Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It was the original series that introduced America to the Power Rangers. Many friends and people in my generation have tons of great memories of the original series. I remember getting a few Power Ranger toys for my birthday but I was constantly jealous of one of my best friends who had a ton of toys. My favorite Power Ranger was definitely the Green Ranger, who everyone knows turns into the White Ranger.
The toy was amazing and was a close replicate to the one in the show.
So, what inspired me to write about Power Rangers? Well, my good friend, Code, recently informed me how talented Jason David Frank, the actor who played the Green/White Ranger (Tommy Oliver) is.
He is currently 5-0 in MMA. Just some snippets from his Wikipedia page:
-He defeated Jonathon "the Mack Truck" Mack in the first round by omoplata submission.
-His opponent was Chris Rose who made his ring entrance wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles robe. Frank defeated Rose in round 1 by TKO (Strikes).
-His opponent was James Willis. Frank defeated Willis via KO in 23 seconds of the first round with a rising knee.
-Frank was scheduled to make his debut with Ultimate Warrior Challenge at their upcoming event on May 22 against James “Ray” Handy Jr. in a light heavyweight bout.[25] On May 21 Frank announced on his official Facebook fan page that James Handy was injured and Carlos Horn will replace him, changing the fight to a heavyweight bout. Frank defeated Horn in the first round by an armbar submission.
-Frank announced on his Facebook fan page that he would be scheduled to make his professional debut on August 4, 2010 in Houston at "Puro Combate #1." He fought at heavyweight, with his opponent being Jose Roberto Vasquez. Frank won his pro MMA debut quickly at the time of 0:46 in the first round by a Rear Naked Choke Submission.
For those who counted, that's 5 matches, 5 rounds, 5 wins. Average match time was 57.8 seconds. What. A. Man. He is a seventh degree black belt and is also in the Black Belt Hall of Fame.
But he wasn't the only Power Ranger to have a martial arts background. The Black Ranger (Zack Taylor), Walter Emanuel Jones, is a black belt in Eshum-ru, a form of Tae Kwon Do, a black belt in shiru karate, and reached Mestre level in Capoeira. The Red Ranger (Jason Lee Scott), Austin St. John, is a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, practices Kenpo, and is a first degree black belt in Judo.
That explains why the Black, Red, and Green Rangers did all the demos in the show! It is admirable that the show creators chose some actors with martial arts backgrounds for the show. I feel like it validates my childhood a bit more.