Jackie Demonstrates Amazing Breath Control

Very Cool Martial Arts Museum

BURBANK - Billed as the first of its kind in the world, the Martial Arts History Museum reopened in its permanent home in Burbank on Saturday amidst a flurry of martial arts celebrities and fans itching to get a glimpse of more than 300 artifacts.

The grand opening boasted 12th century Samurai armor replicas donated from Japan, colorful magazine covers, a variety of weapons, movie props and a timeline of martial arts films dating back to the 1920s.

It's not just all about Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jet Li or Jackie Chan, according to Michael Matsuda, owner and founder of the museum, which left Santa Clarita in 2008.

"It's not a who's who, even though there are obviously key figures that you need to put up to represent the history of martial arts," said Matsuda, a 10th degree black belt in Monkey Kung Fu. "These people are a part of Asian culture and show how it connects and is a part of American history as well. It's a blending of the two."

Asian martial arts first appeared on film in the 1921 movie "The Outside Woman," and continued with Japan's "The Seven Samurai," and the original "Green Hornet" TV show, according to the timeline, one of the more popular exhibits at the 3,500-square foot museum.

Later came 1971's "Billy Jack," which kicked off the Kung Fu craze of that decade, including the rise of David Carradine in his "Kung Fu" television series and Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris in "Way of the Dragon."

Those movies paved the way for "The Karate Kid," "Big Trouble in Little China," "Xena," and more recently, the "Kill Bill" movies and "Kung Fu Panda."

Displayed below the timeline were props used in several popular movies, including the Karate Kid's Japanese sun-emblazoned headband, the medallion worn by Jackie Chan in "The Medallion" and the costume worn by Cynthia Rothrock - the female equivalent of Chuck Norris in the martial arts world - in "Sci-Fighter."

The idea behind the fighting icons, costumes and weapons is to give people a chance to learn about Asian cultures and the hundreds of fighting styles that have sprung from it, such as Japan's Judo, Korea's Hapkido, and Thailand's Muay Thai.

"This will give a glimpse into how deep the history is and how deep the influences are in today's movies," said Douglas Wong, a Northridge-based martial arts instructor who trained Lucy Lawless for "Xena," Kevin Sorbo for "Hercules," and Carradine. "It's part of Chinese history. You can't talk about Chinese history without martial arts."

And it's a chance for people to learn about the martial arts greats, said Rothrock, a five-time World Karate Champion who holds six black belts in various fighting styles.

"This will keep their memory forever," said Rothrock, who posed for pictures with fans beside her costume. "I think the history gets a little bit lost in martial arts. People don't really know the ancestors. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be where we are today. They taught all of us. They were our inspiration."

Prince Albert Jackson, a martial arts fan from Sherman Oaks, was beside himself. He recalled watching many of the movies listed on the timeline growing up in Bermuda.

"It's fantastic," said Jackson, who said he would return as the museum displays new artifacts. "I'm glad something like this exists."

SOURCE: DAILY NEWS.COM

Another Interesting Response to The Karate Kid

Another interesting response to The Karate Kid - this one from India. Just a point of interest the Indian martial art of kalaripayat mentioned in this article was featured in The Myth.

Enter the still and silent spirit of martial arts

More than a quarter of a century after thoroughly enjoying the original 1984 Karate Kid — and watching it repeatedly on TV over the years — the 2010 Karate Kid turned out to be more than just a nostalgic walk through memory. A simple tale of the inner transformation of a 12-year-old (Jaden Smith) from a fearful boy in a new school in a new country as he fights off a bully in a tournament under the guidance of a Kung Fu teacher (Jackie Chan) to a dignified return, the film explores the many facets of courage — and spirituality.

Kung Fu, Chan tells Smith in an intense moment, is in taking the jacket off and wearing it again. His point: the martial arts are not just about fighting, but life itself. It includes the physical stances, exercises, balance. But traditional martial arts also embrace an inner training where the mind, body and soul come together in a spiritual balance through breathing, stillness, calm.

Within Chinese martial arts, are other forms — Judo that plays with throwing and grappling; Karate that goes further into blocking and needs greater force. Beyond China lie more — the Korean Tae Kwon Do that’s similar to karate, but where the feet become the instrument of force; the Japanese Jiu Jitsu that uses the attacker’s strengths against him. In their essence, all martial arts are for self defence, not aggression.

But more than the glamorous fighting aspects, these arts are about harmonising the body, mind and spirit. They are first spiritual then martial, with their roots in Taoism and Buddhism. The 18 weapons — from sabre, spear and straight sword to axe, steel whip and hammer — that are taught in the second stage, where these weapons are seen as extensions of the body.

In this respect, the Chinese martial arts are similar to the Indian tradition, where the spirit is the guiding force of the body and all martial skills are, in addition to preservation, a technique of self-discovery. It is in this light that we need to see arts like Varanasi’s masti yuddha, Kerala’s kalaripayat or Andhra Pradesh’s kathi samu. It is a way of life and something whose roots like in religion but whose body resides in the science of prana, life. The common currency of Chinese and Indian martial arts is playing with the duo of energy and peace.

While Hollywood has explored the physical aspects in films like the Karate Kid franchise and actors like Steven Segal (he practises akido and supports the Tibetan freedom movement), the deeper aspects of the art are visible only to those looking for it. In Prahar, Nana Patekar plays Major Chauhan who in one tender moment tells a child that you fight not with your arms but with your mind.

Over a busy and loaded weekend — the Germany-Argentina and Spain-Paraguay matches — I managed to catch Karate Kid 2010 twice in the same hall. And came out with insights that some Western reviewers have debunked as cliché and predictable. They probably think that martial arts are about technology, guns, bombs. Good luck to them and their noise-surrounded readers.

For me, it’s the silence and stillness of the East — any day, any lifetime.

SOURCE: CUTTING THE EDGE