Celebrities studying martial arts? [Archive]

GeneChing

03-31-2009, 09:53 AM

... I was going to post this on my thong fu thread, but it got eaten by the forum move. Maybe I'll have to repost that.

Lady Jane Percy tells of martial arts passion (http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2009/03/29/lady-jane-percy-tells-of-martial-arts-passion-79310-23255287/)
Mar 29 2009 Sunday Sun

“I’D really love to swing a punch and knock someone clean out.”

They are words you probably never thought The Duchess of Northumberland would utter.

But just like her high-class, high-kicking computer games counterpart Lady Lara Croft, the North’s own Lady Jane Percy has revealed her love of the martial arts.

The duchess, whose family has a £300m fortune, is not only a kickboxer, but is also learning the Filipino double- stick art of Kali, which uses two rattan canes to subdue an aggressor.

And, not only might Lady Percy attain a coveted black belt herself, she is urging school pupils across the North to do likewise.

She said: “I really enjoy kickboxing because it’s a great way to relieve stress and keep fit.

“What I hate about ordinary exercise is that I’m always watching the clock. But if I’m doing kickboxing or using the sticks you have to really concentrate or you get hit.

“But I also just enjoy it for its own sake. I’d really love to swing a punch and knock someone clean out!”

The duchess, 50, said that kickboxing helps her switch off from the pressure of running The Alnwick Garden, her family estates and her own family as well.

As a martial artist, the duchess believes, like in Japan, more schools should take it up because it teaches positive life lessons, promotes fitness and teaches discipline.

She added: “If I say I’m going to do something then I’ll try my hardest to succeed because I’m quite a determined person.

“When I was younger — aged between eight and 13-years — I was an ice-skater. I trained every day I could for up to five hours.

“We now have a whole generation of youngsters that need to exercise more and martial arts not only provides exercise, it also gives youngsters discipline and is really good fun.

“Although there will be some who disagree, I think children need to understand that they can win, but won’t always win.

“Martial arts are a good way to teach this lesson.”

She is so keen on promoting martial arts in the region, the duchess is holding a cage- fighting contest at Alnwick Gardens.

She said: “I want the garden to be used by the unusual as well as the expected and when the fight night came up in conversation during training I suggested it as a venue to my instructor Darren Currah.

“We have a new oriental garden opening soon that is full of Japanese Great White Cherry Trees.

“Cherry blossom is a revered martial arts symbol so it all fitted together.

“We were looking for things to do with the Orient and the martial arts theme was just perfect for the orchard’s opening.”

The Martial News- sponsored cage fight, called Battle amongst the Blossom, is being held at The Alnwick Gardens on April 24 and features shoot grappling, kickboxing and mixed martial arts, otherwise known as MMA.

It is being organised by Alnwick-based DFM Martial Arts, the duchess’s martial arts club. The club’s team are known on the circuit as the DFM Reivers.

MMA contests pit martial artists from many different systems against each other.

Along with her martial arts classes, the duchess also finds time to write eight pages every six weeks for the glossy Japanese lifestyle magazine Bises.

She said: “I write about my life as the duchess in a real castle and, of course, my garden as well as selling the North as being a great place to visit.

“We get lots of bus loads of Japanese coming to Alnwick now so what I write in English must translate OK into Japanese.

“The magazine loves the idea of the castle and they have just invited me to go out to Tokyo and Kyoto to talk about our region.

“It has been 30 years since I last went to Japan so I am really looking forward to going.”

Tickets for the Battle amongst the Blossom MMA and Kickboxing Fight Night are available from 07967- 724064, or from Sports World and Atmosphere shops in Alnwick.

The Duchess is a member of the DFM Martial Arts schools.

To find out more about DFM classes go to www.dfmmartialarts.co.uk or www.geocities.com/directional fighting

SimonM

03-31-2009, 11:05 AM

Vladimir Putin - Judo BB.

sanjuro_ronin

03-31-2009, 11:15 AM

Robert Downey Jr - Wing Chun.

doug maverick

03-31-2009, 11:22 AM

Vladimir Putin - Judo BB.

putin is a former head of state dont think he counts as a celeb.

BoulderDawg

03-31-2009, 06:03 PM

I was asking a friend of mine who runs a school in LA if he would give private lessons to a celebrity. He said he didn't give private lessons....Hell if I was qualified I would give private lessons as long as you have the brass!:D

Anyway I'm sure every other celebrity in Hollywood has taken MA at one time or the other. However, just like it is in real life, very few take it serious.

Jimbo

04-03-2009, 03:56 PM

Ed O'Neill - BJJ.

The guy who played The Highlander in the TV show did CLF and Hung Gar.

Wesley Snipes; I don't know what style(s). Kinda looks like kenpo, but he probably did a number if different things.

Louis Mandalor from Martial Law and other roles trains M.A.

I read that Sarah Michelle Gellar does TKD.

Jennifer Garner trains, or trained, TKD under Byong Yu.

GeneChing

04-03-2009, 05:06 PM

Putin (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43782) is totally a celeb. Politicians are celebs.

Milla Jojovich says she trains. See our Ultraviolet thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39928) - I posted both on her and on Adrian Paul (the Highlander dude) on page 2.

I suppose all our sword hotties (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41007) train, at least for a little bit, but that counts. We'll give the sword hotties a break.

And there's a ton of Bollywood Babes (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48576) who train...

Shaolinlueb

04-04-2009, 09:27 AM

my teacher was at shi yan mings in the mid to late 90's and wesley snipes and rosie perez were "celebs" who would train there when he was there.

wesley was all business my sifu said.

BoulderDawg

04-04-2009, 10:47 AM

my teacher was at shi yan mings in the mid to late 90's and wesley snipes and rosie perez were "celebs" who would train there when he was there.

wesley was all business my sifu said.

Maybe so but I have a feeling that if your sifu wants to train with Welsey again he might have to go to Africa to do it.

Snipes is leaving this week to start a film in Namibia and I have a feeling, with Welsey looking at three years of prison in the United States, that he won't be returning anytime soon!:D

Zenshiite

04-04-2009, 01:40 PM

RZA, obviously. Don't most of the Wu Tang Clan dudes train or have trained?

doug maverick

04-04-2009, 01:50 PM

RZA, obviously. Don't most of the Wu Tang Clan dudes train or have trained?

no, actually only the rza and ghost face killer have said anything about training in the martial arts.

GeneChing

04-07-2009, 10:05 AM

:o

Does Gilles Marini count? Probably not.

'Dancing With the Stars': Waltz on (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/04/dancing-with-the-stars-waltz-on-.html)
06:34 AM PT, Apr 7 2009
Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke. And rightfully so. Their perfect-30 tango from the week before set the bar exceedingly high, but they surpassed it with their caliente pasodoble. Honestly, I thought this dance, set to Bizet’s “Carmen,” had more emotion and was better paced than last week’s. Gilles’ martial arts background helped him attack the routine. And he got extra cute points for bringing his son to the Wushu martial-arts center during rehearsal (“You’re going down, papa!”). I loved Gilles' scruff and eyeliner. And his long body suited the leaned-back bullfighter stance perfectly. His shirtless stint at the beginning of the routine didn’t hurt, either. Carrie Ann called the dance “breathtakingly … passionate,” and a decidedly less-spray-tanned Bruno declared it “more than a dance — it was a battle for supremacy!” Len, however, stricken with what Tom called “pec envy,” peckishly thought it was a little too hectic and docked them a point for a total of 29.

BTW, y'all caught my last RZA interview (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=808), right?

GeneChing

04-08-2009, 09:24 AM

...only if we're trying to get into his bar... ;)

The Gig is Up! Rose Bar's Kung Fu Master Nur Khan Whips Out His Rock Star Rolodex (http://www.observer.com/2009/daily-transom/gig-rose-bars-kung-fu-master-nur-khan-whips-out-his-rock-star-rolodex)
By Chris Shott and Max Abelson
April 7, 2009 | 5:31 p.m

Nightlife impresario Nur Khan was bummed that rock singer Chris Cornell had pulled the plug on him.

“Am I upset that we’re not doing the gig tonight? Yeah, it would’ve been really cool,” Mr. Khan told the Daily Transom. “But we’re going to shoot for something in May.”

The charismatic 42-year-old operator of the artsy Rose Bar at Ian Schrager’s posh Gramercy Park Hotel had been planning one of his “stealth gigs” on Monday, April 6, an impromptu concert featuring the former Soundgarden frontman Mr. Cornell and the British musician–turned–Calvin Klein model Jamie Burke.

But Mr. Cornell was already booked for back-to-back nights at Webster Hall and his handlers were worried about further straining his voice.

Plan B? “The Dandy Warhols are coming in tonight,” said Mr. Khan, “so maybe we’ll do a spontaneous gig with them.”

Since opening his seminal Soho bar Wax in 1995, Mr. Khan has long catered to the city’s “musically literate crowd” and has the rolodex to prove it.

“The type of music that I’ve played in my bars has attracted a lot of musicians,” said Mr. Khan, who described himself as a rock ’n’ roll fanatic.

He dresses like a rock star, sporting multiple shiny rings, a Lazaro Diaz–designed bracelet encrusted with black diamonds and his trademark black snakeskin jacket, which he proudly created himself in collaboration with the designer Michael H. (“It’s nine pythons,” he noted.)

And he rolls like one, too. Former Wax partner John Jacobson once described the guy as “an imposing figure with a reputation for getting into fights.”

“I’ve calmed down in my old days,” said Mr. Khan, also a noted martial arts enthusiast who once took kung fu lessons from Shaolin monks in China. He chalked up his past dust-ups to an overall grittier downtown vibe in the mid-to-late 1990s.

From time to time, he likes to call on his rocker buddies for favors. “I’ve developed a lot of relationships where I can make a call and have someone come in here and do a special gig without having to have a big corporate name behind me,” Mr. Khan explained. “They can come jam and then sit around the table for the rest of the night and have a good time. They know I’m going to put a good crowd around them. If someone’s got a record coming out, I can create a little buzz. The record industry’s in shambles right now. Anything we can do to help the artists and keep this place poppin’—all parties benefit.”

The gigs can be tricky. Rose Bar lacks the proper sound system for a show, so he rents one, pushes a few tables aside and sticks a small stage in front of the fireplace. “We try not to burn the drummer,” he joked.

Since opening Rose Bar in 2006, Mr. Khan has hosted such illustrious acts as Velvet Revolver, the Kooks and Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction fame.

On March 15, former Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando joined Gibby Haynes of the ******** Surfers onstage for a brief but sweet four-song set.

“You ****y-ass mother****ers can suck my ****ing ****,” Mr. Haynes told the crowd of pretty men in velvet jackets and handsome ladies in slinky black dresses, who seemed largely disinterested in the music that night. “Pay attention to Evan Dando!”

The Daily Transom spotted the filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and actor Clive Owen in the audience. “Jim is actually friends with Evan and Gibby,” Mr. Khan later noted. “Clive just happened to come in—he’s a regular.”

