Arnie on kung fu "Those are tricks for very puny small girlymen"

[carly]

While the action star doesn't want to disappoint, there is one thing you won't be seeing him do on film: a martial-arts move.
Hong Kong style may be invading a number of action movies, such as The Matrix and almost any other action film on the market but Schwarzenegger says he won't be doing any high leg kicks or hand chops, period. Those are tricks for small men.
"I love the Hong Kong style of action movies but that only looks good for small guys," the actor said on the set of T3.
"The reason why the whole style was developed over there was because those guys were very puny guys -- they're not powerful looking guys."

[Surferdude]

I think he said that because he cant do it!!!:D :p
And he thinks that you must be small to practice kung fu too
he does Martial arts too, or so i thought(TKD right)???:confused:

[SevenStar]

He's not against MA entirely though, only the punches and kicks, I guess. He's the sponsor of a national level bjj tourney...

[Mizong_Kid]

well arnie was a body builder hahaha!

i think his choice of words would not have gone down so well infront of hardcore kung fu practicioners.but i think he didnt mean it with that much offence!

body builders cant do kung fu.thats fact i read somewhere.arnie looks powerful but couldnt do kung fu with much fluidity or flexibility

[SevenStar]

That's a fact I don't think I'd agree with

[yenhoi]

He has kicked and chopped in movies before.

Sounds like randomness.

:eek:

[Laughing Cow]

First let me speak up for my country-man here.

1.) He is getting too old to do the actions required for MA style Movies.
Even Jackie Chan is staring to take things easier.
2.) He already had Heart surgery and needs to take things a bit easier.
3.) His build and current image in the movies won't suit the MA style heroes.
Imagine Stallone doing a MA Movie.
:D
4.) I agree with him that MA is suited better for smaller type guys.
Look at JVD and similar they are like lumbering oxes, ever wondered why all of JVD's kicks are on movies are split into sections and not showing the full kick.
Sho Kosugi after "Black Eagle" said that JVD is too slow.
Granted one punch/kick of JVD would end Sho , but than Sho reckoned he could 3 kicks/punches in before that 1 hit.

All in all I don't think that Arnie needs to do those flashy stunts. He is earning enough bucks with his current style of movies and other businesses.

Cheers.

[cho]

Originally posted by Mizong_Kid
body builders cant do kung fu.
Isn't Bruce Lee a bodybuilder?

[Serpent]

No. Bruce Lee is dead.

[HuangKaiVun]

I'm with Schwarzenegger on this one.

I'm a "puny" man, but I don't do many high kicks nor hand chops. And yes, kung fu likely was invented by "very puny guys" who sought to defend themselves against bigger opponents.

That's not to say that there aren't moves in kung fu that can't be used by larger opponents. But I do totally agree with his assessment of his inability to perform the movie moves (I can't do them either).

Let us never forget that Hong Kong movie style is NOT traditional combat kung fu. Most of that stuff would get a real person killed in a real fight.

[FatherDog]

Much ado about nothing.

When you boil it down, Arnie just said that he wouldn't look good doing HK action kung fu. Which is completely true. Arnie doing wushu would be clumsy and weird.

[cho]

okay, so WAS Bruce Lee a body builder?

[Serpent]

No.

[straight blast]

Perhaps a little context here wouldn't go astray.

Arnie was asked if he'd do any matrix-style martial arts in Terminator 3. His response about the "little guys" had to do with the fact that Terminators are bl00dy great big heavy powerful machines, and as such don't use the finesse of martial artists.

The general public seem to get more out of muscle dudes like Arnold picking ordinary mortals up and throwing them through brick walls than watching him neatly and effortlessly unbalance a foe with a tricky use of push hands.

Stop trying to make controversy. I'd enjoy watching Arnold doing Wushu about as much as I'd enjoy a "weapons of mass destruction" lecture by GWB or our own limpdi(k PM Howard.

Hmm...I would like to see Arnold throw them through walls though...:)

[PHILBERT]

Im with straight blast on this one. It would look too dang funny watching Arnold do a butterfly spin while fighting 5 guys.

And to say body builders can't do martial arts, I've seen several Hong Kong movies that have big, muscle bound men who fight.

[Serpent]

I'm thinking of that scene in GoldMember with Fat B@stard and the wires! ;)

[Lowlynobody]

Errr.....I think Bolo or whoever is/was a body builder. I also seem to remember reading that he studied Tai Chi?

As you were...

[Richie]

I'm an Arnie fan and would enjoy seeing him do a bbj T3 fight. I think watching a Cyborg put another one in a arm bar and hydraulic fluid shoot out would be great.

[Former castleva]

"body builders cant do kung fu.thats fact i read somewhere"
This might make it´s way into my signature,far too hilarious.

"Arnie was asked if he'd do any matrix-style martial arts in Terminator 3. "
I suppose if they wrap those wires around him like they did for all the others...

For pot stirring,Arnold has lots of respect for martial arts and I have even heard of him being referred to as some kind of a honorary master of TKD (as self-contradictory as it may sound)
He might have trained in karate too but I´m not quite sure.

