Review of the movie, "Fist Foot Way"
When I saw the trailers to "Fist Foot Way", I wanted to watch it. The funky music made it sound like a light comedy of a guy getting into absurd situations as a TKD instructor. It was apparant to me that whoever wrote the script is an MA insider.
Well, I finally got around to watching it, and I now feel ambivalent about it.
If you're going to watch the movie for a while, and you've been around MA for a while, don't watch it alone and late at night. My fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, and I wanted to strangle the protagonist for being a douche. Since I couldn't, I felt as if I had to get the hell out of there. I've heard too many people and caught the edges of MA politics to know ... when you get those kind of teachers, you should just get the hell out of there. Students get the teachers they deserve.
It was a lot funnier when I watched it with a bagua friend of mine. Though we were trying to play a game of weiqi with the movie in the background, at least when the protagonist is being an idiot and ruining his students' lives and his own, we can look at each other and say, "WTF!!?!!?" and laugh it off.
The movie has a good ending though. He didn't exactly do the right thing in the most upstanding way ... but at least he did the right thing. Grew up a little. Became less of a phoney.
I think anyone who is considering training in MA should watch this movie at least once. I include MMA in this too. The impulses resulting from false-ego-images and Martial Arts Madness is there whether you're in a traditional school or not.
Namaste
Well, I finally got around to watching it, and I now feel ambivalent about it.
If you're going to watch the movie for a while, and you've been around MA for a while, don't watch it alone and late at night. My fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, and I wanted to strangle the protagonist for being a douche. Since I couldn't, I felt as if I had to get the hell out of there. I've heard too many people and caught the edges of MA politics to know ... when you get those kind of teachers, you should just get the hell out of there. Students get the teachers they deserve.
It was a lot funnier when I watched it with a bagua friend of mine. Though we were trying to play a game of weiqi with the movie in the background, at least when the protagonist is being an idiot and ruining his students' lives and his own, we can look at each other and say, "WTF!!?!!?" and laugh it off.
The movie has a good ending though. He didn't exactly do the right thing in the most upstanding way ... but at least he did the right thing. Grew up a little. Became less of a phoney.
I think anyone who is considering training in MA should watch this movie at least once. I include MMA in this too. The impulses resulting from false-ego-images and Martial Arts Madness is there whether you're in a traditional school or not.
Namaste