Eventually, Mr. Khan would like to take his Rose Bar sessions on the road, possibly doing private shows at Coachella and other music festivals in the future.

For now, he’s got a list of local shows he’s dying to do. “Wait till you see what other ones I have up my sleeve,” he said.

GeneChing

04-20-2009, 09:34 AM

...so stupid I can't resist posting it. Jet Li? Oh really? Jackie Chan? No fooling? Chuck Norris? For real?

I'm surprised she didn't mention Bruce Lee....:rolleyes:

Famous people who study martial arts (http://www.examiner.com/x-5537-Billings-Martial-Arts-Examiner~y2009m4d18-Famous-people-who-study-martial-arts)
April 18, 2:54 PM

Did you know that President Obama trained in Tae Kwon Do, a traditional Korean martial art?

Some other famous martial artists are:
Criss Angel, a magician with a hit television show, trained in Karate, Tae Kwon Do and Kung Fu.
Actor James Cagney was a black belt in Judo.
Singer Elvis Presley studied Kempo.
Former Soviet Union President Vladimir Putin is a black belt in Judo.
Actor Robert Downey, Jr. trains in Kung Fu.
Action adventure star Steven Seagal is a black belt in Aikido and the first westerner allowed to open a school in Japan.
Actor Jet Li has studied Wushu and Fan Zi Quan.
Jackie Chan, comedic and action adventure actor, is a very talented product of the Beijing Opera--who train students in martial artistry and weapons.
Tang Soo Do is what Chuck Norris is most known for. He has taught it to Steve McQueen, Priscilla Presley and Donny Osmond.
Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and spent some time studying kickboxing.
Ed O'Neill, from “Married with Children”, has a black belt in Brazilian Jujutsu.
And, to bring it full circle with U. S. Presidents, Did you know that President Theodore Roosevelt studied Judo and Jujutsu?

AdrianK

04-20-2009, 11:20 AM

Look at a list of instructors in Southern California.

Half of em have trained one celebrity or another, lol.

I met Robert Downey Jr. at one of William Cheung's Traditional Wing Chun Seminars back in 02 or 03. I believe he still practices with Sifu Eric Oram.

Jimbo

04-20-2009, 01:57 PM

I heard that Catherine Zeta-Jones and Nicholas Cage had studied BJJ for a while.

I'm surprised the article didn't mention that the following celebs had trained for varying amounts of time under Bruce Lee:
Roman Polanski
James Garner
James Coburn
Steve McQueen
Joe Hyams
And on the set of The Wrecking Crew, Bruce had trained Sharon Tate for her fight scene with Nancy Kwan. I assume that BL also prepared Dean Martin for his fights against Ed Parker, Joe Lewis, and Chuck Norris (this was Chuck's first movie appearance). And I think Mike Stone was in it, too.

Egg fu young

04-20-2009, 02:06 PM

Ed O'Neill - BJJ.

The guy who played The Highlander in the TV show did CLF and Hung Gar.

Adrian Paul

Lucas

04-20-2009, 02:32 PM

kareem abdul jabbar was known to study with bl

kobe bryant supposedly studies jkd

but thats just the tip of the sport celeb list that could be populated.

there are numerous pro NFL, NBA, etc players that study seriously, as part of a complete physical package.

from some of the stories i have read, every one of them attribute martial arts to be a bonus to their professional games.

GreenCloudCLF

04-21-2009, 08:27 AM

And on the set of The Wrecking Crew, Bruce had trained Sharon Tate for her fight scene with Nancy Kwan.

Proof that Kung-Fu is no good for self-defense?:eek:

Jimbo

04-21-2009, 05:53 PM

No, as far as I can tell, she (and probably Nancy Kwan) was only trained enough to do the fight scene, which wasn't good at all, if you see The Wrecking Crew. And what he was teaching her was his theatrical version of JKD, not Wing Chun.

Though I did hear that James Garner actually had studied under BL as a student, and he famously got beaten up in the early '80s during a road rage incident. I don't think it's a critique on the effectiveness of KF; most of BL's celebrity students were likely private students and were not fighters.

Even if the art was karate, TKD, kali, BJJ, or silat, I don't think would have made a difference for Sharon Tate. Besides not being a fighter, Tate was pregnant and at the mercy of (I believe) 4 crazed stone-cold killers. Admittedly, I was probably stretching it a bit by including Tate in a thread about MA-trained celebrities, unless she had also studied along with her husband Roman Polanski privately as well.

doug maverick

04-21-2009, 11:42 PM

just found out nicolas cage does wing chun. he even has a dummy on set.

Taryn P.

04-22-2009, 01:22 AM

Trying to keep a straight face at the thought of facing down Donny Osmond across the mat..... :rolleyes:

Jimbo

04-22-2009, 10:26 AM

A long time ago, I remember Danny Bonaduce was into karate; don't know if he was a black belt or not. This was late '70s, early '80s, way before his celebrity boxing days. I remember reading back then that he was trying to produce a karate movie called Belts. :)

Eric Estrada was also a karate practitioner.

Though not an American celebrity, I heard that HK actor Anthony Wong, known for his excellent, non-MA dramatic roles, is a practitioner of Tai Shing Pek Kwar.

It's well-known that Tony Danza was once a professional boxer.

Erin Gray (Grey?) is a taiji practitioner.

Jonathan Ke Quan (sp?) from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies trained TKD under Tan Tao-Liang, himself a former TKD champ and KF film star.

BoulderDawg

04-22-2009, 10:35 AM

Trying to keep a straight face at the thought of facing down Donny Osmond across the mat..... :rolleyes:

Do you know anything about him other than being a pop singer? I don't.

While you're laughing away he just might slap the taste out of your mouth!:D

Lucas

04-22-2009, 10:40 AM

I'd beat the snot out of Osmond.

twice.

andyhaas

04-22-2009, 05:31 PM

... I was going to post this on my thong fu thread, but it got eaten by the forum move. Maybe I'll have to repost that.

"The duchess, whose family has a £300m fortune, is not only a kickboxer, but is also learning the Filipino double- stick art of Kali, which uses two rattan canes to subdue an aggressor."

Hey -- I'm bored and moved out of Seattle because of the rain.

I have 5+ years of baguazhang that's impossible to find outside China except from my teacher Zhang Jie. He said I could teach a few people if I wanted to.

Any rich duchesses want to part with some of their millions of pounds for personal training? I'm looking for something to do during the recession besides posting on KF forums.

Taryn P.

04-22-2009, 05:41 PM

Do you know anything about him other than being a pop singer? I don't.

While you're laughing away he just might slap the taste out of your mouth!:D

Like I said, I'm **TRYING** to keep a straight face. Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, or at least be polite. He'll probably be having the same struggle, once he gets a look at **ME**!

I think I'd rather fight Sarah Michelle Gellar. That might be fun, and I'll bet I could make a tidy profit selling tix.

AdrianK

04-22-2009, 11:08 PM

I'd pay to see that, as long as both of you were in mud :D

Taryn P.

04-23-2009, 05:29 AM

I think it's a safe bet that most people who know me would pay good money to see that. If there is leather, spandex or baby oil involved, the ticket price goes up exponentially and will sell out even faster. And I'm definitely negotiating for a percentage of the profits from the beer concession.

We'll probably have to wait till after she has the baby to schedule the match, though. That will give her time to do some weight training and get a little muscle on her skinny Hollywood frame, otherwise it wouldn't even be remotely sporting.

BoulderDawg

04-23-2009, 12:02 PM

GreenCloudCLF

04-23-2009, 12:23 PM

yeah, well on the internet where many of us don't show our pictures we can all be smokin' hot.

lmfao.....

Taryn P.

04-23-2009, 10:25 PM

Yeah, well on the internet where many of us don't show our pictures we can all be smokin' hot.

Yes. And *off* the internet, only a fortunate few of us can be. :p

AdrianK

04-25-2009, 06:28 PM

Attractive women actually aren't all that hard to come by. Just gotta know where to look!

Taryn P.

04-25-2009, 09:36 PM

Attractive women actually aren't all that hard to come by. Just gotta know where to look!

In the mirror. :p

(Hey, I can keep this going forever if people keep lobbing me these easy setups.....)

AdrianK

04-26-2009, 12:25 PM

Then would you be so kind as to model for us Ms. Taryn :)

BoulderDawg

04-26-2009, 12:52 PM

Then would you be so kind as to model for us Ms. Taryn :)

Ah the internet.......where everybody doesn't know your name, what you look like....how much you weigh........:D

I'd say the chances of actually seeing a picture is probably slim to none.

Lokhopkuen

04-26-2009, 05:43 PM

my teacher was at shi yan mings in the mid to late 90's and wesley snipes and rosie perez were "celebs" who would train there when he was there.

wesley was all business my sifu said.

Wesley originally trained with Benny the Jett.

Lokhopkuen

04-26-2009, 05:57 PM

Danny gave up martial art for crack. LOL! I used to hang out with him years ago, he was enthusiastic but had little to no skill. I originally met him at an audition for The Octagon (Chuck Norris) I got a part on the project but he was still type cast from the Partridge Fam-thingy. We used to get together and smoke out then go catch a Bruce Lee flick on Hollywood Blvd then suck back some beers after at the Frolic Room. I saw him recently while I was out with some clients. He's old, drunk and hunting young Hollywood trim....

Celebs:
Paula Abdul used to study with Billy Blanks.
Robert Downey is with Eric Orem (Wing Chun)

I teach several people (http://harmoniousfist.com/photosfriends.html)you all have seen on TV and in Media but I never FU and tell:D
Belay that: I'll spill one, remember Tattoo from Fantasy Island? Hervé Villechaize (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/HerveVillechaize.jpg) was a long time student and friend until he took his own life back 92-93. He was a really cool guy and nasty with a knife.....

A long time ago, I remember Danny Bonaduce was into karate; don't know if he was a black belt or not. This was late '70s, early '80s, way before his celebrity boxing days. I remember reading back then that he was trying to produce a karate movie called Belts. :)

Eric Estrada was also a karate practitioner.

Though not an American celebrity, I heard that HK actor Anthony Wong, known for his excellent, non-MA dramatic roles, is a practitioner of Tai Shing Pek Kwar.

It's well-known that Tony Danza was once a professional boxer.

Erin Gray (Grey?) is a taiji practitioner.

Jonathan Ke Quan (sp?) from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies trained TKD under Tan Tao-Liang, himself a former TKD champ and KF film star.

Taryn P.

04-26-2009, 07:16 PM

Then would you be so kind as to model for us Ms. Taryn :)
-------------------------
Well, since you ask so nicely, I'll have to think that over.
-----------------

Ah the internet.......where everybody doesn't know your name, what you look like....how much you weigh........:D

Oh, come on.... this is a martial arts forum, and sumo wrestling is not among my disciplines. I'm currently taking thirteen (soon to be fifteen) classes per fourteen-day period. Even if I were on the All-Twinkies-All-The-Time Diet, how bad do you really think it could be? :rolleyes:

GreenCloudCLF

04-26-2009, 07:34 PM

Oh, come on.... this is a martial arts forum, and sumo wrestling is not among my disciplines. I'm currently taking thirteen (soon to be fifteen) classes per fourteen-day period. Even if I were on the All-Twinkies-All-The-Time Diet, how bad do you really think it could be? :rolleyes:

It's not always about the weight. You could be a butter face...

