Before CGI, before superhero franchises dominated the box office, there was American Ninja 4: The Annihilation — raw, explosive and filmed on the edge of chaos in South Africa. Behind the mask of the film’s deadly “Super Ninja” was martial artist Kely McClung, a man once tipped to be the next Jean-Claude Van Damme. In this exclusive Inside Ninjutsu feature, McClung reveals what really happened behind the scenes: doubling for Michael Dudikoff and David Bradley, playing multiple roles in one film, surviving brutal injuries, and making a split-second kick adjustment that may have saved the entire production.

In the mid-1980s, ninjas were everywhere. From VHS shelves to Saturday-night TV, black-clad warriors captured the imagination of a generation raised on The A-Team, Knight Rider, and neon-lit action fantasies. In 1984, NBC stepped directly into that moment with The Master—a prime-time ninja series led by an unlikely but unforgettable star: Lee Van Cleef.

Pairing a weathered Western icon with ninjutsu, The Master followed an ageing warrior, his eager student, and a relentless enemy bound by tradition and betrayal. With Sho Kosugi’s menacing Okasa stalking every episode, the show blended road-trip drama, martial philosophy, and explosive action—offering something deeper than the typical ninja spectacle of the era.

Now, more than forty years later, The Master feels strangely ahead of its time. As legacy sequels like Cobra Kai dominate modern screens, we look back at the series that dared to ask what happens when a warrior ages—and whether a new generation could carry the code forward. Could The Master return? And if it did, who would wear the black gi next?