The Role of Martial Arts in Pop Culture (and Vice Versa)

We, the traditional martial artists of the world, are a weird lot. But I probably didn’t need to tell you that. See, unlike nearly every other hobby, sport, pursuit, and pastime, we put an awful lot of stock in the way our preferred way of spending time is represented in popular culture. And why shouldn’t we? When that random Hollywood actor throws a punch “wrong,” it makes all of us look bad. (The previous sentence, in case it was unclear, was said with sarcasm. And if I had more time, I’m realizing that I’d write this whole thing out with a lot of custom graphics as a throwback to the opening credits of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.) Forgetting the tangent of the previous sentence, it’s time we look at martial arts in pop culture.

Pop Culture and Martial Arts are Linked

But why is that? I can’t imagine LeBron James ever cared about how Will Ferrell looked while dribbling on camera in Semi-Pro.

Let that sink in… because we, collectively, do. As martial artists, we care a lot about martial arts in pop culture. So much so, that many of us will refuse to watch a show or movie because of relatively small aspects of the film.

“That actor doesn’t actually know taekwondo, so I’m not watching.”

“It was called Karate Kid but the characters were doing Kung fu.”

And, yet, I’m not immune. You might not know me, but I host a podcast and sometimes even I fall prey to this. Like many of you who have uttered statements similar to those above, I feel protective over the martial arts. And when pop culture gets it wrong, I feel offended.

See, unlike basketball, martial arts doesn’t quite have the stable standing it deserves. Society, broadly, has a lot of misunderstandings about what we do. Not so with basketball, baseball, even curling. It’s pretty obvious what those participants do, and it makes for some cut and dry portrayals in film. Not so with martial arts. Nearly anything that requires deep breathing or throwing a punch can be termed martial arts when it comes to popular culture.

You Can’t Separate Them, Nor Should We Want To

Think about where your favorite films or television shows would be without martial arts. Depending on the genre, they could be without a comical episode (Seinfeld) or completely nonexistent (John Wick, Warrior, Into the Badlands). Unlike basketball, martial arts is core to our society and culture. This is for the simple fact that martial arts grew out of fighting, and fighting, despite what some would suggest, is a fundamental instinct among human beings.

Which leaves us to watch, and argue about who did it well or wrong. It offers the opportunity for commentary over drinks late into Friday nights. While the pop culture aspect of martial arts isn’t significant to everyone, it is significant to us, overall. Without pop culture figures like Bruce Lee – still the most well known martial artist of all time, despite being gone for 50 years – where would we be? How many of us took the inspiration to start from a movie or show?

Martial arts school owners have long known the value of the next Karate Kid or Ninja Turtles film on enrollment, which spreads beyond children to teens and adults. As people, we relish the idea of being like our heroes. For a good many of us, those heroes aren’t real people, but rather imaginary. Superheroes from comic books are hard to emulate, but learning to punch and kick like them – or like any number of heroes from any number of films – is possible. So we train.

Which creates this flow, from training to pop culture and back. It’s a chicken and egg situation that leaves everyone better off. That doesn’t mean we have to be so rabidly defensive, but I know that advice won’t be heeded, (After all, I shouted about Into the Badlands from before the show even aired, and we know how that worked out.)

I love martial arts, and you probably do, too. But it’s time we realized that just because some McDojo or McDirector does something you dislike, it doesn’t mean what you’re doing is anything less valuable.