Taryn P.

04-26-2009, 07:42 PM

It's not always about the weight. You could be a butter face...

What exactly *is* a "butter face"?? :confused:

TenTigers

04-26-2009, 10:27 PM

heeeyy...nice body.....
butterface....

:p

TenTigers

04-26-2009, 10:40 PM

I'll spill one, remember Tattoo from Fantasy Island? Hervé Villechaize (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/HerveVillechaize.jpg) was a long time student and friend until he took his own life back 92-93. He was a really cool guy and nasty with a knife.....

and pretty good with a trident, as I recall...

BoulderDawg

04-27-2009, 08:34 AM

I guess a butter face is a big doughy type of face.....don't know. In any case I've seen girls with pretty faces however they had asses so large they couldn't fit through the door. Usually the pictures these girls show you are extreme close ups!:D

Sure would like to see a picture or two of a Martial artist who is one of those "fortunate few". In the mean time I'll look at a picture of "skinny" Sarah Gellar!:p

MasterKiller

04-27-2009, 09:08 AM

What exactly *is* a "butter face"?? :confused:

Everythng is hot *but her face*

brothernumber9

04-27-2009, 09:20 AM

Though not an American celebrity, I heard that HK actor Anthony Wong, known for his excellent, non-MA dramatic roles, is a practitioner of Tai Shing Pek Kwar.

This Anthony Wong? Anthony Wong is a cool dude.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=281098346&albumID=570817&imageID=2787890

MasterKiller

04-27-2009, 09:39 AM

I guess a butter face is a big doughy type of face.....don't know. In any case I've seen girls with pretty faces however they had asses so large they couldn't fit through the door. Usually the pictures these girls show you are extreme close ups!:D Those are called "ice bergs" because you only see the top 10%.

Taryn P.

04-27-2009, 10:18 AM

In the mean time I'll look at a picture of "skinny" Sarah Gellar!:p

You'd better get a "skinny" pic soon, because she just got pregnant!

BoulderDawg

04-27-2009, 11:50 AM

You'd better get a "skinny" pic soon, because she just got pregnant!

Skinny pregant girl.........EXTREME TURN ON!!!!!!!:p

GeneChing

04-29-2009, 09:07 AM

gotta pick up the new issue of vogue...
Kicking it - click for slideshow. (http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/2009_May_Kicking_It/)

Gisele Bundchen gets her kicks in jeans (http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view/2009_04_29_Gisele_Bundchen/srvc=home&position=also)
By Inside Track
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - Updated 35m ago

Tom Brady [stats] better not ever get out of line, because the missus, Gisele Bundchen, is showing off some crazy kung fu fighting moves in the new issue of Vogue maggie!

Gi, a student at the Boston Kung Fu Tai Chi Institute, channels Bruce Lee for a piece called “Kicking It,” which has nothing to do with martial arts at all. It’s about what supermodels Gisele, Naomi Campbell and Karen Elson wear when they’re not working.

Surprise, surprise, Gi’s all about the jeans.

“I am the queen of jeans,” the Brazilian bombshell tells Vogue.

She also loves cashmere sweaters in neutral colors, and when she went shopping for new outfits with the writer, the first thing she bought was a baby tennis sweater (cashmere, natch) for her stepson, Jack .

Awwww, what a model stepmom!

GeneChing

05-04-2009, 09:40 AM

Jason trains MMA! Friday the 13th Jason. :cool:

Derek Mears: Beyond The Mask (http://www.iconvsicon.com/2009/05/01/derek-mears-beyond-the-mask/)
Posted on 01 May 2009
long interview: here's the excerpt:

What do you do to keep in top physical shape?

I do different weight training regimens. I do some stuff called CrossFit, which is all functional body training. It’s a website called Crossfit.com, where they give you a workout for each day. It is just fantastic. I train MMA as a hobbyist at John McCarthy’s ultimate fighting school, which is so much fun to do. They also offer a CrossFit there too. So I bounce between that and of course doing different weights in the gym and stuff for the aesthetic body look.

herb ox

05-04-2009, 10:50 AM

gotta pick up the new issue of vogue...
Kicking it - click for slideshow. (http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/2009_May_Kicking_It/)

WTF indeed, Gene! I clicked for the slideshow, but only got a slideshow of girlie stuff, not punches, chops or even ham-hocks. I admit, I fell for it :rolleyes:

There was that single shot on the front page, though. You know, I'm starting to wonder if lifting your heel off the ground when kicking is actually the right way to do it... 'least that's what I'd think if my only exposure to MA was from pop media (excluding KFMag excepted! (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=744) :D

herb ox

doug maverick

05-04-2009, 11:18 AM

i think don cheadle studies kung fu, i remember that little exchange between him and jackie in rush hour two, that **** looked tight i also remember him doing something in meteor man...but that was a long time ago.

Taryn P.

05-06-2009, 05:46 AM

Jason trains MMA! Friday the 13th Jason. :cool:

Derek Mears: Beyond The Mask (http://www.iconvsicon.com/2009/05/01/derek-mears-beyond-the-mask/)
Posted on 01 May 2009
long interview: here's the excerpt:
Quote:
What do you do to keep in top physical shape?

I do different weight training regimens. I do some stuff called CrossFit, which is all functional body training. It’s a website called Crossfit.com, where they give you a workout for each day. It is just fantastic. I train MMA as a hobbyist at John McCarthy’s ultimate fighting school, which is so much fun to do. They also offer a CrossFit there too. So I bounce between that and of course doing different weights in the gym and stuff for the aesthetic body look.

LOL.... You see that, Oso? Next time you're doing your Crossfit class, you better make sure the guy behind you doesn't have a chainsaw in his gym bag.

IronFist

05-07-2009, 05:04 PM

I did not know this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3yjN1KrqfM&feature=player_embedded

wetwonder

05-07-2009, 10:31 PM

Clint Eastwood is a bb in six-shooters and 44 magnums.

Raipizo

05-10-2009, 11:16 AM

i just rofled.

BoulderDawg

05-16-2009, 12:58 PM

Just saw an interview with Bob Barker...still looking good and going strong at 84.

He mentioned that trained in Karate with Chuck Norris for eight years.

GeneChing

06-18-2009, 09:31 AM

There's a vid on the other end of this link if you're really that interested...

Taylor Lautner: from child martial arts star to Twilight and New Moon (http://www.examiner.com/x-824-Martial-Arts-Examiner~y2009m6d18-Taylor-Lautner-from-child-martial-arts-star-to-Twilight-and-New-Moon)
June 18, 9:08 AM

The incredibly popular Twilight movie and upcoming sequel New Moon has introduced the talented 17-year-old Taylor Lautner to the movie entertainment world. What many people may not know is that before he became a TV and movie star, Taylor was a world-class martial artist who held world competition titles by the age of 11. Taylor Lautner's life path is evidence that a good martial arts education can lead to success and great life adventures. Check out this video montage of Taylor's life journey by Clevver TV.

Shaolinlueb

06-19-2009, 12:38 PM

There's a vid on the other end of this link if you're really that interested...

is extreme martial arts really martial arts? or is it a bunch of ugly flipping and flooping all over a rug with a couple of bad kicks and punches thrown in gene?

note i did nto watch the full clip. as soon as i saw him in XMA gi i clicked off of it.

GeneChing

06-23-2009, 09:51 AM

...and this only counts if Geary wins...

Omaha martial-arts instructor wants to be governor (http://www.ktiv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10577928)
Associated Press - June 23, 2009 7:05 AM ET

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - An Omaha martial-arts instructor and business owner says he's running for governor of Nebraska.

Christopher Geary says he wants to play a part in shaping the state's future.

The 38-year-old Republican says that as a small-business owner, he knows "what it is like to make ends meet in a stressful economy."

Geary, a former Marine enlisted man, finished fourth in the 2008 primary election for Legislative District 3.

During that race, Geary said old vandalism warrants, protection orders and a bankruptcy listing gambling debts were behind him. He said people sometimes do dumb things in their 20s.

On the Net:
Geary campaign site: http://www.christophergeary2010.com/

GeneChing

06-23-2009, 10:02 AM

She should do a video. :)

Angelina Jolie: 'I love martial arts' (http://www.examiner.com/x-14380-NY-Celebrity-Fitness-Examiner~y2009m6d22-Angelina-Jolie-I-Love-Martial-Arts)
June 22, 2:26 PM

Oscar winner Angelina Jolie stays in top shape by being active. And the 34-year-old stunner encourages her six young children to be active as well.

"I love martial arts," Angelina told OK! "They are ideal for children because they teach them discipline and perseverance. My son [Maddox, 7] is already starting to go to class."

Jolie, who bounced back into peak condition following the birth of twins Knox and Vivienne in July 2008, underwent grueling martial arts training for her blockbuster action thrillers, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and its sequel, Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life (2003).

Since then, Angelina—widely considered one of the most beautiful women in the world—has embraced a fit and healthy lifestyle. Physical exercise is ideal, it's much better than sitting in front of the TV or the computer screen, she says.

So when she does sit down to see a movie, what does Angie like to watch? "I like all of Bruce Lee's films; he was the best," she notes. "I also like Jackie Chan a lot—my kids are Jackie Chan fans."

The super-svelte Angelina also likes to use her son's video games to work out. Angelina discovered the program Let’s Pilates! when Maddox was showing his siblings how to use the Nintendo Wii console. Once Angie figured out how to use the program, she was hooked.

Meanwhile, Jolie has been on location in New York City and in Washington, D.C. since February, shooting scenes for the espionage thriller Salt, in which she plays Evelyn A. Salt, a rogue CIA agent who tries to clear her name after being accused of being a Russian sleeper spy.

When not filming, Jolie spends time with her partner Brad Pitt, 45, and their six kids and promotes humanitarian causes. On June 19, Angelina made international headlines when she and Brad donated $1 million to a U.N. refugee agency to help Pakistanis displaced by fighting between troops and Taliban militants. Over the past decade, Jolie has donated millions of dollars to charity and has traveled extensively on humanitarian missions as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.

Meanwhile, the Oscar winner has reportedly landed another film franchise, this time playing Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a crime-solving medical examiner in novelist Patricia Cornwell's bestselling book series.

In the novels, Kay Scarpetta is a beautiful but tough-as-nails forensic examiner with a messy love life and a penchant for opera and Italian cooking. There are 16 Scarpetta novels, clearing the way for a possible mega-franchise like the Jason Bourne spy series which made a global box-office sensation of star Matt Damon, 38.

