I used to watch Kung Fu with David Carradine every single week when I was a kid. I loved the show. It was the only show where the good martial arts guy gets hit pretty often.
Anyway I was wondering what Carradine’s real story is. I thought his speech in the series was just an act, but on his Chi Kunk video he talks just like the series. Is that for real? Any info on what the guy is up to would be appreciated.
So, can the guy really fight? In fact, how many martial arts guys that do hollywood can actually use thier skills in real fights? Like Jackie Chan for instance. He is so fast, I would think if he actually hit me I might pop like a balloon
i don’t think too much of carradine, honestly. i heard him interviewed on the radio. when asked how often he trained, he said “as little as possible.” granted that could’ve been a joke. so i’m not taking it too seriously.
but then, the subject of chuck norris came up. carradine said he was too ‘commercial.’ this from a guy that has instructional videos and, in my opinion, very little to qualify him as an instructor.
i’m no big chuck norris fan, mind you. but at least he’s done something constructive with his celebrity status. his drug prevention program seems quite successful.
anyway, back to the topic. i read carradine’s book ‘spirit of shaolin.’ turned out to be as much about his film career as about gung fu.
interesting note: the back of the book has an appendix of styles, courtesy of david carradine. one of the ‘styles’ is samurai. 'nuff said.
I’ve heard some funny stories about this lop. There were a few that made me wonder why Brandon didn’t whup him when he had the chance, such as from a David Carradine interview: “I was at the premiere of Enter the Dragon and while I was watching it I felt the spirit of Bruce Lee enter my body.”
It must have been sometime after this that there were some stories floating around about how Carradine used to pick fights in Hollywood bars and inevitably get beaten up.
Take it as you will..
We are trained in wushu; we must protect the Temple!
When Carradine started making teh series he knew Nothing at all. Over time, Kam Yuen sifu and Davdi Chow sifu taught him some things.
The broken speech is a put on. The man is an actor.
His Kung Fu speaks for itself.
His teachers however are bonafide KF men. en and Chow)
I think he doen’t like Chuck because Chuck gave him a smack upside the head during the making of Lone Wolf Mcquade. They were doing a fight scene, and as the story goes, Norris told Carradine to cool it on the face shots, he didn’t so Chuck dropped him.
Chuck is for real, commercial or not, Carradine has very likely had opportunities to take a good long study of Chinese Martial Arts.
I don’t know if he has though, if his videos or books are indicative of anything, he hasn’t really gone that deep.
The original show was a great idea though.(it was Bruce Lee’s idea)The second iteration (legend continues) has some moments. Peter (the character who is Cains son) has moved on and is now playing a steamy role in “queer as folk”, man that was weird to see.
i think his kf ability is a joke, but i actually i heard that he’d been arrested quite a few times for assult. i guess the dude is a little off his rocker and would go up to people saying “i am cain let me help you” and then kick the **** out them. im sure that’s not the exact way it went down, if at all, but i’m just doing my part to spread useless and comical celebrity rumors.
well you see..carradine talked normal until he got hit in the back of the head by an angry wookie when he beat the wookie in a push hands competition. :rolleyes:
I was wondering, is Kung Fu still on the air? Either the original series or The Lengend Continues? I’ve never seen the show and was wanting to check it out.
So the broken speech thing is a put on?!? D@mn.
That is one of his coolest things. You know…William Shattner has the broken speeck thing, and that IS real. Are you guys sure???
And seriously, these are all useless rumors. Does anyone know if the guys knows his stuff or not? You say his kung fu is no good, but is that based on his action flicks?
Is that true that he knew nothing when he started? That would be amazing. How could the guy beat out Bruce Lee for the part???
Although I have really wondered what the series would have been like with Bruce Lee. His English was a little bad, but at least he LOOKED Chinese. I used to wonder when I was a kid, “How do they know he is Chinese when they see him?”
Everything I’ve ever seen Carradine in he’s had that broken speech–but it just may be an affectation he uses. Dunno.
No, he can’t fight. No, he knew/knows nothing about KF and yes, he was/is a hopeless drunkard. He used to drink bottles of vodka on the KF sets of both series and muff his lines all the time. (I got this juicy info from E!'s True Hollywood Stories: David Carridine.
He’s a hopeless f*cking case, but the original KF series was pretty good and I wish they’d show it again. Only the new modern series is shown on TBS, I think, or one of those other half-dozen cookie-cutter networks owned by Ted Turner.
I see you haven’t heard the story.
Well, Bruce wasn’t picked because he was “too chinese for the american public” according to the fuddy duddy studio execs.
Carradine got picked as a result instead being of the famous Carradine family and having a willingness to do the part. Bruce apparently was not happy.
At least that was the angle the Lee family put on it and as well was Linda’s explanation in the little part of the biographical (sort of) movie of Bruce called “Dragon”.
This is all just hollywood news. But it is known that Carradine was unknowledgeable until after having the opportunity to study with Kam Yuen sifu (3rd season MA choreo director) and David Chow (earlier Choreo director and renegade Siu Lam Monk in one episode)
peace
The reason Bruce wasn’t picked for the part was because the company was scared to take the chance of Bruce not being accepted by the american public.Thats the reason they gave him.
Man, I am very dissapointed. That is sh1t. You know, I get so sick of fake sh1t. The guy was my idol when I was a kid. I guess the idea of Cain is good.
We must…seek..an understanding…of..ourself.
I am going to develop the broken speech as part of my Kung fu training. I think it adds credibility.
