Film maker Floyd Webb has worked tirelessly against the background of personal and professional threats to complete his documentary on the legendary "Count Dante". Dante is featured in the upper corner of the Dojo Rat Blog in reverence to the "kitchey" Karate atmosphere that grabbed many of us as youth. Dante's comic book adds promised power in the destructive techniques of his "Black Dragon Fighting Society", and no doubt inspired many of us to go on and discover the true martial arts that we would carry through life.
Martial Arts can mean a lot of things to different people. Millions of people have experienced them, quit and moved on. Some try Karate in college, or as a sport instead of football. Some are interested in Asian philosophy and culture, and are drawn to the arts. Some practice Martial Arts for survival. Like other kids who grew up in the '60's, I saw the early Kung Fu movies, was heavily influenced by Tom Laughlin's performance in "Billy Jack", and read with trepidation the adds in the back of comic books for "Count Dante", and his instructional manuals that included "The Dance of Death". Dante and his students appear in the photo at the top of my website. As I began writing about Martial Arts and researching the Count Dante adds of my youth I discovered Floyd Webb, a film maker who had met Dante in his youth and is now making a movie - "The Search For Count Dante", which has grown into a much bolder project. You can see Floyd's website and a trailer for the movie at "Searching For count Dante". In the course of reading about Dante and communicating with Floyd, I realized that it was more than a movie about one controversial Chicago Martial Artist. It was about community and social identity that brings eclectic players and men of character and strength together- sometimes in rivalry but usually for mutual support and camaraderie. Floyd Webb's life was touched by Gregory Jaco, a former soldier on the Green Beret's Martial Arts Demonstration Team - turned community activist. In 2002, Robert Wyrod produced the video "South Side Warriors", detailing Jaco's "Tornado School Of Martial Arts", and it's influence in the community. In fact, Wyrod became one of the few white guys to join the school. Wyrod wrote to me:
"Back in the late 1990s I was living on the South Side of Chicago studying sociology in grad school. I had heard a little about the history of the martial arts on the South Side and wanted to know more. I believe I first came across Gregory Jaco's dojo The Tornado School in the phone book and decided to just stop by. I had no idea what a fascinating world I had stumbled into. It took some persistence but I eventually convinced Sensei Jaco to let me train at the Tornado School. I would not say it was easy for a white guy with no martial arts training to fit in at the all black Tornado School. But after several months I started to feel more at home. What I came to realize was the Tornado School was much more than a dojo and Sensei Jaco more than a karate teacher. Jaco had created a whole universe in that small dojo--one that provided refuge from the very tough South Side streets just outside. It was a real privilege to be part of the dojo for a few months and this video was my attempt to capture the vibrant world Sensei Jaco orchestrated at the Tornado School."
Until I can fix the Embed, (it's working now) you can also view the video HERE
"South Side Warriors" gives us a glimpse of changing times. Jaco appears to know he is dying and intends to leave a legacy. Producer Wyrod follows students, friends and instructors as they describe the martial orbit anchored around the hub that is Gregory Jaco. If you listen closely to Jaco's words, you hear not only strength, but subversion. Jaco speaks out in support of the outliers, standing up against both criminal elements as well as abusive police. Strength, unity and martial skills were necessary to survive against those odds. In fact, one of the instructors profiled is Stan Mckinney, a former Black Panther and current community activist. Robert Wyrod masterfully captures the symbolism of Gregory Jaco, whose candle-flame will soon fade, turning over the "Tornado School of Martial Arts" to a young instructor. Wyrod blends the moment with the demolition of old housing projects in the area, leaving hope for renewal and rebuilding. We leave Jaco, standing in front of his house. He has just dismissed a student and waits in thought, surrounded by the totems of his power; African shields, Chinese spears and halberds decorate his yard. Nobody ever messed with those weapons, or with Jaco.
The British newspaper "Telegraph" has featured a three-minute snip of Floyd Webbs documentary on John Keehan, aka "Count Dante". It's a great little preview with action shots and historical background on the outlandish and carismatic Karate master. I am really bummed there is no embed included in the video so I can post it here directly, but here is the headline and the link for the video:
Cinelan Documentaries: The deadliest man alive John Keehan, aka Count Dante, was the “crown prince of death” - a respected karate master, voodoo priest and martial arts promoter made famous through comic book ads offering the secret of the Dim Mak Death Touch. --Video Link Here
** And for people who are wondering who the hell "Count Dante" was, and why he is promenently featured at the top of the Dojo Rat Blog, Here is "Of Dante and Dojo Rats"...
Floyd Webb has been very busy making a documentary movie about the legendary "Count Dante", AKA John Keehan. (Dante appears at the masthead of this blog, with a "Pack of Dojo Rats"). As he describes it, it is now far beyound the scope of Dante himself, and has morphed into a "Once Upon A Time In America" sort of epic; the dawning of the Karate scene in 1960's Chicago. People familiar with the subject know of the "Dojo Wars", in which people really got killed, and other nefarious hijinks involving the Mob and martial artists. Many of the individuals are still alive, and Floyd is filming their historical knowledge of the era. Much like in the old days, there is latent animosity amongst the disparate warring clans, and to Floyd's dismay there have even been veiled death threats. You can read about a similar threat to this blog just for using the picture of Dante, alledging I am dissing his memory HERE. Floyd is re-editing a theatrical trailer for the documentary and I will try to post it when it is available. In the mean time, check out Floyd's blog, "Searching For Count Dante", and check out this fantastic article "The Life And Death Of The Deadliest Man Alive", By Dan Kelly of The Chicago Reader.
A martial artist in transition, beyond youthful angst into middle-mellow; this Rat shares a dojo with similar vermin on an island off the coast of Washington State