Angelina has herself enjoyed incredible box office success in action movies such as the Lara Croft films (2001 & 2003), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and Wanted (2008). Combined, Jolie's movies have grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide. If everything works out, Scarpetta will be Angelina's second franchise, after the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider series.

Salt opens in 2010.

BoulderDawg

06-23-2009, 12:06 PM

Good for her. I'd much rather see kids involved in MA then an elitist sport such as soccer.....here lately even little league baseball, with the fee to play, fancy uniforms and fields and parent camping out in a line to get their kids a spot in the league, seems to turn it's nose up in the air.

I think Angelina would probably be a lot of fun to know however I take issue with "the most beautiful woman in the world".

GeneChing

07-29-2009, 10:04 AM

There are lots of vidlinks if you follow the link.

Celebrity Stars using Martial-Arts/Self-Defense to “Market their Fame” (http://www.examiner.com/x-9595-Denver-Martial-Arts-Examiner~y2009m7d28-Celebrity-Stars-using-MartialArtsSelfDefense-to-Market-their-Fame-Part-1)Part 1
July 28, 5:26 PM

The Media, Television, and Hollywood has been a big market for sports, journalism, and of course Martial-Arts, or in some cases MMA or WWE???

Since the fame of Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, to Jacky Chan, Jet Li, and to more known celebrities in TV hit shows. Such as Kristin Kreuk in SmallVille and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, have in someway used gymnastics in Martial-Art films and other athletic talents in films and in Television.

Many celebrities have learned through professional choreographers and from other Martial-Artist such as Christian Bale: Bat Man, Tobey Maguire: Spider Man, Ben Affleck: Dare Devil, Milla Jovovich: Resident Evil, Hale Berry: Cat Woman, Jennifer Garner: Elektra, and just recent mentioned Kristin Kreuk: Street Fighter. They are all actors have made and marketed their fame by learning self-defense and martial arts in their acting to promote their films. It brings a flavor and authenticity to the audience to want to see something quick and amazing that all children aspire to do or to become some day.

Martial-Arts have been a big influence on all people as well as actors and in entertainment media. Though the concept of the Martial-Arts has been about self-defense, it has also been a wide way of utilizing the knowledge in tournament competition for many people to be able to maybe become movie stars.

Organizations such as XMA or known as Extreme Martial Arts, has been a way for many Marti-Art professionals to market their talent and skills, where perhaps they can be recognized by movie producers and directors, to find many talented people to be in the movies and star in big films.

Through high school athletes become aspired by the media when watching sport channels on the type of events they love and what they wish to become famous and be a future celebrity. For many, has been high school wrestlers, pre-dominantly male athletes, with their knowledge in grappling, they desire to pursue in (MMA) Mixed Martial Arts, to maybe make thousand if not millions of dollars in the spectator sport.

But many come in to the MMA without any real knowledge of the Martial-Arts other than basic boxing skills picked up in their exposure to MMA. Few MMA fighters come from (WWE) World Wrestling Entertainment to b become the next MMA fighter or vice versa to grow their popularity. Few are well known, but one most well recognized Ken Shamrock, brother of Frank Shamrock, who was a well rounded Martial-Artist and for his Jiu Jitsu skills to join WWE in the mid-late 1990’s to create his popularity to the public through media.

Martial-Arts have become such an influence on people in many different ways. The majority of the group, is really for health and fitness, others for self-defense reasons, or to create self esteem in children and become better people. To those coming out of high school and wish to continue in wrestling, while not knowing what to do with their lives or what career to pursue, there is a growing number to become rich and famous in the Martial-Arts, to never having to get a college education for such as those going or pursuing into the MMA or branch out of WWE. But the Martial-Arts has been a great solution to make great movies and for actors to create a popularity for their fame in movies and films.

GeneChing

08-13-2009, 10:00 AM

Who the heck is Peter Andre?!? ;)

Peter Andre comes to Crawley to learn kung fu (http://www.thisissussex.co.uk/crawley/news/Peter-Andre-comes-Crawley-learn-kung-fu/article-1243318-detail/article.html)
Thursday, August 13, 2009, 11:00

KUNG-FU experts in Crawley are helping pop star Peter Andre to let off some steam following his marriage heartbreak.

Andre, 36, is taking time out from promoting his new single to enjoy lessons in the ancient martial art Wing Chun.

The News understands the Mysterious Girl singer was spotted emerging from the Premier Kung Fu School, in Spindle Way, Three Bridges, last week.

The school confirmed Andre had paid them a visit but owner Paul Hawkes said he could not comment further due to client confidentially.

The news comes amid reports that Andre's estranged wife, Katie Price, is currently dating a professional cage fighter.

Wing Chun, which is a Chinese martial art achieved by body structure, balance and relaxation, was invented by a Buddhist nun.

Made famous by legendary actor and martial artist Bruce Lee, who began training at the age of 13, the art specialises in close-range combat and is practiced in 64 countries.

The news that Andre, who is now living in Hove, has taken up kung-fu has prompted other Crawley martial arts centres to offer their services.

Dave Morgan, who runs the New Hope Aikido Club, in Bewbush, said: "I am pleased to hear that Peter Andre is taking up martial arts.

"He would be welcome at our club, but he wouldn't receive any special treatment as we treat everyone exactly the same."

Dave, who is a Sandan (a third degree black belt) has offered Andre some friendly advice in his quest to become a kung-fu fighting master.

He added: "Listen carefully to your Sensei (teacher) and walk with humility."

Despite his marriage break-up to Katie Price aka Jordan in May and reports of a bitter divorce battle ahead, Peter is guaranteed to be on cloud nine by the time the week is out.

According to midweek sales his comeback single, Behind Closed Doors, is set to top the charts this weekend.

Andre's spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

GeneChing

08-14-2009, 09:44 AM

We need more spokepeople like Milla.

Resident Evil star makes comeback (http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_10000000/newsid_10001000/10001001.stm)
Page last updated at 10:44 BST, Friday, 14 August 2009
By Natalie Jamieson Newsbeat entertainment reporter

You might know Milla Jovovich best for her part in the Resident Evil movies, but the Hollywood actress is keen to show her 'different' side. Her latest film is called A Perfect Getaway, a thriller about newlywed hikers being found dead on an island near Hawaii. She talks about the movie, what life's like after having her baby and what we can expect from the next Resident Evil.

Your surname is difficult to pronounce, isn't it?

Yes, there's many times where even I, at certain points in the evening, after a few drinks, can't pronounce my own surname, so it's understandable.

What attracts you to roles? Do you get a lot of Resident Evil type stuff thrown your way?

I'm very lucky to have the Resident Evil franchise. It's definitely something very special for an actor to have in Hollywood, steady work every few years. It's like you never know when the next job is coming in!

Definitely outside the Resident Evil franchise I like to play parts that are different, that give the audience a chance to see a different side of myself, that's really important to me.

There are lots of jumpy moments in the film. How good are you at filming those?
Milla Jovovich A Perfect Getaway was filmed in Puerto Rico but is set in Hawaii

When you're filming it you know it's going to happen a lot of the time but I'm so happy to hear people are jumping and they're really reacting well to it because we had such a great time filming it and it was really a lot of fun.

It's not just a movie based on action, or based on gross, bloody murder. It's definitely not a horror film, I would call it a psychological thriller. It's a very smart film, and it's got a lot of great jumps, but I think the jumps are based on the fact you really get involved with the script and the characters.

How was it returning to work so soon after having a baby?

Part of the reason that I was able to return to work, being a mum of four months at that point, was because it wasn't an action film. I wasn't expected to train. It was nice to just play myself for most of the movie, to just play a nice girl on her honeymoon. Being able to take my baby with me to a beautiful exotic location and take her swimming in the ocean every day.

She's not even two yet but I read you wanted to get her training in martial arts as soon as you can. Is that right?

Oh yeah definitely. I think it's one of the most important things for women to do martial arts. I think it's fun, it's exciting, it's just a great experience because I hate going to the gym.

To be able to do martial arts, to have focus, to have something you learn and you practice and you're actually able to do it well. It gives you this great sense of confidence. The gym doesn't really cut it because it's just kind of boring.

There are some killer fight scenes in the movie. Was it hard to lose your post pregnancy weight?

At the time I filmed the movie I definitely was a lot bigger than I am now. I thought it was OK for this movie not to have to lose weight because I wanted to be much more of a normal nice girl.

I didn't need to be in superhero form so I actually felt like it was better for the character that I wasn't in crazy-perfect shape that I would be in for a Resident Evil film.

What stage is the next Resident Evil film at?

We start filming in September. It's ready to go.

How's the script?

Amazing. It's going to be so killer. It's the best one yet and we're shooting in 3D so it's going to be really rad.

Milla Jovovich was talking to Newsbeat entertainment reporter Natalie Jamieson

GeneChing

08-27-2009, 09:33 AM

Would I put Hannah Montana on our cover? Hmmm...:confused:

Hannah Montana & the real Taichi girls (http://www.examiner.com/x-16087-St-Louis-Tai-Chi-Examiner~y2009m8d26-Hannah-Montana--the-real-Taichi-girls)
August 26, 8:30 PMSt. Louis Tai Chi
Examiner Violet Li

Miley Cyrus is an idol for millions of young girls in the U.S. and abroad. She acts as Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus in the TV Show Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel. She has played the lead role in two movies. She plays several musical instruments and sings. Some of her albums have even won awards. One of her songs talks about an unusual, not so typical girl or a Rock Star who thinks differently than others and does things her own way. The Rock Star snowboards, fixes flat tires, and even practices Taichi (Tai Chi, Taiji). I don’t know if Hannah Montana practices Taichi in the show or Miley Cyrus practices Taichi in real life, but here are the stories of the real Taichi girls in St. Louis.

Connie (14, attending Parkway West High School), Jie-Jie (17, attending John Burroughs), and Clare (13, attending Parkway Central Middle School) are all local teens that attend the St. Louis Chinese Language School every Sunday afternoon. Aside from their two language classes, they have the option to enroll in an extra-curricular activity. They all select Taichi. Connie and Clare watched the Hannah Montana show before. They remember the Rock Star song, and recall the lyrics of practicing Taichi, but refute the idea that there is any influence of the song on their decision to study Taichi.

Connie and Jie-Jie have learned Taichi over three years while Clare has been trainingfor a year. Connie describes herself as a tomboy and Taichi prefers it to activities like folk dancing. She truly enjoys learning and practicing Taichi. A couple summers ago, she went to China by herself and learned from a Taichi master for several weeks. Clare started with hard style Kung Fu for a year and then switched to Taichi.

Jie Jie, Connie and Clare are cheerful, active girls, involved with many school activities. . Connie admits that her friends were skeptical at first, but changed their opinion toward her Taichi practice once they saw her perform. Clare mentions that her friends saw her perform Taichi in this year’s Chinese Culture Day at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and thought it was really cool.

Connie claims that practicing Taichi makes her stronger and increases her energy level. Clare recognizes that Taichi enhances balance. According to Jean Chen, Jie Jie’s mom, Jie Jie’s school work is very demanding, especially because she’s concentrating on preparing for college. Jie Jie really appreciates Taichi because it improves her health and also makes her calm.

