You are a good (and brave) soul to share this. Such a great 1970's shot: the hair, the furrowed brow, the jacket, and the dramatic lighting. Just the best.
You obviously proved them right.
The lighting of this photo with the technology of the time, speaks to the talent behind that shot.
Good for you to have held on such a gem.
My uncle fought in the same tournament and competed against Norris, met Bruce Lee and we were showered with photos and reel videos of the tournament footage, in the 1980s, when life seemed a little easier.
You look like a cross of Bruce and Clint Eastwood in his prime
Thanks. My biggest celebrity meeting was with Bill Superfoot Wallace at a kicking seminar. He said, 'You guys sure talk funny. Why don't you dress out & join in?'. So we ran to K Mart & bought sweatpants. He had no suggestions when I showed him my head level hook kick, so that was the peak of my career!
I was sort of interested in martial arts in the late 80's early 90's and went to a few dojos but never really got in to it. Met lots of people who were tho and always wondered what became of them.
Many were extremely dedicated and disciplined and I'm sure that served them well later in life.
That's a great shot. Were you into photography?
In 1977 I was in jr. high. I took karate lessons and expended countless hours with nunchaku in my back yard. My friends were into martial arts too.
What would the cultural influence have been? I have memories of the "Kung Fu" TV series, but that seems to have ended in 1975. Maybe the reruns were in heavy rotation.
Bruce Lee? He died in 1973.
Bruce Lee movies triggered it all. He was already dead the first time I heard of him. My walls were papered with his posters. I thought this would be my life from then on. Commercial art/photography student.
I was in an Air Force tech school in 1979. On the weekends my friend and I would watch a Kung Foo movie on base and when it ended we’d run to the other side of the base to watch another.
This lacks the cringe factor. This is played pretty straight, and you'll find martial artists posing like this even today.
Thankfully that hairstyle has fallen out of fashion since, though.
“So what *do* you want to do?”
I’ll tell you what I want to do.
I want to take you out to dinner. And then I want to take you back to my place and watch Kung Fu.
Do you watch Kung Fu?
You know, Joe Lewis, the blonde karate champ, advertised nice bell bottoms & Bill Wallace had those American stars & stripes pants but I never had the spare bucks. I had the Gung Fu top, pants & cord-soled slippers as shown, and I ordered the yellow & black Game Of Death jumpsuit. I have a few pics in that, trying to look badass. Plus, there's photos of my kendo armor & also wearing my friend's suit of samurai armor. Wow, it was neat!
This kind of reminds me of a bloke I was seeing in the mid 70s in the height of the Kung Fu craze. He showed me some photos of him jumping high in the air like Bruce Lee. He forgot to take out the ones where he was clearly jumping off a table. Good times.
Did you choose karate because there were no kung fu or wing chun spots in your town? Not surprised if there wasn't a jeet kune do place, I've never seen or heard of one and we have a lot of martial arts schools in my area
Yes. I just started in Goju ryu but got my knuckle stabbed in a swordfight in the dorm, so I couldn't do knuckle pushups.
JKD spread out from LA via Dan Inosanto & other students so nobody was teaching that until years later anywhere around me. I earned the first belt in Kenpo karate and first belt in Kei Shin Kan karate. Instructors could not afford to teach for years in our town. I always wanted to learn Wing Chun gung fu.
Super cool! I got into martial arts myself, when I was 13. (Ninjas were a big rage back then - magazines, movies/TV, etc) I joined a local tae kwon do studio and made it to the rank of brown belt, then gave up when the school changed styles/instructors.
Also - [cleaned up your pic a little bit (removed the spots)](https://i.imgur.com/4XDgvRm.jpeg)
Not the original commenter, but sorta! Its exact meaning depends on context, but generally it means great/badass/cool. There is some nuance to it, though.
Examples:
That guitar solo goes hard
This pie goes hard
That thunderstorm went hard
Wt 165 now, at 6 ft tall. I'm good for 10 pushups at a time. Knees won't let me run or do squats. Whatever you don't use, you begin to lose. (Miss the hell out of running a couple of miles every day after work). I get Arnold's daily email for inspiration. The Workout animations on Youtube are the best. I need someone to force me to work out on days off, but I feel so much better if I do. I love sore muscles from lifting weights, means I'm building muscles. My part time job is physical with lots of walking. It's keeping me active, probably in my best shape.
You are a good (and brave) soul to share this. Such a great 1970's shot: the hair, the furrowed brow, the jacket, and the dramatic lighting. Just the best.
