Movie Star Martial Artist, what Style and Rank are they?

[Knifehand]

DragonFist

I think he just went through some training, but i could be mistaken... I'm looking into it right now and so far unsuccessful.

HAZZA!!! Here you go::

"There are some really amazing choreographed action sequences in the film," Pale points out, "and I wanted to be ready. Although I studied martial arts for 'American Psycho; I needed more training for the kind of big-scale Kendo fights in EQUILIBRIUM. I took an eight-week course in Judo, and I so enjoyed it, that I look forward to doing more action roles."

From: http://580wdbo.com/common/movies/notes/31143-1-full.html

 

[CountPike]

Segal is a 7Th Dan Aikido but has Dans in Kendo, Karate and I think JiuJitsu

 

[Tidy_Sammy]

Props to the good thread, I never knew a lot of this

 

[Dragon Fist]

I think he just went through some training, but i could be mistaken... I'm looking into it right now and so far unsuccessful.

I think Christian Bale is going to be the next Batman.

 

[Knifehand]

I think Christian Bale is going to be the next Batman.

yeah he is... Batman Begins... i'm looking forward to it. The action scenes in Equilibrium were really cool... i think he'll be great...

 

[Danjo]

Here's part of an interview with Robert Conrad:



Bruce Smith-What style did you train in?

Robert Conrad-The name of the first art I studied was "Kajukenbo", then I went into "Shotokan" and now we know there are so many different Japanese arts that evolved from "Shotokan". My original instructor was John Leone [sic]. When we did Wild, Wild West, I incorporated the styles I was introduced to as well as Flamenco dancing into a choreographed fluidity for the show and that was back in 1965.

BS-It seems dancing is very good in learning and developing balance. Bruce Lee was the Cha-Cha champion in Hong Kong when he was a teen, which proved to be as beneficial as his martial arts expertise when he got into movies.

You were doing these sometimes comical fight scenes way before anyone else.

RC-I love Jackie Chan…I think he has what it takes to be a huge success in America, he already is with "Rush Hour". On the "Wild, Wild West" set, we did improvised fights in about 15 minutes. We sat around and said "What are we gonna do for a fight today…? guys". When things went wrong, we knew each other so well that we just improvised.

BS-What did you think of Bruce Lee?

RC-His films were great as well and I liked Bruce Lee a lot because he always had that macho attitude no matter where he was. His ability was second to none.

BS-Do you still train? RC-I sure do. Things have changed a bit though, due to some injuries from some stunts, I need to take it easy now.

 

[ginshun]

I have read in a couple different bio's that Sarah Michelle Gellar is a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do. Apperently she started training in it for her role as Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV and continued for a while at least. I don't know if she still trains or not.

 

[Jim Tindell]

Zhang Ziyi doesn't even train in the martial arts, apparently. She was just a dancer, and now she's one of the more-known women MA stars in the States.

 

[ginshun]

Zhang Ziyi doesn't even train in the martial arts, apparently. She was just a dancer, and now she's one of the more-known women MA stars in the States.

She's mighty cute too. That is wierd though, I would have assumed that she had at least some MA training.

 

[Danjo]

I have read in a couple different bio's that Sarah Michelle Gellar is a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do. Apperently she started training in it for her role as Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV and continued for a while at least. I don't know if she still trains or not.

Here's one such bio:
Sarah played Buffy Summers. Sarah was born on April 14, 1977. She was ‘discovered’ by an agent when she was just 4 years old whilst eating in a local restaurant...Sarah’s interests include Tae Kwon Do (in which she has a brown belt), kickboxing, boxing, gymnastics and ice skating, all of which she has used at some time during the filming of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

 

[Tripitaka of AA]

Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies, Police Story 3), was trained as a Ballet Dancer at the Royal College of Ballet in London. She has no formal MA training other than what she is shown on set. She still comes across as one of the most convincing fighters of the last few years... and she can do a motorcycle jump onto the roof of a moving train without knowing how to ride a motorcycle (see Police Story 3).

Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and Jackie Chan all trained at the same Peking Opera School (in Hong Kong), under Master Yuen. Any decent Hong Kong action movie will usually have half a dozen people named "Yuen", and most of these are graduates of that traditional Opera School.

Ray Parks (Darth Maul in Star Wars) has some history, perhaps a google search would find it for you.

Some other names that you might want to look up are Cynthia Rothrock, James Coburn, Elvis Presley, and the list goes on...

 

[MichiganTKD]

Something I read a while ago, and tend to agree with: The studios would rather work with an established actor who is in peak physical shape and can be shown the techniques than an actual martial artist, although an established star with actual training is a plus. Think about it: How many martial artists trying to get into acting can actually act? Very few that I can think of. Chuck Norris was never a good actor. His fight scenes weren't that good either. Don Wilson? Please. Both his acting and his technique are subpar at best.
Not only that, but I also understand the martial artists who specialized in forms are preferred over the fighter. Simple reason: Form is by definition about what looks good. Fighters don't care about how they look, and their on-screen technique reflects that.
Who would you rather see onscreen? Jet Li, who attended Beijing Opera and learned how to perform onstage and onscreen, or your average fighter who may know about scoring points but is clueless about what it takes to look good on screen?

 

[Chronuss]

Chuck Norris was never a good actor. His fight scenes weren't that good either.

may not be the best, but he kept losing stuntmen because he didn't fake anything.

Don Wilson? Please. Both his acting and his technique are subpar at best.

his acting may not be the best, but he's a hell of a technician.

 

[MichiganTKD]

There is one aspect of American-produced martial arts films I prefer: the emphasis on realism. We don't do wire work (which I hate), and we don't do long drawn out fight scenes to show the beauty of the performers. We tend to keep it direct and simple.
That doesn't mean I want to watch 2 hours of reverse punches and knee kicks. I do want nice technique. Good jumping, spinning, and flying kicks (done realistically) are a plus. But I also hate those looooonnngggg, drawn out Hong Kong fight scenes that should've ended 2 minutes ago. And spare me the cheesy sound effects and bad makeup jobs.

 

[FearlessFreep]

I usually just take it that most movies take place in a parallel universe of their own, where the laws of physics and sometimes logic work differently.

Then again, my taste in movies means I hang out at badmovies.org a lot, too.

 

[Samurai]

What about Matt Damon? He is ranked in Kali


--Jeremy Bays
www.WoodlandArchery.com

 

[Andrew Green]

Celebrity rankings....

Often are honourary, don't put to much stock in them.

Having a ranked celebrity attached to your style is a good way to promote it. Big names get big money in endorsment deals to do that, in martial arts they can also get black belts

 

[ginshun]

Ray Park is/was a member of the British Institute for Chinese Martial Arts (now the London Chin Woo Company Limited). He trained there, but I'm not sure if he's still a member. He is also a former European Wushu Champion and was a Gold Medalist in 1991 and 1992, at Malaysia and China, respectively. He was also the fight choreographer for Star Wars Episode I, and played Toad in the X-men movies.

 

[Chronuss]

He was also the fight choreographer for Star Wars Episode I, and played Toad in the X-men movies.

yeah, he did the Darth Maul impression in the Statue of Liberty scene with the railing. :jediduel:

 

[ginshun]

yeah, he did the Darth Maul impression in the Statue of Liberty scene with the railing. :jediduel:

I'll have to look for that one.