Taking the Martial Arts World By Storm

From: Black Belt Magazine July 2003
By: Patrick Vuong
Thanks to Lydia for finding me the article!

Power Rangers Ninja Storm Is the Latest TV Series to Showcase the High-Kicking Superheroes

Shane's pupils constrict, and his breathing quickens. His muscles tighten like steel cables as he moves into a forward stance. He is ready, prepared to engage in a brutal fight for his life. Then he bursts forward, his movements so swift they almost register as a blur. With a few quick roundhouse kicks and straight punches, he dispatches his enemy in moments, saving himself and his friends

Shane is a leader and a modern-day warrior. He's also just saved the universe. His brawl is a sequence from Power Rangers Ninja Storm, the latest product of the incredibly popular action-adventure franchise. Although more than a few American martial artists think the Rangers have gone the way of the dodo, the mighty morphin champions are still kicking. And despite the fact that the show caters to viewers as young as 2, it continues to reap massive adult successes on a worldwide scale.

ADAPT AND FLOURISH

Ninja Storm is the 11th incarnation of the Power Rangers in America and the most widely viewed. The season premiere aired in February 2003, delivering the franchise's best ratings in the 11:30 a.m. time slot for 2- to 11-yearolds. The multihued superheroes continue to be the most popular show among boys in the same demographic, reported Nielsen, the TV ratings service. In 2001 the Walt Disney Company dished out $5.2 billion for the Fox Family cable channel, largely because of the Power Rangers. The exploits of the monster fighters have also spawned two motion pictures and a half dozen video games.

On other fronts, the Rangers have raked in more than $5.6 billion in the merchandising during the past decade. Toys based on the characters are one of the most popular brands as ranked by NPD Group Inc., a research organization. And in cyberspace, there are thousands of Web sites dedicated to the karate-kicking freedom fighters. Many of the show's fans, now grown men and women, argue on-line over which megazord (giant robot) is the coolest or post messages discussing in minutia their favorite Blue Ranger.

With a simple, steadfast premise- teens are chosen to use their high-flying martial arts skills to protect the Earth against aliens and megazords- the series has not only endured but also flourished even as its core audience outgrows the show. It has done so by taking a cue from Charles Darwin: Adapt and survive. Don't, and cancellation won't be far behind.

While other children's media crazes have come and gone, Power Rangers has evolved with every spinning crescent kick and uppercut to remain a Saturday morning staple, making it the longest-running martial arts show in America television. Rather than resuscitate a dying fad, the producers have carved a following of younger viewers by constantly revamping the show. Original fans who mimicked the kung fu strikes shown in 1993 when the series premiered will probably not recognize the faces of on Ninja Storm. That's because the cast is overhauled every season to bring in fresh blood, and the characters get upgraded with new uniforms and powers.

What is it that has attracted kids to the show for more than a decade? "I'd have to say it's the martial arts," says series executive producer Ann Knapp Austen. "There aren't a lot of shows on TV with that element on that level of quality."

Austen should know. She's a self-described TV junkie whose fondness for the small screen and Asian action movies goes back to her childhood day when her father, Jack White, trained under American-kenpo founder Ed Parker. "I come to the martial arts with a perspective that it's a beautiful sport and an art form," she says. "And I feel that the Power Rangers is a relevant place to express that."

TALENT GALORE

Ninja Storm's eclectic choreography comes from co-executive producer Koichi Sakamoto, who was a 16-year-old stuntman for the original Japanese program from which the Power Rangers was adapted. That series, which has been in production for more than 25 years, was repackaged for Western audiences by TV producer Haim Saban, who spliced the Japanese-filmed fight scenes with new dialogue footage featuring American actors. Now, many of the action sequences, which are taped in New Zealand, are entirely new scenes in which the Western cast operates under the guidance of Sakamoto and his action-directing partner, Makoto Yokoyama.

"We work with these amazing stunt people, and you look at them and go, 'Wow!'" says Katrina Devine, who plays the villain Marah on Ninja Storm. "You try to copy them and you can't. If I could do half the things they do, I'd be so stoked."

Being part of the series has meant a lot to the 22-year-old actress, who has had mighty morphin aspirations since she was a child. "I wanted to be the Pink Power Rangers," she says. "It's a sort of fantasy. and now I'm living it."

To prepare for the rigors of working 12-hour days, five days a week for a full season, Devine and the other cast members endured a two-week boot camp of sorts that involved learning martial arts basics, acrobatics and wire work. For Jorgito Vargas, who portrays the Navy Ranger in Ninja Storm, even his previous just training and competition experience could not prepare him for the intense physical demands of the show. "The first week we got here, the only phrase I learned in Japanese was, 'It hurts! It hurts!'" he says with a laugh.

Also a Power Rangers fan since he was a youngster- he has the Halloween costume photos to prove it- Vargas had difficulties adapting to the wire stunts at first but has since grown to love them. To perform the gravity-defying tricks, the actors and stunt crew wear harnesses with cables attached to a pulley system, allowing them to seemingly undo the laws of physics and run on water or fly through the air.