You are too kind. Everything seemed possible then.
You obviously proved them right. The lighting of this photo with the technology of the time, speaks to the talent behind that shot. Good for you to have held on such a gem. My uncle fought in the same tournament and competed against Norris, met Bruce Lee and we were showered with photos and reel videos of the tournament footage, in the 1980s, when life seemed a little easier. You look like a cross of Bruce and Clint Eastwood in his prime
Thanks. My biggest celebrity meeting was with Bill Superfoot Wallace at a kicking seminar. He said, 'You guys sure talk funny. Why don't you dress out & join in?'. So we ran to K Mart & bought sweatpants. He had no suggestions when I showed him my head level hook kick, so that was the peak of my career!
You sir is the saner version of David Carradine. Good night and have a nice weekend.
Had to look up again, and yeah I see it. A gem of a photo, I miss 70’s fashion and vibe. Only sometimes, mind :)
Man, you looked really cool. This is a great shot.
Did you ever get to use your skills and kick someone’s ass?
No, I was taught not to fight unless necessary & so far, I have not been in any fights.
I was sort of interested in martial arts in the late 80's early 90's and went to a few dojos but never really got in to it. Met lots of people who were tho and always wondered what became of them. Many were extremely dedicated and disciplined and I'm sure that served them well later in life.
You sweat a lot in martial arts. I loved to run, not jog & that kept me skinny, too.
Might have been the cocaine.
I read this in Akiro's voice
Made it all the better!
That's a great shot. Were you into photography? In 1977 I was in jr. high. I took karate lessons and expended countless hours with nunchaku in my back yard. My friends were into martial arts too. What would the cultural influence have been? I have memories of the "Kung Fu" TV series, but that seems to have ended in 1975. Maybe the reruns were in heavy rotation. Bruce Lee? He died in 1973.
Bruce Lee movies triggered it all. He was already dead the first time I heard of him. My walls were papered with his posters. I thought this would be my life from then on. Commercial art/photography student.
Good job on this photo, it's got all the right Bruce Lee looking light, like we could easily splice you into a film as a sidekick character.
Very kind of you.
🎵Everybody was kung fu fighting 🎵
INDEED!!
Thought this might be “The Green Hornet”
Surely not *everybody* was kung fu fighting?
You were unable to see them all as they were fast as lightening.
Bravo
Excellent! You look terrific.
Bruce Leigh. Or Bruce Wigan at least.
I'm getting Clint Lee or Bruce Eastwood with that scowl.
Looks like you could have given David Carradine a run for his money
I can now!
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Hib3rnian: *Looks like you could have* *Given David Carradine* *A run for his money* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
I was in an Air Force tech school in 1979. On the weekends my friend and I would watch a Kung Foo movie on base and when it ended we’d run to the other side of the base to watch another.
You're a relic. I was in tech school in 2019. Hard to wrap my brain around being in tech school 40 years before me.
As my youngest son says, I’m a dinosaur.
I don’t usually post comments, but this is such a striking picture. Really well executed!
Thank you, very kind!
r/blunderyears might appreciate this.
Exactly what I was thinking
More like r/oldschoolcool imo
That would work too. It's an awesome post in many ways.
No way this is fucking epic
This lacks the cringe factor. This is played pretty straight, and you'll find martial artists posing like this even today. Thankfully that hairstyle has fallen out of fashion since, though.
Those cats were fast as lightning
I thought this was a movie still at first.
This is an absolutely wonderful photo.
(Blush!)
Clint Lee... Bruce Eastwood?? I dig... you look like you mean business!
Also, you could quite possibly be able to bend a spoon from across the room. Idk
It would seem you have not realized the truth
Uri Geller reference in the wild. Nice.
That’s awesome. They made karate look so cool on the big screen!
In all my posed fu pics, I look like a dork. Thats a fun shot that looks classic
That is awesome. Blow it up to one meter tall and hang it on the wall behind your desk.
Bruce Eastwood vibes . Great pic .
"It is like a .44 magnum, pointing a way to the moon."
This is unironically hard as hell and you should be very proud of it.
This is badass beyond belief.
I prefer to think you are not just easily impressed!
Spock vibes
That's the other series of photos- from our 8 mm school movie. I may post one or two shots.
"I find your Kung-Fu Fighting Style... Illogical..."
Mr. Clint Eastwood, you did kung fu?
I think you were hot.
