BADASS ASIANS Vol.1

I've talked about Ric Flair being a larger than life warrior poet, badass of the squared circle; but as much as I'd love to be "the man" I ain't no whiteboy.

Which leads me to my newest entry here BADASS ASIANS

What defines a badass?

1. He's gotta kick the living shit out of at least 100 people on film.

2. He's gotta be loved by the Black audience (more on this later)

3. I'd consider it an honor if they beat my ass too.

I'll only name the top three as to me they're the most essential.

BRUCE LEE

I saw "Enter The Dragon" as a kid with my mother and father at a Loews theater on 86th street between 3rd avenue and Lexington in Manhattan on a late summer evening in 1980. I remember my parents encouraging me to see this, as it was important to them and later to me that I see an Oriental film star of his calibur on the big screen. I had no idea what an effect it had on me.

First off later that year I enrolled in Tae Kwon Do and 4 1/2 years later received my Black Belt. I was going to enroll in a Tai Chi class but adolescence, comics and f-up self esteem issues sunk that.

Bruce Lee was the Elvis of Kung Fu, or Jeet Kun Do (Way of the intercepting fist) and only made 5 movies; 1 of which "Enter the Dragon" the Citizen Kane of Kung Fu flicks, was the only one to use his actual voice. What a badass this guy was in the first three of his films, "Fists of Fury", "Chinese Connection" and "Return of the Dragon" he manages to fuck up the likes of and industrial Thai ice factory, an entire Japanese dojo, a mixed bag of hoods in Italy, and a young Chuck Norris - furthermore rips off a large patch of his chest hair (yes Chuck waxes. euuuu) before kicking his ass all the way to Saint Peter.

Then in "Enter the Dragon" Bruce beats the piss out of an entire island fortress' kung fu army almost singlehandedly. His fight with the guards in the middle of the movie is a classic. You too can learn how to crack skulls with nunchucks and bo staffs.

Plus the added attraction of having Brothers in the audience only added to the euphoria of bodies being broken left and right.
With each punch and kick they would call out outrageous comments, and you wouldn't mind as it added to the experience.
"Fuck 'im up Bruce!' "Yeah right brother!" "Oh shiiiit, man did you see that!" this followed by high fives and soul cackles.
One of the reasons I used to watch Steven Segal movies in Philly @ the Sam Eric theater on Chestnut street was because of this phenomenom.

Unfortunately, Death beat the shit out of Bruce Lee at the age of 33, and he only left :30 mins of his last movie "Game of Death" where he fighs of all people, Kareem Abdul Jabbar in a sequence in a Pagoda of Death. The rest of the movie sucks with some Bruce look a like with a beard trying to pass himself off as the king. Oh yeah the score by John Barry's nice but that was it. Still no one will ever come close to this guy.


NEXT: CHOW YUN FAT