Historical archive

Kung fu fever: the martial arts boom of the 1970s and 80s

Television, pop songs, ninjas and the Karate Kid filled dojos all over the world.

1972–1989

Original WABUKAN illustration (ink and wash), 2026. Children watching a neighbourhood martial-arts class through the window, early 1980s.

The story

In 1972 the American TV series Kung Fu began, with David Carradine as a Shaolin monk wandering the Old West. A year later Bruce Lee’s films reached Western cinemas, and in 1974 Carl Douglas’s song Kung Fu Fighting went to number one in Britain and the United States. Martial arts were suddenly everywhere.

Schools of karate, kung fu, judo and taekwondo multiplied, many of them opened by teachers trained in Asia or by soldiers back from postings there. Competitors wanted real contact: in 1974 the Professional Karate Association held its first world full-contact championships in Los Angeles, a step towards modern kickboxing.

The 1980s brought a ninja craze, started by films such as Enter the Ninja (1981) and fed by comics like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1984). The Karate Kid (1984) sent a new generation of children to the dojo, while Jackie Chan mixed comedy and stunts in Drunken Master (1978) and Police Story (1985). By the end of the decade Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Bloodsport (1988) was selling the dream of secret underground tournaments.

Key dates

1972
The TV series Kung Fu begins.
1974
Kung Fu Fighting is number one; first PKA full-contact world championships.
1978
Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master.
1981
Enter the Ninja starts the ninja film wave.
1984
The Karate Kid; first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic.
1988
Bloodsport.

Myth and fact

Myth

Bloodsport is a true story about a secret full-contact tournament.

The film was based on claims by Frank Dux that have been widely questioned and never independently confirmed. No reliable evidence shows that the tournament took place as told.

Why it matters

The boom gave many martial arts their first big public outside Asia, but it also filled the market with invented lineages and quick black belts. Much of today’s debate about authenticity starts here.

Images: public-domain or CC0 works credited under each picture, or original WABUKAN ink illustrations. Panels: the story told in numbered comic boxes.

Sources

Kung Fu (1972 TV series) — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Kung Fu Fighting — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Professional Karate Association — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
The Karate Kid — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Frank Dux — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org

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