In the karate scene at the start of the episode "The Wish Child" we see MacGyver in a karate uniform with a yellow belt.

Do you think MacGyver actually had a yellow belt in Karate?

Could karate classes be how he came to know Lisa Chan? or was the uniform just one she had lent to him to use?

Something else to ponder.. He would have probably learned hand to hand combat as part of special forces training... so does that mean that he continued further training after he left the army (with Lisa)?

Well, once in a while you see Mac in a move that could be kind of martial arts-ish, which would imply training...but if he was trained then you would think he'd have relied on it more since he was constantly being attacked. His self defense most of the time seems pretty haphazard.

MacGyver knows about a lot of things somethings.

Interesting thinking material though. Despite MacGyver's clumsiness during the fight (like foot in garbage can) I'd say he's experienced enough to have the yellow belt.
The karate classes could've been a great source for him to get to know Lisa Chan. And he seemed to know the Chans very well and for a long time if they go back seven years. So I wouldn't be surprised that he and Lisa would come together once in a while for private lessons. So yeah after the army I'm sure he continued the lessons. However I'm not sure the army learned him martial-arts but more moves like Weisse used on him to floor him in The Wall.

Hmm. Yeah, I think it's possible he had some basic training in karate. As one who has taken martial arts myself (I got my black belt in taekwondo just before graduating from college) I can tell you that it's kind of hard to do much with what you've learned until you're an intermediate student. The beginning stuff is, well, pretty basic. It also depends on the art you're studying.

Also, it's possible that because he was traveling so much, his training might have gone slowly. I do agree, though, that if he were former Special Forces, it doesn't make much sense that he's not better in self-defense. Could be that his aversion to violence is so strong that he doesn't want to hit someone unless absolutely necessary.

Your right.

The fight scene at the end of Golden Triangle looks like hes well trained, but apart from that one fight.. he seems pretty clumsy for a trained fighter.

I've just looked up the grading system of the belt colors, and yellow is the next step from white.

That's a different system than the one I'm used to.

In the system I trained in, orange was the next belt color after white, and then yellow came after orange.

Did you do Karate or some other martial art? It seems there are to common orders, but both have yellow as the second color.

Below is the excerpt from http://www.all-karate.com/125/history-of-karate-belt-colors


The standard belt color system is white, yellow, green, brown, and black. In some Karate school and styles, the color order is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black.

Due to the dying process, it is practical to increasingly use darker colors. All of this came about shortly after the second world war, when Japan was a very poor country, and dying the belts to a new color was a cheap way to have a visible, simple and effective ranking system.

I was in taekwondo. You're right, the order of belt colors differs between arts, and sometimes (I think) even between different styles of the same art.

The American Taekwondo Association (the style under which I trained), had this order of belt colors: white, orange, yellow, camoflage, green, purple, blue, brown, red, recommended black (belt is half red, half black), and black. Then there are nine ranks of black belt.

Hey that's pretty cool...I didn't know that! Funny this topic is here...I've been noodling around some ideas for my kiddo to help with self control and respect (I seriously suspect he's ADHD!)...and lately everything's pointing to some form of martial arts. He got a karate learning kit for Christmas from Gramma, I just read a magazine article about martial arts and kids...and now this...I think I'm getting a hint or something...

I think it's a little bit of a contradiction. At some points you see he's capable of putting up a decent fight. In other shots he just throws himself onto the other guy, swinging is arms about to pounch someone in the face. It looks really clumsy and though I really LOVE those scenes, it's not exactly realistic.

Tae kwon do (or as we like to call it "take your dough") has so many different colors because apart from the monthly fees, plus the association fees it's the promotions where the dojos make the most money. The more colors you have the more money you can rake in. In the original traditional martial arts there were no belts at all, it was a concession made by the Okinawans toward the western students after WWII (most of them marines) since for westerners the idea of studying something just to better yourself was quite alien. The eastern viewpoint is you are a student for life.


As for Mac and martial arts, there are some episodes where he is very good and in other episodes he is presented as a novice. Frankly, someone with a yellow belt does not move the way we see him move in, for example, the Golden Triangle. Even in the episode of the "Wish Child" where we see him clumsying (is that a word?) around at the beginning he proves to be quite sufficient in the fight scene in the garage. The way he handles that pole would imply some serious bo training. Overal quite inconsistent. But this is really only a small continuity error compared to some of the other major ones.

As for The Golden Triangle, the only experience he showed in fighting was his movements. Just look at him how he takes on his fighting position and how he backs away.
And the last part you wrote is from Murderers' Sky not The Wish Child.
Also take a look at The Stringer, where in he shows great fighting skills on the martial arts.

didn't he just kinda shake it around and scream at the bad guy?

lets see..

Forward scissor kick (from memory) at the start of the fight.
Forward facing fighting stance. (low center of gravity for balance)
Blocks punch and delivers open hand strike to the chest

yep no other experience showing there.

Mac uses martial arts as a defense only against other martial artists.... usually when he fights, he seems to prefer 'streetfighting' and his infamous roundhouse that always leaves him on the ground!

