EVERYBODY WAS KUNG FU FIGHTING: A Retro Journey Back to the 1970s

In comparison to the high-tech society of today, with every form of media at our fingertips such as computers, cell phones, and the all too instant downloads from that marvel of the modern world, the internet, the early 1970s was a completely different technological era. Back then, media entertainment was either a choice of three television channels, the transistor radio or the once a week special treat, a night at the cinema for all and sundry. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, an explosion of ‘Kung Fu Mania’ hit the scene with the power of a jumping side thrust kick. Up until then, the sight of any Asian madman kicking holes through walls had been restricted (in most cases), to the ‘odd-job’ type thug from a James Bond thriller. Suddenly, the new hero in town wore silk-like pyjamas and white socks while single-handedly disposing of an army of bad guys with his (or her) bare feet and fists. For every kid, teenager, and young adult, nights were now spent at the local social hall three times a week in a bid to learn this ancient art, so elegantly displayed by their newly found screen heroes. Youth culture now faced East as never before, with even the most unlikely television favourites joining in, such as ‘old man’ Steptoe and his pensioner pals in an episode comically titled ‘The Seven Steptoerai.’ But for all the new wave of faces, with strange names such as Lo Lieh, Wang Yu and Angela Mao Ying, (Lady Kung Fu herself), the main man of the action, had already passed away. Of course, this was none other than the one and only Bruce Lee, of which every Kung Fu star was attempting to fill his shoes. But for an eager public, Kung Fu wasn’t just restricted to the big screen. Our weekly fix of martial art mayhem arrived in everyone’s living room when Kwai Chang Caine (curiously played by non-Asian actor David Carradine) hit the small screen with the Kung Fu television series. Now, some forty-plus years later, Kung Fu has still managed to stay in our society in some shape or form and doesn’t look like it will ever leave our sides, and nowadays is as synonymous in Western culture as good old ‘Fish and Chips. So sit back and enjoy as you are taken on a nostalgic trip to the early 1970s when virtually overnight the western world turned its attention East, and, as the Carl Douglas number one hit record bellowed out - Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting !- Steve Kerridge