Everybody was Kung-fu fighting (or at least Justin was...)

Yesterday the school very kindly sent us all out to see a show. We were told beforehand that it was, alternately, a martial arts demonstration, dance, a play, and a comedy. Translation error? Not really, no:

http://www.jumpjump.jp/en/

The show is called JUMP. I don't know if it debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (perhaps my cousin Xela has seen it?) but it was certainly a huge hit there. It is basically a slapstick comedy, virtually without any dialogue, performed by a cast of not only gifted comedians but stellar martial artists and acrobats/tumblers. The plot follows a family of martial artists through the arrival of a guest, the courtship of daughter and future son-in-law, and a really bad idea of a burglary attempt.

Halfway through the first act, the grandfather character comes up the aisle making jokes as he looks for the master martial artist he knows is visiting, sitting in the audience. Esther, another teacher, is Korean and fluent in English, and gave us some translations as he came along - jokes like, "You! So good to see you! When did you get out of jail?" etc., as he looks for the master.

And then, halfway up the aisle, he found the master.

And it was Justin.

He has Justin stand up, in the middle of the auditorium, and asks in English, "Where are you from?" Justin tells him, "America," and he says, "Whoaaa! U-S-A! U-S-A!" The audience is going crazy at this point, especially all the APIS teachers. He's speaking half-Korean and then every now and then in English, too fast for Esther to translate, and there's the noise from the laughter, so basically we have no idea what's going on. At some point, he manages to express to Justin that he wants Justin to follow him.

On stage.

So now we have my husband, the light-haired, bearded, dress-shirt-and-slacks-clad American, up on stage with this cast of martial artists, whom he, as the master, is supposed to mentor. The uncle character does a high kick and challenges Justin to respond (I do remember recognizing the Korean word, ap-cha-gi, from high school Taekwondo). Justin kicks, as best a man in slacks with no intact knee ligaments can. I have to say, he got pretty good extension.

They all fling themselves backward in terror. Crowd goes wild.

Then the uncle character does a somersault, which he turns into a handstand. Justin holds up his hands, but with some encouragement from the cast, he gives it a go. He hands his glasses to the grandfather (this gets a big laugh), bends down, and somersaults across the stage, strategically omitting the handstand.

Tumultuous applause.

And now, as I'm starting to wonder when exactly my husband turned into Buster Keaton, the grandfather informs the audience that because Justin is a master, he must be carrying hidden weapons, and the family ought to search him. They come around him and manage to pull various items - a knife from his pocket, nunchuks from his sleeve, and a two-foot long sword out his shirt collar. I wondered why it always felt so pokey when I gave him a hug.

So in the end, they thanked him, returned his glasses, and sent him back to his seat with a very nice printed program and much cheering from the peanut gallery. His moment in the sun is over but now we all know his secret: his stealth moment, as ninja-by-night, is just beginning...