I can understand that Mac would seek some training in martial arts, but I don't see him dedicating himself to it with the kind of commitment that is required to become a seriously good martial artist.

didn't he just kinda shake it around and scream at the bad guy?

LOL! Yeah, he did that too. But watch that roll he does with the bo neatly tucked under. If you never had training you would whack yourself in the head and promptly knock yourself out

nope. My kids can do that... just from watching Darth Maul in Star Wars.

Its actually a lot easier than it looks.. mostly because of it's natural dynamics.. that is.. the only comfortable and easy place for the stick to end up is sitting under your arm, due to the way your arm twists

I'm a little late in replying to this topic, but I have studied three styles of martial arts: Yoshukai Karate, American Karate, and TaeKwonDo. I have studied under two styles of TaeKwonDo. The belt ranking systems do differ between martial art styles.

In Yoshukai Karate, the belt ranking system is as follows: White, Yellow, Green, Brown, Black. I hold a White Belt in this style. (Due to school starting back, I had to quit a week before Yellow Belt testing. My Instructor said I would have made Yellow Belt.)

In American Karate, the belt ranking system is as follows: White, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Green, Blue, Brown, Brown with a Black Stripe, Black. I hold a Blue Belt in this style.

In the first style of TaeKwonDo I studied, the belt ranking system is as follows: White, Yellow, Orange, Light (Lime) Green, Dark Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Brown, Brown with a Black Stripe, Black with a White Stripe (Skunk Belt), Black with a Green Stripe (Slime Belt), Black with a Red Stripe (Danger Belt), Black with a Brown Stripe (Doo-doo Belt), Solid Black with name and rank stripe (1st Degree and up). I hold a Red Belt in this style.

In the second style of TaeKwonDo I studied, the belt ranking system is as follows: White, Yellow, Yellow Senior (Yellow with a Black Stripe), Green, Green Senior (again with a Black Stripe), Blue, Blue Senior (Black Stripe), Purple, Purple Senior (Black Stripe), Red, Red Senior (Black Stripe), Recommended Black (Solid Black Belt with no insignia), Decided Black Belt (Solid Black Belt with name and rank stripe[s]). I hold a 1st Degree Black Belt in this style, and I am an Assistant Instructor, as well.

"Doo-doo" belt? Now I've heard everything.

She hold belts in 4 different styles of martial Arts and your laughing in her face?

good luck with that!

I used to - and I emphasize USED TO study Kodokan Judo... (If I remember... that's Olympic style) where I held a brown belt. Belts here are simple... White, Yellow, Green, Brown, Black (6 degrees). I actually started as an adult - the class was with other adults, so we called it geriatric judo. Luckily our sensei was an orthopedic surgeon. I don't really practice any more but I still do the warm up exercises. In themselves, they will stretch every muscle group you have, and some you didn't know you have... Guess I'm too afraid of really hurting myself - in the past I'm had some interesting injuries. My insurance company thinks I'm a nutcase already...

Yes, "Doo-doo Belt". I almost fell on the floor when one of the kids said that!

I hear that a lot!

I'd like to expand my horizons into some grappling arts, hopefully soon. And a friend of mine asked me the other day if I'd take Fencing if he paid for the lessons. (Not Karate related, but it just popped in my head.)

That's because I hold belts in six.


I strongly suggest you do go into grappling. Most stand up fighters have no clue what to do when they end up on the ground. And believe me you, in a fight you will end up on the ground. Brazilian Ju-jitsu is the best if you can find a good teacher in your area.

I've done little bits of several different styles, but primarily Japanese. It's the sort that deals with engery flow and all that sort of thing (which I stink at). Good to know so many other people love the martial arts! As for Mac... hmmm. I think I agree that it's just the inconsistancy of the writers in this case. He does know some things, though, and a lot of karate is sort of street style, at least the stuff I'm doing right now. Although, we don't just sucker-punch someone and knock them out. Would like to, but don't.

You get up again.. fast!

Amen!

You get up again.. fast!

That seems a risky option. That will just make them try to knock you down again won’t it? Wouldn’t it be better if you stay down and play dead (or at least injured) until they go away? I know that works - but I suppose it only works if they don’t actually want you dead. And if you didn’t care about winning.

Sounds a bit like King Fu. That uses "Chi" which is the bodies energy force, and when concentrated can do some pretty amazing things.

(Chi is what the "Force" was based on in Star Wars)

I know the name now! Just got back from class, actually (we got to HEAD-BUTT things!!!). It's called Ryukyu Kempo. It's from Japan, I believe...

If it has "Ryukyu" in the name it relates to Okinawa in some way (even though kempo is a japanese word). Ryukyu refers to the "six kingdoms" that made up Okinawa before it got united.

The name Ryukyu Kempo was adopted by a prominent martial arts personality, George Dillman, who taught his own version of Taika Seiyu Oyata 's style and promoted it heavily through seminars and publications.

It's also used as a generic name for all forms of karate from the Ryukyu Islands, which of coarse is now Okinawa.

There does seem to be a difference between the Ryukyu Kempo styles and whats now called Okinawan Karate though. So I would assume that Ryukyu is an older form dating back to the Ryukyu Kingdom.