"It looks a lot easier than it is," Vargas says. "Once you're up there, you lose your center of balance. But you get used to it and it's fun. I didn't want to come down when they had me up there."

Austen, who also head up Ninja Storm's writing team with partner Doug Sloan, says the Japanese stunt coordinators are superb teachers and performers. "They're all students of the Hong Kong style and very proficient in wire gags and the trampoline," she says. "Also, they're well-versed at the martial arts for filmmaking."

THINK OF THE CHILDREN

"Interestingly, it was Power Rangers' trademark style of film combat that made the show so popular- and controversial- in the early 1990s. Back then it was uncommon for children's television to depict live-action heroes flipping their enemies to the ground and leaving them unconscious in a heap. It was equally uncommon to show showers of sparks when swords or laser beams struck their targets. But Power Rangers changed all that. Kids clamored for the action figures and packed karate studios from New York to New Mexico- and its rating skyrocketed. Conservative social critics, meanwhile, vowed to ax-kick it off the air. They claimed the combative quintet promoted violence and incited aggressive behavior on playgrounds.

"A lot of them had never even seen the show," Austen says. "I'm a parent, too, and I said, 'If you're criticizing the show, sit down and watch it.' They were shocked at how hard we tried to put in morals and strong values into it."

Vargas says the writers ensure that the colorful champions project positive lessons in every episode. "They always stand up for themselves and for the good of others," he says. "If the critics were to watch it, they would know that the Rangers don't strike humans. They only fight monsters. It's fantasy."

Those ultra-conservative watchdogs who assailed the Power Rangers have since moved on to other targets to blame for society's woes, such as video games ("too much violence"), movies ("too much sex") and Harry Potter ("too much witchcraft"). Austen says the unjustified criticism of her show was largely because of cultural difference: "I think a lot of t it came because there was nothing like it on television when the Power Rangers premiered. People tend to be afraid of what they don't know."

She adds that the growing popularity of Jackie Chan and movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon among American audiences has made the action in Power Rangers more widely accepted.

Kenpo instructor Jeff McLaughlin, a second-degree black belt who operated McLaughlin Kenpo Karate in Springdale, Arkansas, says TV fight scenes that are handles responsibly can inspire kids to seek out self-defense. "Any program that motivates children to be involved in the martial arts to good as long as there is nothing in the program that can be harmful," he says.

Vargas agrees: "It exposes kids to martial arts- not violence but the beauty in the systems of karate, taekwondo, judo and others." He claims the show's positive message about the arts- such as using martial skills to develop discipline and teamwork- is a plus for viewers and parents who might think of taking up a style.

"It plants a seed," he adds. "I think it's good for kids in that respect."

Aside from explosive action sequences and reaffirming moral lessons, the appeal of Power Rangers can also be attributed to its history of diverse actors. When the show premiered in 1993, two of the five leads were female. (One was Thuy Trang, a Vietnamese-American who died in a car crash in 2001). Meanwhile, Walter Jones, an African-American, played the Black Ranger. Since then, the actors have always come from varied ethnic backgrounds, from Latino to Samoan.

"I like the fact that the characters are multicultural," says Devine, a native of Ireland who lives in New Zealand. "There's something there for everyone to relate to. And with the new characters, there's always a new approach to the show. It doesn't get stagnant."

WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON

The evolution of Power Rangers has turned what was once an experimental show into a multimedia marvel. The franchise and all its permutations are now shown in 153 territories and countries around the world.

"Obviously, it appeals to just about every kid on the block," McLaughlin says. "The producers know what it takes to capture the young audience and keep them glued to the tube. It has kid appeal."

And it's that allure that makes the children want to sit in front of their television every Saturday morning to watch the next chapter of the Power Rangers' universe-saving exploits.

About the author: Patrick Vuong is a contributing editor for Black Belt. He has a black belt in kenpo and trains in kung fu and tai chi.

Fringe Benefits of TV Success

The Power Rangers' track record of showcasing various systems of self-defense in an entertaining format has translated into success in dojo across the United States. "In the past five years, we have had over 250 students train in our studio- the majority of them children," says Jeff McLaughlin, a second-degree black belt based in Springdale, Arkansas. "I would say that more than half the children joined our studio because of the influence of the Power Rangers."

In one recent episode of Power Rangers Ninja Storm, the heroes dispose of an army of ghost ninja utilizing an array of styles- from wushu butterfly kicks to aikido takedowns to karate strikes and blocks to taekwondo flying kicks. The producers regularly take this kind of martial arts melting pot and toss in some Hollywood-style computer-generated effects and Hong Kong-style physics-don't-apply-here wire work to produce action sequences that captivate millions of prepubescent viewers. It is a formula that has fuled the success of a whopping 11 TV series based on the Power Rangers concept. -P.V.