Before there was Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Jean Claude van Damme or Steven Seagal, Paramount Pictures produced and distributed Chop Chop (1966) the first martial art documentary of the time.
Chop Chop was made in 1966 and was part of Paramount’s Sports in Action. Chop Chop was directed by Richard Winik, and was a Winik Production. Chop Chop was narrated by Chris Schenkel.
Chop Chop (1966) follows martial arts instructor Michael DePasquale Sr. his family and students as they train. The documentary was made in the parking lot of the first DePasquale Yoshitsune Dojo. They actually rebuilt the walls of the school outside to be able to film. At the beginning of the video below, you see Mrs. DePasquale throwing the bad guy into the brook. Toward the end of the documentary Michael De Pasquale Sr. breaks a brick. Also in the documentary you will see a young boy breaking boards with no spacers and taking falls, that is Michael DePasquale Jr.