"okay, so WAS Bruce Lee a body builder?"
He did build some though.

If this is supposed to indicate that he cannot do kung-fu because of his build,this would also serve to indicate that kf is the art of looking funny as some naysayers would put it.

[TaoBoy]

Arnie will be back.

[chen zhen]

I'm back already

[dezhen2001]

LOL! :D

dawood

[sticky fingers]

depends how you define 'bodybuilder'.
If you think 'bodybuilding' means getting as huge as possible, then Bruce Lee was not a bodybuilder.

If it means building the body for an intended purpose , in Bruce's case - fighting, then yes he definately was.

[Ben Gash]

Let's bear in mind that for T3 they had to use CG to show Arnie running at speed convincingly.
As for the heart thing, he had a valve replacement, not a CABG, so exercise shouldn't be a problem.
Little guys? How many times must I complain about people making judgements on MAs based on limited knowledge and stereotypes?

[ZIM]

Obviously theres a difference between saying that MA move look better on film when a smaller-than-bodybuilder man does it and saying that MA moves are better/more effective when done by smaller men.

But its an interesting question anyway, and one thats constantly being argued... "does bodybuilding help a Martial Artist?"

Personally, I think it does, but not perhaps in the way that its done too often... bulking is good for show [which is what most ppl seem to want.. thats an effect from the bodybuilder contests], while strength and flexibility is better for MAs- and thats what I think Saint Bruce Lee was concentrating on, if you need that to convince... ;)

[GeneChing]

...Arnie posed in BB doing some Okinawan weapons. Mostly he just held some kama and flexed, but I seem to remember that he espoused the practice of the arts back then - all kobudo stuff amdn maybe some kendo. And he still runs his Arnie classic which has a big MA section.

[CrippledAvenger]

Originally posted by ZIM
...Personally, I think it does, but not perhaps in the way that its done too often... bulking is good for show [which is what most ppl seem to want.. thats an effect from the bodybuilder contests], while strength and flexibility is better for MAs- and thats what I think Saint Bruce Lee was concentrating on, if you need that to convince... ;)

I seem to remember reading about how serious weightlifters (i.e. powerlifters) were both insanely fast and insanely flexible. The same with Sumo wrestlers. I know it's not the same as body building, but I thought I'd just throw it out there for discussion.

[Losttrak]

I am 6'5" 240lbs and I am very fast and agile. Of course I am a freak of nature but that doesnt mean that someone out there cant do it. I think he was speaking of his own personal talent.

[fa_jing]

The kung fu ascethetic as we see it in movies is derived from Chinese Opera acrobatics, which is geared towards a very different body type than Arnold's. His also into his tough guy schtick, which is why he uses the word "puny." Remember he comes from the bodybuilding set.

[Chang Style Novice]

I'm pretty sure Arn is closer to 5'6" than 6'5", anyway. Remember in "Twins" how he seemed a lot bigger but not much taller than Danny Devito?

The idea that being strong prevents you from being flexible or an optimal martial artist is beyond laughable. Whether getting strong by using freeweights and so on constitutes "body building" (however you choose to define that) is a completely different issue.

[MasterKiller]

Most people probably recognize "bodybuilding" as the practice of increasing muscle mass and definition, as opposed to training specifically to increase strength.

In which case, the extra mass does seem to impede one's ability to perform certain techniques. For example, we have a couple of guys in class that have huge arms and shoulders, and they are unable to reach behind their shoulders to perform certain techniques of our staff set, and can't extend their arms straight up well enough to do a decent cartwheel.

Perhaps these two individuals just don't work on their flexibility enough. I dunno. But they seem pretty representitive of the body builders we've had in class.

A funny note as well. Their cardio sucks.

[dwid]

They could probably crush your skull like a ripe melon between their meaty paws.

[FatherDog]

Arnold is 6'2".

Please distinguish between "bodybuilding", which is generally used to refer to lifting weights purely to gain muscular size and definition (a la the bodybuilding competitions that Arnold first was notable in) and weight lifting for strength and power. Powerlifting, and in particular Olympic lifting, will increase your speed as well as your strength. Olympic lifting will also increase balance and flexibility. Neither will have any significant effect on your flexibility - if you continue to stretch in addition to your weightlifting routine, you will be flexible.

Bodybuilding will also not affect your flexibility much, but the size of the muscles may affect your range of motion.

In neither case will you be prevented from doing martial arts.

"Weight lifting will hurt your martial arts practice" is a statement born of ignorance, laziness, or both.

[ewallace]

"Weight lifting will hurt your martial arts practice" is a statement born of ignorance, laziness, or both.
You should add that to your sig.

[MasterKiller]

They could probably crush your skull like a ripe melon between their meaty paws.

Iron Head kung fu has made my skull indestructable.

[dwid]

Iron Head kung fu has made my skull indestructable.

Sweet. I did iron head wrong, and now my head is all soft and squishy.

[Chang Style Novice]

> Arnold is 6'2".

Color me amazed. I didn't think he was at the Prince/Tom Cruise/Paul Simon range of tininess, but I was almost positive he was under six feet. But I can't find any contrary references on google. Maybe I was thinking of Stallone? He's showing as 5'9".

