Kung fu master to combat 'hoodie culture' for Bravo TV series
Shaolin monk to teach inner-city youngsters martial arts in factual series echoing 1984 film The Karate Kid
* Mark Sweney
* guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 August 2010 07.39 BST
Bravo is to air a Karate Kid-influenced series that aims to combat "hoodie culture" by using a martial arts expert to mentor troubled youngsters.
The factual entertainment series, which has the working title Kung Fu Street Fighters, promises a "risky and controversial approach to combating the UK's rising hoodie culture and antisocial behaviour".
Kung Fu Street Fighters features a British Shaolin monk and martial arts master, Matthew Ahmet, mentoring youngsters from inner-city estates "in a bid to teach them self-control, respect and restraint and help present an alternative life far removed from violence, crime, drugs and underachievement".
The six one-hour episodes, which will air in the first quarter of next year, will feature Ahmet visiting estates in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds looking for youngsters with "enough potential and fighting talent to take on a life-changing journey to the far east".
Ahmet teaches a group of 12 young men and women martial arts as a way to avoid conflict back home. The show took more than a year to make and was shot in the UK and Hong Kong.
The show has echoes of the 1984 film The Karate Kid, which starred Ralph Macchio as a troubled teenager who is taught to take control of his life through the lessons of Pat Morita's martial arts master, Mr Miyagi. A recent remake moved the action from California to China and starred Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith.
"This commission demonstrates our ongoing commitment to risky, ambitious and eye catching factual content tackling crime and social issues in a uniquely Bravo way," said the Living TV Group head of commissioning, Mark Sammon.
The series was made by independent producer Optomen Television, the company behind shows including The F Word and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, which is currently in the process of being acquired by All3Media.