RIP David Carradine

[taai gihk yahn]

Shame! The man had his faults

as do we all; and those personal faults, whatever they were, are not the topic of this discussion; it is his public persona - you know, the fabrication - that is being commented on

but he was a talented actor

are you joking? he was a horrible actor; you're kidding, right?

and promoted KF in the US.

no, he promoted HIMSELF; the kung fu promotion was incidental - it's just the only thing that worked for him over time, because he was not a good enough ACTOR to get any other roles - it's called typecasting, maybe you've heard of it?; why can't you understand that? he was NOT a CMA practitioner, he was an ACTOR playing a CMA practitioner; if he really was serious about CMA, he would have practiced it irrespective of his ACTING;

about five years ago I met David and his son (I believe) at a convention. He was aloof and didn't really seem like he wanted to be there. That's okay.....some of us are just like that.

so, basically, he shows up at a venue where he is supposed to be interacting amicably with fans; but instead he's aloof and acting like he didn't want to be there - and you justify it as ok, because he is "just like that"?!? wow...

as for "disrespecting" the dead - why is ok to reasonably critique someone while he was alive, but now that he's not, it's not ok? that would as logical as saying that someone who was a great CMA-ist while he was alive, but now that he's passed, you can say that he sucked ; truth is truth, alive or dead; if someone wants to be "respected" once they have passed, especially if they base their public persona on it, then they should act in a manner that warrants respect during their life; certainly, it is sad for his family / friends that he is gone, but none of us are his family / friends - we are talking about his public persona, which is what we all knew; and why, now that he is passed, suddenly an honest critique of his public persona is "off limits" is just absurd;

it's those of you who like to jump on the morally indignant bandwagon are the ones who should be ashamed; if you guys want to go lament the passing of a truly worthy CMA practitioner, try the thread for the late Sifu Martello, someone who's true contribution to CMA infinitely exceeded DC's