Leading up to the premiere in each city, was the same Billy Jack circus: karate demonstrations, live bands, and the girls holding the cards that spelled B-I-L-L-Y-J-A-C-K. Below the circus is staged out front of the Glenwood Theaters outside Kansas City, Kansas. The picture on the bottom shows some of the incredible turnout.
Tag Archive: karate
Billy Jack Day, Kansas City (part 3)
Billy Jack Day, Kansas City (part 1)
When Tom re-released Billy Jack across the country in 1972 and 1973 (after it had already been the 2nd highest grossing film of the year behind Fiddler on the Roof in 1972), he staged a series of…
The World Goes Karate Crazy
People around ‘Billy Jack’ went karate crazy - trademark pending - even before ‘Billy Jack’ hit theaters. It happened on the set. Everyone was pestering Master Bong Soo Han to ‘show them something’, which…
Berserk Aftermath
After Billy goes berserk in the ice cream parlor, he fights off Bernard and Bernard’s bodyguard/pal/goon Dinosaur. Billy karates Dinosaur into submission and out the front window of the soda parlor. This move is actually one of the very first ideas for the film ‘Billy Jack’ that popped into Tom’s head back in…
Billy Explains About His Right Foot…
Master Bong Soo Han Karate Demonstration
Bong Soo Han was the highest ranking master of Hapkido in the U.S. Han instructed and doubled Tom in the fight scenes in the film. To help promote both the film and Master Han’s hapkido instruction, Tom set up a karate demonstration on the lot at Warner Brothers, the studio distributing ‘Billy Jack’. It was a standing-room-only event. All the employees and executives flocked to see…
I Just Go BESERK!! Classic Billy Jack Clip in HD
Okay… You KNEW this was coming… Clips from the films, and in 1080p24 HD!! The first clip: The classic ‘I Just Go BERSERK!!’ scene from ‘Billy Jack’. What most people don’t know is this scene…
Backyard Karate Class
Tweet Tom saw Bong Soo Han during a performance by Master Han’s school as part of the Pacific Palisades 4th of July celebration. (Tom’s daughter, TC, had been in the parade playing guitar.) Tom was blown away by the Hapkido style of fighting and pursued Han to train him (and double him) for the fight…
Billy ‘Kicks’ Blackbelt Magazine
Tweet The cult of Billy Jack was exploding during the re-release, and one of the reasons was the groundbreaking Hapkido karate that was portrayed in the film. The hapkido master coordinator, teacher, and double, Bong Soo Han, went on to star in future Billy Jack and other films. Most importantly, ‘Billy Jack’ helped let the…