Clare hangs out with guys more than girls but has not currently dating anyone. Connie has a boyfriend and even though she is no longer listening to Hannah Montana,her dating attitude actually is similar to the girl in Rock Star who proclaims not wait around for boys.

doug maverick

08-27-2009, 12:29 PM

you'd sell a ton of issues, but you should check the sincerity of it, like does she seriously practice taichi or does she just wave her arms around like the hippies do in the parks....that would make the difference.we all know how hard it is for print magazine, i think we could forgive kfm for a quick cop out.lol

sanjuro_ronin

08-27-2009, 01:00 PM

If you could get Hillary Duff to pose in some sexy TCMA clothes, now that would be something !!
Chi building for sure !!

Jimbo

08-27-2009, 05:47 PM

We need more spokepeople like Milla.

I had rarely thought Milla Jovovich was all that sexy 'til I saw A Perfect Getaway. The movie was okay, but IMO Milla was pretty much the best thing in the movie, though the other main girl (sorry, don't know her name; she field dresses a goat) was pretty cool, too. Milla looked like an amazon in her fight scene. And from that interview she sounds pretty darn cool.

As for Miley Cyrus, I'd be curious if she actually does taiji. I may be wrong but I kinda doubt she'd have much in the way of skill at it if she does. Still, it probably would be the biggest-selling issue ever if she was on the cover. Well...actually, if you put that Twilight guy or a Jonas Brother it'd probably be the biggest seller ever at this point, if the little girls see it.

GeneChing

08-28-2009, 09:44 AM

What about UK reality stars?

'Kung-fu Katona' accused of kicking down accountant's door (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23738185-details/%27Kung-fu+Katona%27+accused+of+kicking+down+accountant%27 s+door/article.do)
By Kevin Widdop, London Lite Last updated at 14:03pm on 28.08.09

Meltdown: Katona faces financial woe

The mother-of-four, 28, was said to have attacked financial adviser David McHugh, showering blows on him as she ranted about her cash problems.

She was held for eight hours overnight in a police cell on Wednesday, after being arrested on suspicion of committing assault, criminal damage and a public order offence after the alleged fracas at the accountant's offices in Warrington, Cheshire.

Today McHugh, in his fifties, claimed the reality TV star lost the plot as she went on an angry rampage.

He said: “The door slammed open and she said David what the f***ing hell is this?' She was yelling and yelling. She started getting nasty and went for me.

“She caught my neck and ear and threw a scalding cup of tea over me.

“I've got black and blue bruises. The police wanted me to go to hospital.”

The star is said to be on the brink of financial meltdown, which she allegedly blames on convicted fraudster McHugh, who she met through husband Mark Croft, 38.

The bust-up is said to have centred on her dwindling fortune, which was netting her £1m-a-year until recently, as the face of Iceland, reality TV shows and interviews.

But her problems escalated last week when she was axed from her £250,000-a-year Iceland deal for allegedly snorting cocaine.

She was also declared bankrupt over an £82,000 tax bill.

McHugh said Croft had later sent a text, reading: “Let's sort this out.”

But McHugh added: “I have no intention of sorting this out. I'm severing all contact with her.” Katona was released on bail until 12 October.

As for getting Miley on our cover, that's so unlikely. She's way too big for us, a megastar, and it doesn't really get her anything to get exposure in our magazine. I'd totally pursue it if I thought there was a chance, but at this stage, I got no leads beyond that article. Honestly, I'm not sure she'd even help our sales. A lot of our readership might think it was a sell out. The gamble would be if the Miley fans would pick up the mag versus our readership who would reject it. I'd take that gamble, just because I like pushing the envelope that way. But it's not something I'm going to chase, so no worries. ;)

GeneChing

08-28-2009, 01:32 PM

Ok, this is totally fake, but almost funny, especially if you like crappy photoshop.

Paula Abdul - The Crystal Ball (http://tvblog.ugo.com/tv/paula-abdul-the-crystal-ball)
Posted by parker at 2:20 PM

By now we've all had time to let the news sink in. Paula Abdul is leaving American Idol. Details are sketchy since the big Twitter announcement, but we all knew something was up when they brought in some random ass 4th judge that was just a younger cuter version this season. Seriously, who the hell is Kara DioGuardi, and why the f*ck do I have to capitalize that 'G'?

What you may not know, is that we can see into the future, here at UGO, with our own legit crystal ball. It's down in the basement, near our dungeons where we keep our interns and uncooperative PR reps. We've consulted the oracle about poor, poor Paula's path in the coming months, and here's what we were able to discern...

...

November 11, 2015: 8:33 p.m.

Oddly, Abdul disappears from Hollywood life altogether. No one sees her for five years, and she is widely regarded to have died in the great Playboy Mansion Fire of 2012. American Idol remains the most popular show on TV. But to the surprise of the LA Times, Abdul returns to California bald, smiling and donning the orange robes of a full Shaolin Monk.

"I have been contemplating the mysteries of Wushu upon the eternal peaks of the Hua Shan mountains," she explains to the befuddled reporter. "The universe requires the individual to bend like the leaves of the apricot tree, or be uprooted in the endless turnings of the Wheel of Time. We are but changlings in the ever-expanding matrix of love and compassion from the extinction of Samsara."

Three days later, the kung-fu wielding Abdul launches an assault on the Idol studios and Five-Finger Death Punches DioGuardi during the final round of the live broadcast. Cowell tells her she still needs to lose 5 lbs.

GeneChing

09-01-2009, 10:49 AM

I had a feeling this would deliver more (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showpost.php?p=941935&postcount=61) as New Moon got closer.

Leader of the Pack (http://www.teenvogue.com/industry/coverlook/2009/08/teen-vogue-cover-boy-taylor-lautner_090831)
In New Moon, Taylor Lautner steals the show as the next hero of The Twilight Saga. Get ready to swoon over Jacob Black.
by Lauren Waterman

According to Taylor, there is a very specific sort of girl who's going to sign up for what's become known to Twilight fans as Team Jacob. "If she likes having a really close friendship with a guy," he begins, "being able to tell him anything, and then having that friendship slowly transform into something more...." The seventeen-year-old stops himself and laughs. "I find myself using the word transform a lot lately," he explains, "because that's what Jacob does."

It's not exactly a spoiler to say that Taylor's character in November's New Moon is going through some intense changes. As everyone who's seen the movie's trailer or read the books knows, Jacob Black is now a werewolf. And the changes that Taylor himself underwent in order to keep the part—as he says, "hitting the gym, hiring a personal trainer, eating the right foods, and eating a lot of them"—were equally evident. When that first trailer premiered at the MTV Movie Awards, the live (and apparently largely female) audience responded to a two-second shot of Taylor, shirtless, by screaming like they were on a roller coaster. Not that he's about to let all that adulation go to his head. "I think the fans would love anybody who played Jacob," he says mildly, when the reception is mentioned. "I'm just lucky to be the one who got the chance."

Taylor got into acting via a somewhat circuitous path. As a kid growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he started competing in a sport called Xtreme Martial Arts—which he describes as "almost like gymnastics, in that you do a routine, but there's a lot of kicks and punches and flips"—and he found that he was pretty good; by the time he retired, at thirteen, he was a four-time world champ. It was his Hollywood-based karate coach (a onetime blue Power Ranger) who suggested that Taylor give show business a chance. "At first," he recalls, "I wasn't interested, but he said I could stay at his house for a few weeks, meet with some agents, go on auditions. " By the end of that month, Taylor says, "I liked it. Taking on roles that were the opposite of what I could be in real life? That's still my favorite thing."

Now Taylor lives with his family an hour outside Los Angeles, although the distance does little to dissuade the paparazzi. "There are twelve cars that camp outside my house," he marvels. "You can't ever really get used to it, because it's not normal to have people snapping pictures of everything you do. You just have to try not to let it affect you." Tabloid attention and spurious rumors are the norm for the Twilight cast right now—Taylor and his costars are already hard at work on the third film, Eclipse. And he seems quite capable of taking it all in stride: Asked about his alleged early summer romance with Disney star Selena Gomez, he says, quite unperturbedly, "She's a great girl." Asked whether Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are indeed entangled in a torrid love triangle, he just laughs. "It's crazy," he admits, "but the fans help. They're a big part of the motivation."

As if on cue, a pair of wide-eyed young sisters approach his table, looking ecstatic. "We're all Team Jacob in our house," their mother says. Taylor does have a point when he insists that people are reacting, in part, to the character he plays—these two are each clutching one of author Stephenie Meyer's dictionary-size tomes for him to autograph—but he's also being too humble. The girls are definitely old enough to understand that Taylor is a rising star, not a teen werewolf, and they still look pretty starstruck.

Edited for teenvogue.com. For the complete story pick up the October 2009 issue of Teen Vogue, on newsstands September 8!

TaichiMantis

09-01-2009, 12:12 PM

Geez, Lautner is from Hudsonville, MI...my hometown :rolleyes:

He started at Fabiano's and used to be in some of the local open karate tourneys...and then got too big for his britches.;)

sanjuro_ronin

09-01-2009, 12:37 PM

Always had a thing for Milla, serious babe in my eyes.
Did bodyguard work for Paula years ago when she was in Toronto, nice lady, tiny little thing she was.

SC36DC

09-03-2009, 04:48 AM

:o

BTW, y'all caught my last RZA interview (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=808), right?

I really enjoyed this interview. Good job Gene.

GeneChing

09-04-2009, 03:03 PM

I can't believe I've let this thread go this far without showcasing the celebs that we've featured. I must be slipping. I'm going to go in chronological order, more or less. This is just off the top of my head so forgive me if I miss someone.

RZA
1999 September (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=99) cover: Hip Hop Fist: Wu-Tang Clan's RZA and his Sifu, Shaolin Monk Shi Yan Ming (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=100)
See also:
Wu-Tang Enters Wudang (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=5)
RZA on Iron Fist, the Last Dragon and Barack Obama (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=795)
RZA Reflects on Wu-Tang at Wudang Mountain (2009 March/April (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=803))
RZA on Breath Control, Martial Arts and Being a Student (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=808)

Anthony Michael Hall
A Touch of Hope . . . Anthony Michael Hall's New Journey (2000 September (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=124))

Lou Reed
2003 May/June (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=318) cover: A Walk on the Wild Side of Tai Chi (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=325)
The Taiji Raven Speaks (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=497)
2007 September/October (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=720) cover: Innovating Traditional Martial Arts: Ren Guangyi's 5 Step Roadmap (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=721)

Jonathon Miller
2006 March/April (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=646) cover: Taiji Principles for Business and Life: A Martial Arts Profile of Jonathon Miller - CEO, AOL (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=645)

SC36DC

09-05-2009, 05:10 AM

GeneChing

09-17-2009, 09:51 AM

Once an issue is sold out, it's gone.

Back OT - HEIDI KLUM! Ok, it's her kids, but still...

