By MAX Impact Founder James Gavsie ("Mr. G")

It’s interesting to see the new genres of films coming out. Teen-romance-horror, buddy-buddy-gay-cowboy, pointless “I-don’t-kno-who-greenlit-this-idea-but-this-will-make-no-money-but-hey-that’s-not-my-call-and-I-guess-Hollywood-execs-know-what-they’re-doing… I guess” movies are being mass produced with the hopes of finding that box office gold. With that being said, there’s one type of movie that keeps popping up and yet still usually finds its mark: martial arts films.

Why do martial arts films keep us interested? Why does Hollywood think another iteration of the Karate Kid meets Mixed Martial Arts cage fighting will bring audiences en masse to theaters? Why, after literally many thousands of martial arts movies have been made (some good, some bad, and some that are so bad they’re good), do more keep coming out every year?

Simple. It’s one, single winning formula. It’s a formula that people can’t get enough of and, in addition, can completely identify with. It’s a formula that everyone reads about and has had to live through at one time or another in their lives. Can’t figure it out? It’s a formula that works so well, even the Bible uses it to keep churchgoers interested in coming back to another service. And if it’s in the Bible, you KNOW it’s a box office smash waiting to happen (ask Mel Gibson)!

It’s David vs. Goliath. Or rather, it’s the little good guy, who should have no chance, taking on and beating the big, scary bad guy. How many of us love seeing the underdog facing insurmountable odds, with no chance ofwinning, come out a winner in the end? Martial arts movies are brilliant when it comes to telling this type of story.

Who wouldn’t want to be that guy or girl who finally stands up to his or her personal “bad guy,” and beats them at their own game? How many of us, at one time or another, had a David vs. Goliath situation and didn’t do anything, but wish we did? That’s what martial arts movies do; they let us see that it can be done, no matter how unrealistically the story is told.

In the martial arts industry, especially when it comes to self-defense, the term “empowered” is thrown around quite a bit. New students are sold on the fact that they can be “empowered” to overcome whatever obstacles they may be facing. Take the main character in any martial arts movie, and you’ll see that he or she becomes so “empowered” through their training in or use of martial arts that they can take on whatever “bad guy” stands in their way.

And that, in a nutshell, is why the martial arts genre is still a popular moneymaker. It allows us to see and, hopefully, feel what we wish we could do. Regardless of whether it’s a fancy acrobatic Jackie Chan masterpiece, a modern mixed martial arts cage fight, or a computer animated animal summer flick, good martial arts movies always deliver the same thing - a great story of an underdog who takes on and beats his personal bad guy.

MAX Impact Founder James Gavsie ("Mr. G.") is a highly certified martial artist and instructor. His students have included members of the DEA, Navy Seals, Army Rangers, Police Force, Secret Service and many Hollywood celebrities. He founded MAX Impact Martial Arts in Pacific Palisades, California, to help as many people as possible be more confident, better prepared to defend themselves in an attack, and most importantly, to never be a victim. You can find out more about MAX Impact at www.maximpactma.com.