This post was edited on 3/28/20 at 9:33 am
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