[carly]

Hollywood types often do not give out accurate information on their height - just because they claim to be 6'2" does not mean that they really are.

[Suntzu]

Arnold is farrrr from 6'2"… The 1st Terminator really screwed some folks up…

[Chang Style Novice]

Good point, you two. I should trust my eyes before I trust the Schwartzenpublicist.

[MasterKiller]

From Celeb Junction (http://www.the-movie-times.com/thrsdir/actors/actorProfiles.mv?arnold)

Real Name: Arnold Schwarzenegger
D.O.B: July 30th,1947
Place of Birth: Graz, Austria
Height: 6'2"
Occupation: Actor, Author, Director
Spouse: Maria Shriver(1986-present)
Children: Katherine, Christina, Patrick, Christopher
Education: University of Wisconsin, B.A. Business, Economics
Fan Mail:
C/O PMK
955 S. Carillo Dr. Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90048
USA

[FatherDog]

Grace Jones is 5'9".

http://www.geocities.com/conanthedestroyer2/conanbig/12.jpg

6'2" looks about right to me.

[FatherDog]

Also: I'm not saying to automatically trust publicists, because often celebrities' heights are inflated (especially action stars). But Arnold's actual dimensions are pretty well documented from his bodybuilding days.


Originally posted by ewallace

You should add that to your sig.

Heh. I feel kind of weird sigging myself.

[Suntzu]

so I guess nobody noticed his eye to eyeness with Tom Arnold in that corny movie… no the other corny movie… True Lies… they was given Arnold he\\ about his height when that came out…

[Chang Style Novice]

FD - think you could post that Conan the Destroyer still as an attachment? Geocities doesn't want me to look at a link to it.

[Former castleva]

I think he ranks among taller actors around there.
However,not among the TALLEST actors.
Actors like Jim Carrey are somewhat tall,actors like Sean Connery and especially Jeff Goldblum are pretty tall.

[Waidan]

Normally I'd say "official" dimensions on an actor don't mean squat-diddly, but seeing as how Arnold was a 7 time Mr. Olympian I think folks would know if he was b.s.ing. They tend to break out the tape measure at those events :)

[FatherDog]

Originally posted by Chang Style Novice
FD - think you could post that Conan the Destroyer still as an attachment? Geocities doesn't want me to look at a link to it.

I think it's too large for an attachment. If you click in the URL of the window and hit "Enter" when it comes up with the Geocities "Can't view this" page, it should bring up the actual pic.

[JusticeZero]

The comments about weights being incompatible with MA probably come from the many experiences people have had with people with rippling muscles that don't have enough flexibility to rest their arms at their sides. We've had "weightlifting types" in our classes a few times before. Inevitably, they're the ONLY demographic that isn't capable of getting into basic stances, even being outdone by senior citizens.

[Xebsball]

oh boy, who really gives a fock what Arnold says about tradicional or sportive martial arts, he doesnt know shyt about them anyway.
hes a big guy, but theres plenty out there stronger than him, and thats all.

Questions that help our understandment of the case:

Was he ever good in a tma that we know of? NO
Was he ever good in a sportive ma that we know of? NO
Is he good at bjj? NO, its the guys from Rio that win the worlds championship, not him
Is he good at mma? NO, he have never been on Pride and UFC. Mark Coleman and Minotauro have, he havent
So... is he like a great fighter? NO
Was he a great fighter? NO, no records show that
Will he ever be a great fighter? NO, UNLESS HE TRAINS MARTIAL ARTS HAHAHAHA :p

[Xebsball]

Hes an actor, not a hero and not a figher.
LEAVE THE FIGHT TALK FOR THE FIGHTERS YOU FOCKER AND FOCK YOU

His securities people all definately must train martial arts, they can beat him up too
ALL YOU EVER DID WAS TRAINING TO MAKE YOUR MUSCLES LOOK GOOD, GUESS WHAT YOURE NOT STRONG, YOU ARE JUST ANOTHER NARCISISTIC BODYBUILDER THAT USED STEROIDS

[Serpent]

Yeah! Xebby tellin' it like it is!

[PHILBERT]

Originally posted by Chang Style Novice
I'm pretty sure Arn is closer to 5'6" than 6'5", anyway. Remember in "Twins" how he seemed a lot bigger but not much taller than Danny Devito?

The idea that being strong prevents you from being flexible or an optimal martial artist is beyond laughable. Whether getting strong by using freeweights and so on constitutes "body building" (however you choose to define that) is a completely different issue.

http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Schwarzenegger,%20Arnold

6'2"

http://us.imdb.com/Bio?DeVito,%20Danny

5'1"

Edit:

Sorry, I didn't realize it was being posted here already about him being 6'2". I skipped and replied, then went back and read.

[MasterKiller]

I think it's too large for an attachment. If you click in the URL of the window and hit "Enter" when it comes up with the Geocities "Can't view this" page, it should bring up the actual pic.

When you hit a Geocities link, you have to delete the Http:// in front of the URL to see the page. Geocities uses it's own domain structures.