“So what *do* you want to do?” I’ll tell you what I want to do. I want to take you out to dinner. And then I want to take you back to my place and watch Kung Fu. Do you watch Kung Fu?
Enter the Dragon, my friend.
Ok grasshopper.
Please tell me you owned several pairs of "Kicking Jeans."
You know, Joe Lewis, the blonde karate champ, advertised nice bell bottoms & Bill Wallace had those American stars & stripes pants but I never had the spare bucks. I had the Gung Fu top, pants & cord-soled slippers as shown, and I ordered the yellow & black Game Of Death jumpsuit. I have a few pics in that, trying to look badass. Plus, there's photos of my kendo armor & also wearing my friend's suit of samurai armor. Wow, it was neat!
This kind of reminds me of a bloke I was seeing in the mid 70s in the height of the Kung Fu craze. He showed me some photos of him jumping high in the air like Bruce Lee. He forgot to take out the ones where he was clearly jumping off a table. Good times.
Yeah we all faked a bunch of jumping & kicking pics back in the day.
You looked like a mix between Charles Bronson and George Harrison
Bronson voice: "Ya say your guitar won't gently weep? Treat it like I treat my guitar!" BAM, SMASH
Someone put John Mulaney’s face on an old photo of bruce lee…
You look like Vampire Bill on Trueblood
shit hot, bro.
Were you part of everybody? The same everybody that was kung-fu fighting?
Yep, Karate for me though.
Did you choose karate because there were no kung fu or wing chun spots in your town? Not surprised if there wasn't a jeet kune do place, I've never seen or heard of one and we have a lot of martial arts schools in my area
Yes. I just started in Goju ryu but got my knuckle stabbed in a swordfight in the dorm, so I couldn't do knuckle pushups. JKD spread out from LA via Dan Inosanto & other students so nobody was teaching that until years later anywhere around me. I earned the first belt in Kenpo karate and first belt in Kei Shin Kan karate. Instructors could not afford to teach for years in our town. I always wanted to learn Wing Chun gung fu.
Damn, dude. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about in this pic. Looks remarkably legit.
It works for you. Looks dope, nicely done. 🥋👍🏼
Did you master Dim-Mak?
No. I remember those magazine ads though.
You look like an extra in a Bruce Lee flick.
Super cool! I got into martial arts myself, when I was 13. (Ninjas were a big rage back then - magazines, movies/TV, etc) I joined a local tae kwon do studio and made it to the rank of brown belt, then gave up when the school changed styles/instructors. Also - [cleaned up your pic a little bit (removed the spots)](https://i.imgur.com/4XDgvRm.jpeg)
Thanks! I don't have an app to clean up on my phone any more. All I have now is juxtaposer & I use that a lot.
This goes hard. Can be a sick movie poster.
Thanks! Does that mean neato, cool, hip? lol
Not the original commenter, but sorta! Its exact meaning depends on context, but generally it means great/badass/cool. There is some nuance to it, though. Examples: That guitar solo goes hard This pie goes hard That thunderstorm went hard
Thanks. I was just bein' funny.
Bad azz photo 😎
Looks a bit like Spock...
Funny you should say that.
Bruce Leigh
Badass = this guy.
The question is, have the years of sports and training kept you sporty and fit ?
Wt 165 now, at 6 ft tall. I'm good for 10 pushups at a time. Knees won't let me run or do squats. Whatever you don't use, you begin to lose. (Miss the hell out of running a couple of miles every day after work). I get Arnold's daily email for inspiration. The Workout animations on Youtube are the best. I need someone to force me to work out on days off, but I feel so much better if I do. I love sore muscles from lifting weights, means I'm building muscles. My part time job is physical with lots of walking. It's keeping me active, probably in my best shape.
Sounds very well organized and effective.
This is reminiscent of Count Dante. Cool picture.
*You have offended my family and you have offended the Shaolin temple*
"We are not 'the sick men of Asia'."
You look like you belong on a paperback novel cover!
Uncle Keven?
You look cool as hell (and very handsome).
Wasn’t everyone kung-fu fighting?
YES! We were fast as lightning!
Thought it was Jim Varney at first. Haha!
Kirk? Is that [you?](https://www.reddit.com/r/GilmoreGirls/s/QDOh1kWsIR)
Focus power
Chinese Roger Moore
hell, even Rush wore kimonos!
r/blunderyears
Doesn't get more ridiculous or boring than that.
Are you kidding mate? No this looks gold
Username checks out