Dancing with Martial Arts Stars??

For all fans of the martial arts: you now have a legitimate reason to tune into ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” without feeling ashamed. Why, you ask? Two of America’s very own martial arts stars are contestants! Chuck Liddell of UFC fame, and Mark Dacascos, who is currently best known for his role as the “Head Master” on Iron Chef, have already performed their first dance and thankfully have survived the first week of elimination.

I think it’s great that Chuck and Mark are doing the show. I know that there are many people that think it was a bad idea (especially for Chuck) because of the possible embarrassment and threat to their machismo, but I think it takes a lot of guts to go out on national TV and dance around in tight outfits.

Many UFC fans believe that Chuck Liddell has already fought his last fight in the octagon, and if that is true I believe that he has made the right decision. In his last few fights it seemed as if he has lost his intimidation factor and edge. He will go down as one of the legends of mixed martial arts, but his time is done and I am happy to see that he has found a new gig so quickly!

Chuck’s first dance on the show was the foxtrot. I am no dance expert but he looked a little uncomfortable out there. In all fairness, he did much better than most were expecting but he was pretty stiff and I actually thought his footwork would be better. On the bright side, I’m sure he will learn quickly and he has a shot at doing well because is truly a likable guy and has a huge fan base in the martial arts world. He just has to hope that all the tough martial arts guys across America will call in and vote for him!

I had the pleasure of working with Mark Dacascos and he is the true definition of a martial artist. Humble, gracious, and a hard worker. Not only that, but the guy can still move like he’s twenty years old. In my opinion, he is one of the most underappreciated martial arts action stars of American cinema. Some of his notable movies on his extensive resume are: “Brotherhood of the Wolf” and one of my favorites growing up “Only the Strong.” It’s a shame that the vast majority of America has no idea that this guy is an action star. Most will see him as “that guy from Iron Chef.”

Mark’s debut dance was one of the most memorable as he did the cha-cha to the song: “Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting.” He successfully integrated some great martial arts moves in with his dance without overdoing it. In addition to that, the guy can really dance too! If anyone has ever seen his movie “Drive”, this came as no surprise to you as he had a full song and dance towards the end of that film. Unfortunately, no matter how well he dances Mark has an uphill climb at winning the competition only because he is not as famous as some of the others. Hopefully America will get to know him and vote for him!

Regardless of what the purists may say about martial artists dancing around like “sissies”, I’ll bet that when the show is over Chuck and Mark will look back at the experience and say that it was just as hard (if not harder) than their work as martial artists. Kudos to them for stepping outside of their comfort level and giving more exposure to the martial arts world.