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Heidi Klum: Martial Arts Mommy (http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/celebrities/hollywood/heidi-klum-martial-arts-mommy-218765/)

Continuing to keep active as she quickly approaches the end of her pregnancy, Heidi Klum was spotted tending to her motherly duties on Tuesday afternoon (September 15).

The Victoria’s Secret supermodel walked along with the help of a nanny, escorting Leni, Henry and Johan to karate class in Los Angeles.

Scheduled to give birth to her fourth child in mid-October, Miss Klum and hubby Seal spent the weekend holding a fun-filled fourth birthday party for Henry at their Beverly Hills home.

As previously reported by Gossip Center, Heidi and her musician hubby got all dressed up in their costumes for the superhero themed bash, joining friends and family for an exciting day that included food, presents and some friendly reptiles.

GeneChing

09-21-2009, 09:36 AM

Ok, so it's qigong, not necessarily martial arts, but remember - qigong used to be in our title (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=626230). If her publicist is out there - I'd slap her on the cover in a heartbeat. I've been in love with Juliette since Chocolat (not to be confused with Chocolate (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49620) ;))

Juliette Binoche rejuvenated by Paris, 'Paris' (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/20/PKD419KLF6.DTL)
G. Allen Johnson, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, September 20, 2009

It sounds like a cliche, but it's true - at 45, Juliette Binoche is becoming rejuvenated by her hometown of Paris. The City of Light is once again her city of life.

"We moved back to Paris, and we're all excited; I feel like a teenager again," the Oscar-winning actress said by phone from her new place. "We lived outside (of Paris) for a while, because my son was going to a different school."

The luminous international star who often makes "foreign films" (films made outside of France) is back on home soil as part of the ensemble cast in "Paris," a celebration of the city directed by Cédric Klapisch ("When the Cat's Away," "L'Auberge Espagnole").

She's also winding up a yearlong dance and art exhibition tour this month in New York and says she has recently discovered qigong, the Chinese meditative practice that she believes will be key to the quality of the rest of her life.

So rejuvenation is indeed the right word.

"I hadn't been in a French film for a while," Binoche said. "People in France think of me as belonging to this other world - the 'stranger' world (laughs). Because it's my passion in a way. That was my dream when I started as an actress, to have the freedom to travel around and work with different visions and different ways of seeing life."

"Paris" is an ensemble patchwork quilt that views one of the world's most beautiful metropolitan areas through the eyes of Pierre (Romain Duris), a young dancer who is dying of a rare heart disease. To help him through his final months, his sister Elise (Binoche) moves into his apartment with her three children. In other story threads, a disillusioned college professor (Fabrice Luchini) falls in love with one of his students (Melanie Laurent of "Inglourious Basterds"), and a love triangle develops among operators of a fish stall at a farmers' market.

"I wanted to work with French actors I did not know," Binoche said. "Like Romain Duris. I had never met him. Most of the actors in this film I had not worked with."

She also wanted to work with Klapisch, whom she first met when he was an electrician - yes, an electrician - on the set of Leos Carax's "The Lovers on the Bridge" (1991). "I didn't even know his second name, but I remembered Cédric."

By that time, Binoche had established herself as an international presence. She built her career in the 1980s, notably in Jean-Luc Godard's "Hail Mary," Andre Techine's "Rendez-vous" and Philip Kaufman's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being."

Of the legendary Godard, Binoche said, "I was very impressed by him, and I was full of desire. And because of my needs, I was shocked by his short way of responding sometimes on the set, because he was trying to create something special, he was in his world, and I was expecting he would be like a teacher in class - teaching the actor.

"I didn't know the teacher wouldn't give a s- about me! (laughs). ... When I think about it years after, I think it was a great lesson. I do remember him being generous, money-wise, and when you're a young actress, you remember the people treating you well, and that meant a great deal at the time, because I had very little money."

Binoche hit her stride in the 1990s, starring in Louis Malle's "Damage" opposite Jeremy Irons, Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Bleu," the first of the "Trois Couleurs" trilogy, and winning the Academy Award for best supporting actress in Anthony Minghella's "The English Patient."

Kieslowski in particular was a favorite, because "it was like a huge family," Binoche said. "We would do very few takes - most of the time just one, and we would laugh a lot. ... I miss him a lot, of course. He was an adorable, intelligent man."

This decade has been one of continued success - Lasse Hallström's "Chocolat" opposite Johnny Depp, Michael Haneke's thriller "Caché" and the American romantic comedy "Dan in Real Life" opposite Steve Carell.

She even made a pretty good movie in the Bay Area, shooting "Bee Season" opposite Richard Gere in Oakland and Berkeley.

"I loved Berkeley," said Binoche, who has two children but has never been married. "I put my daughter in school there, and it was the best school I ever put her in. ... The first thing I regret (after filming ended) is I had to pull her out of that school."

Binoche, the daughter of a sculptor and an actress, has been painting for many years, but her recent exhibition and book, "Portraits In-Eyes," is her first. She had never danced before, either, and her collaboration with choreographer and co-performer Akram Khan was first presented in London a year ago and has its last performance Saturday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Binoche said she will concentrate on acting in the near future, but was thankful for the experience.

"I start with almost an emptiness," she said of her artistic approach. "The experience of jumping into an intimate place is where it's exciting. So it doesn't matter which way you're doing it, what matters is expressing yourself. That's the core to me.

"That's why if someone told me 'you will never act again,' I would be OK with that, because there are other ways of expressing yourself." {sbox}

Paris (R) opens Friday at the Embarcadero.

To see a trailer for "Paris," go to links.sfgate.com/ZIDV.

GeneChing

09-22-2009, 10:22 AM

A supermodel. A wing chun supermodel.

Yasmin Le Bon: Age of elegance (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/05/yasmin-le-bon-interview)
Emma Sibbles
The Guardian, Saturday 5 September 2009

Yasmin Le Bon slips quietly into the Soho Hotel, bang on time, wearing no make-up, with her 14-year-old daughter Tallulah in tow. Dressed in a simple black Balenciaga dress and brown Havaiana flip-flops, she chats nonstop about the Le Bon household, where life centres on the perfect cup of tea. "We're not allowed tea bags," she says. "Simon wilts tea leaves over steam and mixes his own blend."

On the surface, Le Bon has a charmed life – she was one of the highest earning models of the 80s, worked with Azzedine Alaïa, Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Dior and Versace, married Duran Duran's lead singer Simon Le Bon and had three daughters: Amber, 20, Saffron, 17, and Tallulah. But as she's grown older, her self-esteem has slipped. "I look confident," she says, "but when you've spent your life making jackets look a million dollars, what do you do? Where do you go?"

She says she was "in a bit of a dark place" when she had a chance meeting with Philip Green, the owner of the Arcadia retail group, at a hotel opening. "I'd lost belief in myself." Why? She wells up: "Because that's how life gets sometimes. Everything got on top of me." Green had a proposition – to design a range for Wallis. "I'd had one too many saketinis and there was a twinkle in Philip's eye. He saw that it was something I needed to do."

Le Bon was born in Oxford in 1964, the youngest child of an Iranian father and English mother. She was 18 when she walked into Models 1. "I didn't have a place in further education and I didn't have a job. People had told me I should be a model my whole life, but I didn't take it seriously until then." Within a week, she was working. Within two years, she was a supermodel.

She is well-known and respected in the fashion world, but redefining herself as a designer is making her nervous. "I find this frightening and difficult," she says. "I'm going to be judged and it is scary. I'm proud of it, and if no one likes it, well, I like it. The remit was to design clothes purely for myself – they're edgy and rock'n'roll, but grown-up."

The collection includes long, lean silk gowns, jewel colours, pendant necklaces, goat-hair capelets and pin-tucked high-neck blouses. "I'm obsessed with high-neck things. You're covered up but it's sexy, and I've always loved long dresses. Covering up can be a lot sexier than being uncovered. My body has changed, so feeling comfortable and confident, while accentuating the bits that are OK, is important."

What are her style rules for the older woman? "I'm not good at rules. I only started smoking since the ban. Tell me I can't do something and I'll do it. I shouldn't wear mini skirts, but if you feel comfortable getting your pins out, get them out."

She looks younger now than she did in the over-stylised shoots of the 80s. "I used to do a thousand balletic leaps a day, in heels, on concrete [for modelling shoots]. Now I'm paying the price. After having three children, my back is never going to be the same – and my knees and hips. It's depressing because I've always been incredibly strong and fit."

Le Bon practises the martial art, wing chun, to stay in shape. "If I'd been allowed to do it in my 20s, I would be fighting for a living – I love nothing more than fighting." And with that she wriggles into Tallulah's blazer and heads home to check if Simon has walked the dogs. God help him if he hasn't.

http://www.celebrity-pictures.ca/Celebrities/Yasmin-Le-Bon/Yasmin-Le-Bon-i104434.jpg

GeneChing

10-19-2009, 02:39 PM

But a cuter one, at least in my opinion - True Blood's Evan Rachel Wood.

Evan Rachel Wood Finds "The Upside of Anger" (http://movies.about.com/od/theupsideofanger/a/upsideew030605.htm)
Interview with Evan Rachel Wood from "The Upside of Anger"
By Rebecca Murray, About.com

Not one to follow the normal path into the land of teen comedies, Evan Rachel Wood has instead been busy making a name for herself by taking on challenging roles in films such as “Thirteen” and “The Missing.” With “The Upside of Anger,” Wood continues to show why she’s considered one of Hollywood’s best young actresses.

INTERVIEW WITH EVAN RACHEL WOOD ('Popeye'):

Do you think there is an upside to anger?

Yeah. The biggest lessons I’ve learned in life have probably come from a bad situation, from an angry situation, even if I wasn’t the one who was angry. Just watching other people, I definitely learned from it and probably became a better person.

What was it like bonding with a bunch of women playing your sisters?

I guess it was a little weird for me at first. I’ve known Erika Christensen since I was like 9 years old so that made it a little better. We used to go to acting class together, so it was really cool that we got to work on something together. It really wasn’t that hard at all. They’re all really, really, cool down to earth people.

I guess I was a little awkward at first because I’m really shy. I’m definitely shy around girls. I was raised with a bunch of boys so I never know how it’s gonna be. But they were really great so it wasn’t hard at all.

What about romancing Erika Christensen’s brother (Dane) in the movie?

Yeah, it was a little weird. I think she was on set that day so it was a little strange. I think she was off behind the monitor or something. I’d come back there and say, “Hey, I just kissed your brother. He was nice.”

There’s so much tension in the film between the mother and all of the girls. What was Joan Allen like to work with?

She’s just the sweetest woman on the planet. And she is very shy and she honestly doesn’t have any idea how brilliant she is. I’m like, “You know you’re in the top three best actresses of all time.” And she’ll be like, “What? No...” She doesn’t get it. She doesn’t know how brilliant she is. She’s very sweet.

So she didn’t hold on to that tension between shots?

