Kung Fu Fighting 

The Woosiers shine in a knockdown dragout 

SOUTHSIDE – In the 1970s there was an obsession with Chinese culture and martial arts in the Western world. You could say, "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting." From Bruce Lee films (1971-1978) to the television series Kung Fu (1972-1975), to the song Kung Fu Fighting (1974) by Carl Douglas, Americans were fascinated by ancient oriental forms of self-defense, discipline and wisdom. NBC’s Saturday Night Live got into the Chinese act with John Belushi’s classic character, Samurai Futaba, who appeared in 17 shows including the unforgettable Samurai Night Fever (1978), a parody of the blockbuster film Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta, with Futaba stepping out as disco dancer Tony Manero. However, what many forget is O.J. Simpson hosted SNL that night and played the Samurai's brother in the skit. Back to Kung Fu, the TV series. The show is still highly underrated and actor David Carradine never got his due for portraying Kwai Chang Caine, a half-Chinese orphaned son who grows up to become a Shaolin priest and martial arts expert in China. My favorite part of the show each week would be the flashback to when Caine’s monastery mentor, Master Po, would instruct Grasshopper (young Caine's nickname)...“When you can snatch the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave." Caine finally snatched the pebble one day, fled China to escape his own death and headed to the Western U.S. to seek his family and kick some butt, but only when he absolutely had to teach some of his own lessons. A true classic.