Avatar: The Last Airbender - Martial Arts

The Art of Bending Avatar: The Last Airbender has the moniker of Nickelodeon's "Last Great Nicktoon" that was produced in the Orlando Studio FL before the studio was taken down. People who knows the show still argues whether it is "anime" or "cartoon". I don't really care because what Avatar: The Last Airbender is. All I know is: It's Excellent! But for the sake of this post I will refer to the show as an "animation." To me "anime" or "cartoon" are two of the many categories/styles/techniques in the "animation" medium of story telling. The setting of Avatar: The Last Airbender is heavily influenced by Asian culture. The characters of the show practices real world religions and philosophies such as Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism. At first glance Avatar: The Last Airbender seems like a kid's show full of slapstick humor and mindless action used as a platform to sell toys. These are misconceptions. Especially the toys bit. There are yet to be a cool Avatar action figure! Believe me I've looked :( The show introduces four nations in its world. Each nation representing a philosophy, personality, martial arts style and element. The Fire Nation was founded by people who can wield fire by focusing their energy with mental and physical discipline. This nation has a very Northern Chinese feel to it which reflects in their martial arts. On the other hand The Earth Kingdom founded by people who can bend earth, gives off a Southern Chinese vibe in their culture and martial arts. It is not often to have an American produced show to have such a heavy Eastern theme WITH respectable Asian references. The creators of the show definitely did their research with much respect. With that said, Avatar: The Last Airbender is not dominated by Eastern culture. It's well balanced with diversity. Some of the costume designs and buildings gives off an Eastern feel but it's mixed with true to life cultural references from all around the world. The show's creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, did a great job balancing the different cultures represented on the show as well as successfully mixing the kiddy fun with some of the more mature themes. If they lived in the Avatar: TLA I guess their speciality would be "story bending." One of the resources the creators of Avatar: TLA used is Sifu Kisu. Sifu Kisu is a an Executive Protection Specialist for celebrities. He was brought onto Avatar: TLA as the fighting instructor and consultant. With his extensive knowledge of Martial Arts and the philosophy behind them, Sifu Kisu brought depth into the show's action sequences. The fights are not just mindless action, they are full of conversations, inner conflicts and philosophical debates. A good example is when Aang was able to solve a puzzle with his airbending by pushing a door open. The act was simple but it required the character to develop confidence. As the characters grow in Avatar: TLA, so does their ability and this reflects the hard work and sacrifice one could acquire by committing to a discipline. Avatar: TLA conveys a valuable message of: to be good at something, whether it'd be martial arts, dance, music, painting or writing... patience and dedication are essential values. Being able to represent these values and still being a fun show is what makes Avatar: TLA one of the best shows on television within the last decade. That and lots of cool martial arts! I know, it's a bit long winded to get to this point but, I wanted to praise the show a bit more before talking about the art of element bending. One more thing before the "JUMP!" here's a compilation of videos of Sifu Kisu talking about the four featured martial arts styles used on the show. The four videos can be found in the special features on the Avatar: TLA DVD's: Avatar creating the legend of Waterbending, Earthbending, Firebending and Airbending 12mirri More on the Arts of Element Bending (and spoilers) after the JUMP! >>>

Dare To Fight?

Hello Youtubes! Beware of Ninjutsu treachery! Thanks for the tip TJJB! DARE TO FIGHT!? ImprovInToronto

Secret Origins of: The Sea Laughs

滄海一聲笑 滄海一聲笑 (The Sea Laughs) is a beloved song in Hong Kong and I believe, in most of China. Actually, where ever the movie and the novel, 笑傲江湖 (The Smiling, Proud Wanderer) had touched. Written by (金庸) Jin Yong (aka Louis Cha), 笑傲江湖(The Smiling, Proud Wanderer) was first serialized in 1967 in a Hong Kong newspaper, 明報 (Ming Pao). The serial ran from April to October and then later the story was collected into a novel. The novel got so popular that it was adapted into many movies and TV serials. The 2 most well known are the 1991 笑傲江湖 (The Swordsman) starring 許冠傑 (Sam Hui) and the 1992 笑傲江湖-之-東方不敗 (Swordsman II - Invincible East) starring 李連杰 (Jet Li). The song, 滄海一聲笑 (The Sea Laughs), first appeared in the first of the two movies mentioned above, 笑傲江湖 (The Swordsman). Both the lyrics and the composition were penned by 黃霑 (James Wong), a prolific writer and artist. The song is about departure, looking at the big picture and basically being able to achieve a state of divinity. Which reflects the heroes in the story who are trying to retire from the drama and pettiness represented by the different sects, clans and government. 笑傲江湖 (The Smiling, Proud Wanderer) was written as an allegory for the real world super powers whom were in conflict with each other during the late 60's. Not much has changed. As for the conception of 滄海一聲笑 (The Sea Laughs), 黃霑 (James Wong) felt that Chinese holiday music is missing. For example, Christmas has Joy to the World. Where's the Chinese version of Joy to the World? He took 5 of the 7 notes from Joy to the World (he didn't use "Fa" and "Di"), added his own lyrics and 滄海一聲笑 (The Sea Laughs) was written. Actually, he copied some of 毛澤東 (Chairman Mao Zedon) writings for the lyrics. So, it's not entirely original. I wonder if the Chairman would like the song? For those of you who understand Cantonese, check out the the video below. I couldn't a version with english subtitles. The origins of 滄海一聲笑 (The Sea Laughs) starts at 4:14. I recommend watching the entire 10:15. As always, the late Maestro, 黃霑 (James Wong) is highly entertaining. 黄霑 - 沧海一声笑 (粤语) fhlew 许冠杰 沧海一声笑 (Album Version) happyfreepeter HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! 滄海一聲笑 (the Sea Laughs) might not be accepted as a holiday song in the Chinese culture but, it's on my Chinese New Year play list. 黃霑 (James Wong)'s explanation on how the song came to be should give it that credit. The lyrics and two more versions of 滄海一聲笑 (The Sea Laughs) are after the "JUMP!"

Remembering the Master

Hello Youtubes! Yesterday November 27th, was Bruce Lee's birthday. If he's alive today, he'd be 71 years old. If he's alive today, we'd be feeling the earth tremble and hearing thunder everyday as Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris trade punches and kicks. Enter the Dragon is a lot of people's favorite but, my favorite Bruce Lee movie of all time is Way of the Dragon: Bruce Lee - Nunchaku Bone Breaking Fight - Way of the Dragon HongKongActionFilms Bruce Lee - Way of the Dragon - Special Awesome video DaneTheConquerer! The music is done by Ennio Morricone. The composer who did a lot of the Spaghetti Western themes including The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.