No, not at all. All the best actresses just snap in and out of it and she definitely did. She’d be really quiet and really sweet and she’d have to come out and be like [shouting], “No! No!” So it was fun to watch actually.

Did you learn anything about acting from working with her?

Yeah. Whenever I work with people like her I watch them like a hawk. All the amazing women that I work with can just turn it on and off like crazy, and I’m still trying to figure out how they do that. The scene where she comes in and tells me and Erika that she doesn’t know what’s wrong with our sister, my reaction to her in that scene is just, “How are you doing this?” She would just go off in the corner and listen to her iPod and meditate and just come in and open the flood gates. And it was really intense. Everybody on the set was crying. It’s intense on screen but you should have been there on the set.

How was working with Kevin Costner?

It was hysterical. We could never get through a scene whenever Kevin was in the room because Kevin could just give you a blank look and you’ll just fall on the floor laughing. He’s just got that way about him. He was totally cool. He wasn’t strutting around the set or anything. Just really laid-back and nice.

Did you get to dance with him?

I got to a little bit. I wasn’t holding his hand or anything, but we’re kind of dancing in the background at one point.

How good a dancer is he?

He was a good dancer. I was shocked. He didn’t care. He just went all out.

Why were you shocked?

I don’t know. I didn’t know if he’d be Mister Cool and just be bopping his head. But he was twisting.

Did your character in this film have a real name? They always refer to her as Popeye.

Yeah, her real name is Lavender.

Why do they call her Popeye?

To this day, I don’t think I know that. There was a reason in the first draft but I think it got cut out. I think she just wanted people to call her Popeye. She was like, “No, my name’s Popeye from now on.”

Would you consider this another one of your controversial movies?

No. No. See, this is good because this balances it all out. Everybody’s like, “You’re really attracted to the dark, extreme stuff, right?” I’m like, “No, I just like doing good movies.”

And nobody is being sexually harassed…

Nobody. I’m a completely normal girl. I don’t cry. I don’t scream. I’m not angsty. I’m really happy but I fall in love with a gay guy. But, you know, at least I’m sane. So there you go. I got the sweet movie for everybody.

You’ve been able to avoid all the so-called “teen-aimed” films. Is that by design?

It is. I do kind of avoid it. It’s just not my thing. They’re not the kind of movies that I want to watch. I usually just do movies that I would like going to see.

What kinds of scripts are you least interested in seeing?

If I picked up a script and it was all about car racing and there were absolutely no consequences and they were just kind of wrecking cars. I hate watching movies where there are giant car chases and they’re hitting cars and getting into accidents and they never [say], “Hey, what about the people you just killed?” I try to avoid that. If I’m going to do anything extreme, I want it to have consequences.

So if they offered you a million dollars to do “Fast and Furious 3” you’d turn it down?

I would! I’d be like, “Nah, I’m not gonna do that. I don’t want to put that out there.”

What’s the toughest role you’ve played?

Probably “Pretty Persuasion,” the newest one that was at Sundance. That was definitely the hardest role because I had most of the dialogue in the movie. I had to figure out a way to make this girl really evil, but still be charming. And make this girl really, really smart and have a lot of things going on in her head but have absolutely no heart and be completely dead inside. Finding that balance was really hard.

Will there be a “Thirteen” sequel?

No. I don’t think so. I don’t think people can take any more.

Have you started work on “Down in the Valley” yet?

It’s all done. I just saw it for the first time three weeks ago or something. I’m excited. I’m really interested to see how people are going to react because it’s really different. People are either gonna fall in love with it or not get it. But, I personally think that it’s the best work that Edward Norton has done. The acting in it is amazing. I’m interested to see. My career will be over or it’ll keep going on.

Is it true you really have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do?

Yeah, I do. Me and my mom. I’ve had it since I was 12.

Would you like to play an action heroine since you’re into martial arts?

Maybe, yeah. I’d be up for that. Why not? I got to do Tae Kwon Do on “Once and Again” once, but that was as far as it wen

http://www.clevelandleader.com/files/evan-rachel-wood-gq-magazine-500x346_0.jpg

GeneChing

10-20-2009, 12:02 PM

I mentioned Mylie and tai chi earlier (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showpost.php?p=956618&postcount=69). It's in the lyrics to her song Rock Star.

Miley Cyrus Rock Star Lyrics

yeah oh oh oh oh oh oh yeah

Sometimes I walk a little faster
In the school hallway
Just to get next to you
Some days I spend a little extra
Time in the morning
Just to impress you

Guess you don't notice
Guess you don't need this
Sad you're not seein' what you're missin'

On the outside shyin' away
On the inside dying to say

I'm unusual
Not so typical
Way too smart to be waiting around
Tai chi practicin'
Snowboard champion
I could fix the flat on your car
Might even be a rock star
I might even be a rock star

Sometimes I wish when the phone rings
That it would be you
Saying "Let's hang out!"
Then you confess
That there's something special
In between us
Why don't we find out
[ Find more Lyrics on www.mp3lyrics.org/4tw2 ]
But you don't know me
Guess you don't need me
Why you're not seein' what you're missin'

On the outside shyin' away
On the inside dying to say

I'm unusual
Not so typical
Way too smart to be waiting around
Tai chi practics
Snowboard champion
I could fix the flat on your car
I might even be a rock star
(A rock star)

If you only knew the real me
I might even be a rock star
I'm telling you that we are meant to be
Now wouldn't it be nice if you could see
That I really am a rock star
yeah yeah woo
yeah, I really am a rock star

A rock star

I'm unusual
Not so typical
Way too smart to be waiting around
Tai chi practicin'
Snowboard champion
I could fix the flat on your car
Rocking it wherever we are
Yeah yeah, cuz I really am a rock star
(Yeah yeah, really am a rock star)

I am a rock star

woah-oh-oh-oh yeah

Goodnight everybody!

KTS

10-20-2009, 12:54 PM

**** near everybody has been mentioned. it is tricky thinking of a celeb that has not been mentioned.

ok, i think i might have one! disney star Brenda Song. TKD or kickboxing i think. i just remember a nice story about her in a tournament where a girl was trying to fight dirty or something, and brenda decided to kick that girl in her face and break her nose for that! haha. i think brenda got disqualified for using too much force - it was a tkd(or similar) tournament after all.

brenda also studied some basic wushu for the movie she starred in called Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior.

has brenda been mentoned? or did i actually find a celeb who hasnt been?

GeneChing

10-20-2009, 01:33 PM

In future, KTS, you can use the "search this thread" function to find if someone has been mentioned. We did run a story on Wendy Wu when it was first released. See Shin Koyomada: LAST SAMURAI to Last Monk in WENDY WU (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=669)by Craig Reid.

GeneChing

11-09-2009, 03:54 PM

I only know who is dad was. After all, Barney rocked in the IMF.

Monday, 26 October 2009
Phil Morris Speaks With Louis Velazquez on The UCW Radio Show (http://news.ucwe.com/content/view/1723/2/)
/UCWE/ - The UCW Radio Host Louis Velazquez had the opportunity and honor to have the great actor Phil Morris on the show.

Phil Morris is what most people should aspire to be in life, he has tirelessly worked towards perfecting his craft all the while seizes as many opportunities as he could along the way. He has stared in countless films and television series' and he is still going strong by following the same path that has brought him success, which is hard word, a respect for not only the entertainment business and the art of performing but also for himself by aligning himself with projects with meaning, and its not all about the money with Phil Morris, its about being a part of something greater than himself.

He is a man of high integrity and being a Hollywood mainstay has not jaded himself in the least. Although he was around many major television and film stars growing up due to his father, Greg Morris, and his role on Mission Impossible, the original series.

Ironically Phil had the unique opportunity to revive that role in Mission Impossible in 1988. He has accomplished so many things during his career its staggering.

He has studied Martial Arts for well over 25 years and continues to do so to this day, being a high ranking practitioner in the art of Wing Chun. He is truly a great person, not only for his accomplishments but for his view of the world and his actions, which speak so much louder than his words.

"I thought I was funny, I've done alot of dramatic stuff, I've been the straight man in a lot of comedies I had never been the funny, even though I thought I was a funny guy in real life, my friend thought I was funny, I took my acting so seriously that I was looking for that signifigance and I was missing the funny. When I had to read for Jackie Chiles (Seinfeld) I had to kind of give it all away , it wasn't even about what funny is but more of who this guy is. When I committed to that guy then I found the funny. It was very interesting , on a hot Saturday afternoon I went over with five other African American actors, all in our suits, we went over to CBS Radford in the Valley , auditioned for Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, and I was the lucky guy who got the part," said Phil Morris during the interview.

Phil Morris on his connection with Wing Chun, "I was driving down the street on day in 1987 and I'll never forget it, there was a little rain in the air, on Venice Blvd and I was going home and I saw a sign to my right that said Wing Chun Kung Fu. I went whaaaatttt and I almost crashed the car, I never saw a Wing Chun School, I really didn't even know what Wing Chun was about other than this was a style that Bruce Lee studied and I had a book by Jame Yim Lee, a Green book, I saw the movements but didn't know what it was all about, I've never seen anyone do it. I pulled into the parking lot, I had to know what this was about, I had a burning inside of me, I rang the bell and an Asian cat came down. He looks at me and I look at him, he asked I can help you, I said that I really want to study Wing Chun, he looks at me and says, what are you 6'1''? I said yes, he said I am 5'6'', and how would he stop me, I was confused so my answer was I don't know, this is our first interaction, he looks at me and said well if it were me I would shoot you of course, and that is how my Wing Chun life began." said Phil Morris about Wing Chun.

The hear the entire interview go to www.ucwmagazine.com/philmorris.html

GeneChing

11-10-2009, 10:43 AM

What does she study exactly?

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Megan Fox: Martial Arts Hottie (http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/celebrities/hollywood/megan-fox-martial-arts-hottie-213068/)

Getting in some physical activity to kick off her week, Megan Fox was spotted on her way to a martial arts class yesterday (November 9).

Joined by boyfriend Brian Austin Green, the “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” star did her best to shield her face from shutterbugs as she strolled through West Hollywood.

As for her butt-kicking scenes in “Jennifer’s Body,” Megan confessed that she loved attacking her costar Johnny Simmons.

She explained, “It was fun, my scenes with him (Johnny) were fun, the other ones I didn’t enjoy as much, but I actually got to sort of beat him up a little. There were like the moments when I would grab him and throw him into the water, and he was so hurt and weak so we sort of had a wrestling match - that was fun.”

GeneChing

11-13-2009, 10:57 AM

Finally Hollywood starlets are catching up to Bollywood (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48576). Finally!

New Moon's Ashley Greene: I'm doing mixed martial arts training (http://www.examiner.com/x-14380-NY-Celebrity-Fitness-and-Health-Examiner~y2009m11d12-New-Moons-Ashley-Greene-Im-doing-mixed-martial-arts-training)
November 12, 5:36 PMNY

New Moon hottie Ashley Greene says she did mixed martial arts (MMA) training to prep for the intense fight sequences in Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, the final two installments in the Twilight saga.

