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5 Movie Martial Artists That Lost a Deathmatch to Dignity

By Robert Brockway January 22, 2008 2,123,312 views
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#2.
Michael Dudikoff

Michael Dudikoff starred in a series called American Ninja - movies which were single-handedly responsible for the ninja becoming a staple fantasy for children of the '80s. That's actually saying quite a bit, because if there's one thing the '80s were about, it was coke. But if there were two things the '80s were about, it was coke and ninjas.

Like David Carradine, Dudikoff did not practice martial arts while starting his career, but became proficient in them later--most likely to help defend himself against the army of liquored-up moviegoers who wanted bragging rights on the American Ninja.

Yes, Dudikoff tanked when he tried to move out from the ninja typecasting but really, the man's job description was 'pretending to kill lots of ninjas,' a statement which, to this day, is the number one response when the question "What do you want to do when you grow up?" is posed to preteen boys and Cracked writers (We know, you thought Cracked writers were preteen boys. The two are actually distinguishable due to the difference between acne scars and actual acne).

Most Epic Moment Caught on Film:

In this trailer for American Ninja (which was originally and ruinously called American Warrior) Dudikoff covers every base for the modern badass. He's got no past, no date of birth and no mercy. Shit, does anybody know how you get a job writing these trailers? That is gold right there. He flips through trees, impales a truck driver with a grappling hook, draws a sword in front of a giant American flag, and though it's not explicitly shown, the implication is that he's about to take down a helicopter with nothing but a bow and arrow.

If you look up the term Ass Kicker in the dictionary, there will be a picture of nothing--because it's a fucking dictionary, they don't have pictures--but we swear to God the page smells a little bit like Michael Dudikoff.

The Sad Decline:

American Ninja was about Private Joe Armstrong, an orphaned drifter coerced into the armed forces who takes on an evil cabal of mercenary ninjas. In later sequels, as the movies grow more and more ridiculous, the villains take the not often seen Skittles approach to evil, asking you to "Taste the Rainbow... of Ninjitsu!" They do this by arranging their mercenaries in handy battalions color-coded by competence, black, confusingly, being the most inept, with the danger level rapidly rising as the colors become more festive.

After the fourth installment and roughly eight film hours of robin's egg blue and peony pink ninjas folding in fights so quickly they could find alternate employment at The Gap, the series finally ran out of steam and Michael Dudikoff's star was irreparably tarnished. Amazingly, Hollywood could find no further use for a man whose skill-set included strangling Asians with the American flag, and so as the '80s drew to a close, the post-coital shame dawned on America, and we realized just how embarrassingly ridiculous these movies appeared to the world.

Most Pathetic Moment Caught on Film:

This video was taken at the grand opening of the Gracie Academy. As you can see, somehow Dudikoff got it in his head that it'd be a good idea to emulate Matthew McConaughey's pot-head, frat-bro, burn-out chic. He appears here in an unwashed Abercrombie & Fitch shirt, natural coagulated hair-grease, and last week's stagnant tan-booth sweat. He then proceeds to insanely call out Royce Gracie, three-time winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Even if this challenge by Dudikoff is a joke between friends it's unfortunate since Gracie's laughter is a Figure Four Toelock and his smile is six-time International Facial Gesture Champion--with 16 of its 72 wins, inexplicably, by choke-out.

Hey Gayinator, you reminded me of a man I met a couple of years ago named Ji Han Jae. He is a 10th Dan black belt and the founder of Hapkido. Which if you are unfamiliar with Hapkido, is the art of putting someone in a ridiculous amount of pain without actually killing them. He was 73 I believe at the time and I'm pretty sure he could make a man cry by looking at him. He also trained Bruce Lee. Seriously.

11/4/2009 6:48:49 PM
jryan90

Chuck lost all respect when he wrote on his regular ultra right wing christian blog when asked What would he do if he was president he replied "I would tattoo the American flag and IN GOD WE TRUST on the forehead of every atheist.
What a tool.

10/20/2009 9:26:35 PM
EvilGod

Probably the lowest point any of these guys reached was when Seagal started to think he actually was one of his movies characters and started claiming he was an ex-CIA Black-Ops agent but he couldn't tell you about it and there were no records because it was so secret.

10/20/2009 9:11:09 PM
EvilGod

Mr Seagal's character has a poor understanding of how one performs an investigation. I am no expert, but after watching hundreds of hours of Law and Order, Forensic Files, The Investigators, I am pretty sure he just ruined any legal case the department may have had, as well as blowing its budget for the next several years on personal injury lawsuits and civil rights violations.

