David Carradine

I just learned that Kung Fu star David Carradine has passed away.

I haven't seen too many of the original Kung Fu shows, but my family loved to watch Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. On it, David Carradine played a Shaolin priest named Caine, who taught his young son in the temple. The two of them got separated, and the son grew up to become a cop. Although the son didn't really want to return to his Shaolin heritage, he thought back to the lessons his father had taught him, and he also helped his dad beat up the bad guys.

What was cool about Kung Fu was that it presented a Mr. Miyagi sort of martial art: one that wasn't all about kicking butt and being bad, but which incorporated wisdom, maturity, and inner peace. There was a certain elegance in Caine's movements when he was performing his martial arts. Something else Kung Fu: The Legend Continued has in common with Karate Kid was that Martin Kove was one of its villians.

One of my dad's favorite episodes was the one where Caine was in prison, and he had perfect peace in the midst of all of the prison bullies. He didn't even mind solitary confinement. He saw that as an opportunity to meditate and pray! My dad thought that resembled the prison experience of Paul and Silas, who prayed and sang praises in prison.

In real life, David Carradine was a man who thirsted for peace. He was addicted to drugs for a while, but he quit and became interested in eastern philosophy. The current speculation is that his death was a suicide. I'm sad that his life ended on a note of despair, but I want to honor him because his work has touched so many people.