10/16/2009 3:53:03 PM
decora

awesome :D

10/12/2009 6:56:53 PM
ToxicFlow

Why they didnt just shoot the Seagal in Out for Justice? Oh yeah, cause they had a guy named Sticks to take care of business.

10/9/2009 7:48:39 AM
vonshine

Chuck Norris' REAL most pathetic moment? When he tried to take Ian Spector to court over the first Chuck Norris facts book. He actually believed that a bunch of silly jokes would be damaging to his career. That is like saying that a light drizzle would be damaging to my Buick. Light drizzle doesn't damage anything, and I junked my Buick years ago.

10/7/2009 5:05:59 AM
NightJack

IM SORRY BUT THE ONLY GUY HERE WHO IS TRUELY HARDCORE IS STEVEN SEAGAL! BECAUSE I RECKON STILL TO THIS DAY IF YOU STEP ON HIS TOE WHILE WAITING IN THE POPCORN LINE AT THE CINEMA, HE'LL BEAT YOU DOWN LIKE A RED HEADED STEP CHILD!!!

9/19/2009 1:27:57 AM
Portalian

Growing up, Bruce and Carradine became symbols for me. I admired Bruce because of how hard he worked to become the man people will remember him as. Carradine on the other hand made me realized that despite the fact that you're unqualified, you can get anything you want on a silver platter for bullshit reasons.

PS-Chuck Norris jokes are not funny anymore.

9/5/2009 11:08:45 PM
UncleNorathOWEN

Poor David Carradine Died From Asphyhxiation While Chokin'His Chicken In a Bangkok Hotel Room!!!
Bsically,Auto Erotic Asphyxiation Is Usually Practiced By Teen Aged Boys,
Not 60 Something Washed Up Action Stars!!!
Chuck Norris Wouldn't Die From Auto Erotic Asphyixiantion!!
No,When Chuck Norris Chokes His Chicken,He Chokes A Real Chicken!!!
"Damn You Stink Man!!".

6/27/2009 7:38:32 AM
TheEnemyBelow

Out of context, that Steven Seagal clip kind of makes him seem like an a*****e.

6/23/2009 10:47:29 AM
niko4ever

The rank of 8th degree black belt doesn't just sound badass. You have to be badass to possess the title. I know one, an eighty-something (he, for some weird reason, claimed to be eighty-five for three years straight, then said he was eighty-two. He's kind of weird) year old man who lives in Michigan. He was the instructor of my Tae Kwon Do instructor. It was a moderately famous news story in the area when a burglar broke into his house and attacked him with a knife when he told him to leave. The man broke his wrist and threw him out the window, then called the police, only sustaining a single cut to the thigh. He was in his late seventies at the time (or so he said at that point in time). Strange personality, but he's a complete badass.

6/17/2009 5:44:10 AM
TheGayinator

Kwai Chang Caine was supposed to be the first white man allowed into the monastery.
According to an interview I watched during my recent David Carradine marathon, the stuff about him being cast in Kung Fu due to racism is mostly rumour. He did concede that he got most of his inspiration from Spock, however.

6/15/2009 12:11:49 PM
KxWaal

R.I.P. David Carradine.

6/4/2009 11:56:51 AM
crackcorn

The lyrics of the song Van Damme dances is something like "Motorcycle dance, motorcycle dance! Big butted females loose control!"
Sometimes, just sometimes, I'm ashamed of my country's culture...
Not more ashamed than Belgians must be.

4/14/2009 10:29:57 AM
Ana

To be fair to Chuck Norris, in that clip he doesn't drive the bear off by the power of his retirement-age muscles but instead by the power of his over-inflated ego. Even Chuck knows a human being outwrestling a grizzly bear would be farking ridiculous.

3/30/2009 12:37:15 AM
Atavist

I once jumped in front of David Caradine at a convention, gave him a karate pose & yelled, "HAIIII!" & he just walked by me. p***y. True story.

3/22/2009 11:10:46 PM
Vozpit

Oh what-the-f**k-ever. Chuck Norris pwned that f*****g bear.

Shame on you, Cracked. Shame on you for doubting Norris. I emailed him a link to this. Watch your asses.

3/22/2009 4:34:11 PM
pedoluv

Van Damme is back now with JCVD.

3/8/2009 8:47:23 AM
Henrik

@TheEnemyBelow

What you didn't read that part in the bible? I certainly did?

3/5/2009 1:37:08 PM
docbutters
Cracked stuff on