Like her co-stars Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson and Kellan Lutz, the gorgeous Greene worked out and trained like an athlete for her role as vampire Alice Cullen.

"I worked my butt off because I absolutely love Alice," Ashley, 22, says in the Dec. issue of Maxim. "She’s sweet, sexy, and a killer!"

Eclipse ramped up the action sequences. "I get to fight in Eclipse," says Greene. "My trainer is teaching me MMA right now. So. Cool."

She adds: "But I feel if I was in a real fight, I’d get my a-- kicked. We’re just now moving up to more advanced stuff, toward being able to actually kick somebody’s a--.”

Greene, who recently made headlines after racy nude photos of her surfaced online, says her dream role is to be a James Bond girl. “I want to hit up James Bond," she says. "That would be awesome.”

For now, Ashley and her young co-stars will be busy until at least 2010, filming and promoting all the Twilight sequels (Eclipse wrapped shooting Oct. 30, and Breaking Dawn is next on tap).

New Moon comes out Nov. 20.
http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID14380/images/resized_Ashley_Greene_covers_Maxim.jpg

doug maverick

11-13-2009, 10:56 PM

isnt that lautner kid a martial artist??? a friend of mines said he use to see him compete on the sports karate circuits.

GeneChing

11-18-2009, 11:34 AM

Click the link for a vid clip.

Taylor Lautner on The Jay Leno Show (VIDEO) with Exclusive New Moon Clip (http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977905207&grpId=3659174697244816&nav=Groupspace)
November 17, 2009 02:16 PM EST (Updated: November 17, 2009 02:23 PM EST)

Taylor Lautner appeared on the Jay Leno Show last night to help promote this Friday's release of New Moon. Taylor and Leno talked about a range of different topics including Lautner's experience with extreme martial arts as a kid. At age 11 he became the 4-time world champion in extreme martial arts. His parents moved the family to Los Angeles from Grand Rapids, Michigan so that Lautner could pursue them.

Leno of course wanted to embarrass Lautner a bit and did so when he showed the brief stint that the young actor had on the Mickey Mouse Club show a few years ago. He made up for the embarrassment though when he let Lautner play catch with Jerry Rice. However, the best part of the interview was the exclusive clip from New Moon. Enjoy!

From the clips I've seen, I think New Moon should be retitled New Moob. It's all about hunky guys going shirtless - lots of six-packs and moobs for teeny bopper girls.

GeneChing

11-30-2009, 02:40 PM

Lautner, Greene and Wood. I'd evoke Kung Fu Vampire, but they're horrorcore, and that would spiral into a totally different discussion. :rolleyes:

Ashley Greene Gets Mean for Martial Arts (http://www.okmagazine.com/2009/11/ashley-greene-gets-mean-for-martial-arts/)
November 25th, 2009 5:55 pm / Author: Oliver Coleman

Last night, OK! caught up with Twilight star Ashley Greene at NYC hot spot Avenue at the party to celebrate her upcoming Maxim cover. And while she may look like sweet and petite, Ashley is one mean fighting machine!

“I think part of it is that it’s really empowering maybe and part of it is because it’s fun,” the New Moon star explained about her passion for mixed martial arts. “It’s incredible to see what your body can do and what you’re capable of and not needing a weapon to defend yourself is a really great thing.”

Now that Ashley is a global superstar, she feels the ability to defend herself is very important.

“Absolutely. One, it puts my dad at ease gives him a little piece of mind,” she said. “I started doing martial arts when I was really young and I ended up sparring boys instead of girls because I was that into it and I didn’t want to beat up the girls. It’s a fun thing and I’ve always been really athletic.”

Ashley Greene: 'Filming Twilight Eclipse Renewed My Martial Arts Passion' (http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/50757/ashley-greene-filming-twilight-eclipse-renewed-my-martial-arts-passion)
She speaks about fighting boys...
Friday 27th Nov 2009

Ashley Greene has revealed how filming The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has renewed her interest in martial arts.

The 22-year-old actress, who plays vampire Alice Cullen, is involved in a series of fight scenes in the movie, which is due out next summer.

In an interview with OK!, Greene said she was first introduced to martial arts as a child and believed it was a good form of self-defence.

"I started doing martial arts when I was really young and I ended up sparring with boys instead of girls because I was that into it and I didn't want to beat up the girls," she said.

“It's a fun thing and I've always been really athletic."

Greene added: “I'm definitely going to get more involved in it. When we were filming Eclipse we had fight training for about six weeks, so that kind of re-sparked that bug.

“I had a personal trainer on top of that and they had us do mixed martial arts fighting as well."

Greene can currently be seen in the second installment of the vampire saga, New Moon.

GeneChing

12-04-2009, 11:02 AM

Interesting...

Jackson's kids find comfort, courage in martial arts (http://www.sawfnews.com/Gossip/61545.aspx)

December 04, 2009, (Splash News) - Michael Jackson's children are thriving with the aid of martial arts instruction that aims to boost the self-esteem of youngsters and teach them leadership skills.

Blanket Jackson was seen prancing around with the rumored love child of Jackson, Omer Bhatti (pictured). The 25-year-old has been a constant companion to the three since they lost their father in June.

Prince Michael, Blanket and Paris all attend a martial arts academy in Encino, California, where they live with their grandmother, Jackson matriarch Katherine.

La Toya Jackson, recently spoke of how the three are dealing with their grief - each of them in his or her own way. La Toya said Prince Michael I is having the greatest challenge. She said: "Prince just doesn't want to speak about it. I do worry about him very much."

Of Blanket, she said: "He is just a very sad, shy little boy. He cries - he really does cry. It's so painful for him. No one can bring his daddy back and it hurts too much."

Paris, meanwhile, was doing better and had plastered her walls with posters of her father. "She thinks and talks about her father all the time," La Toya said.

GeneChing

12-29-2009, 04:25 PM

Hot Russian wushu actress. Oh yea.

Anya Monzikova: Iron Man 2 Actress (http://movies.rightcelebrity.com/anya-monzikova-iron-man-2-actress/1373)
By Sarah Luoma

Anya Monzikova has been cast in Iron Man 2 being directed by Jon Favreau. Due out on the 7th of May in 2010, Anya will play Rebekah in the movie that centers around inventor Tony Stark and his determination to avoid sharing his inventions and brilliant knowledge with the Government!

As a biography Anya Monzikova, Iron Man 2 actress, was born in the year 1984. Her exact date of birth is unknown. Anya Monzikova is a native of Vologda, Russia. A WUSHU Martial Artist and actress, Anya first began her acting career dating back to when she was cast in the movie Gigi in 2005.

Since then Anya Monzikova has appeared in Deal or No Deal, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel Love as a model. In 2007, Anya took on a guest role in the TV series Medium before appearing in Cane and CSI: Miami. Monzikova has also been seen in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

During 2008, Anya found other work on the set of the movie Tropic Thunder in an unaccredited role before going on to appear in ‘Life’ in the role of Lex. In the same year Monzikova would go on to secure roles in Playing With Five as Marie and grab two episode guest role in the TV series Knight Rider.

Most recently the blonde Russian Iron Man 2 actress has starred in the Bruce Willis movie Surrogates as well as her already above mentioned upcoming role as Rebekah.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Anya_Monzikova_Beach_Bunny.jpg
oooh, that's a big pic. Y'all don't mind, do you?

doug maverick

12-29-2009, 04:47 PM

**** gene, you couldnt of found a smaller pic?

GeneChing

12-29-2009, 05:21 PM

Now you're going to say this one is too small, aren't you Doug. ;)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GlqF2jvdIE8/SNmXsKcPbwI/AAAAAAAAAIw/Sp90mXmcRro/s200/Anya-Monzikova.jpg

goju

12-29-2009, 07:16 PM

george costanza is a kyokushin karayeka lol

doug maverick

12-29-2009, 11:55 PM

Now you're going to say this one is too small, aren't you Doug. ;)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GlqF2jvdIE8/SNmXsKcPbwI/AAAAAAAAAIw/Sp90mXmcRro/s200/Anya-Monzikova.jpg

****** gene!!!!!!!

Shaolinlueb

12-30-2009, 11:45 AM

Now you're going to say this one is too small, aren't you Doug. ;)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GlqF2jvdIE8/SNmXsKcPbwI/AAAAAAAAAIw/Sp90mXmcRro/s200/Anya-Monzikova.jpg

need bigger gene.

sanjuro_ronin

12-30-2009, 12:05 PM

**** Gene, you can see the emerging pubes on that russian pic you posted !!!

GeneChing

01-04-2010, 07:02 PM

First Anya, now Zoe? Life is good.

Zoe 'needed a dictionary' (http://entertainment.iafrica.com/news/2125181.htm)
Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:37

Zoe Saldana needed a dictionary to talk to James Cameron.

The actress was thrilled to be cast in the legendary director's latest film 'Avatar', but found communicating with him extremely difficult. The 31-year-old star was overwhelmed by James' enormous vocabulary, and often wished she could look up some of the words he used.

"This man speaks in such big words that you need a dictionary just to have a common conversation with him about the weather," she said.

Zoe claims her role in the sci-fi epic is the most difficult one she's ever accepted.

"I wanted her to be a female action hero equal to the ones in James' other movies," she told Total Film magazine. "It was definitely the most physically demanding role I've ever done. Seven days a week, I was taking wushu training, archery, horseback riding, intensive dialect training and lifting weights."

http://www.iblogtoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/zoe_saldana_sexy.jpg

oooh, another big pic.:p

TaichiMantis

01-05-2010, 05:38 AM

**** Gene, you can see the emerging pubes on that russian pic you posted !!!

this is sick...but I was thinking the same thing:rolleyes:

GeneChing

02-01-2010, 10:48 AM

This made my Monday. Remember that Vogue spread? (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showpost.php?p=931894&postcount=52)

GISELE BUNDCHEN'S A KUNG FU MUM (http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/119832/Gisele-Bundchen-s-a-kung-fu-mum/)
DAILY STAR SUNDAY
31st January 2010
By Daily Star reporter

MODEL Gisele Bundchen has revealed she kept trim during her pregnancy by doing kung fu.

The world’s highest-paid catwalk queen said she put on hardly any weight and was able to wear regular clothes during the entire nine months.

“I kept myself in good shape, eating healthily, meditating and doing exercises such as kung fu and yoga,” said Gisele in an interview yesterday.

The 29-year-old Brazilian, who is married to American football star Tom Brady, 32, gave birth to son Benjamin in a bathtub on December 3.

She admitted she is now “very tired” because she is feeding the baby every three hours.

But she added: “I feel blessed to have him. Being a mother is a magical experience. It really is a miracle. I am very happy.

“I come from a big family and I always wanted to have more than one child. I don’t know how many yet.”

http://nelioguerson.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/gisele_bundchen_google_group_2.jpg

Ronin22

02-02-2010, 02:03 PM

I believe Jackie Earle Haley the guy who played "Rorschach" in Watchmen and Freddie Krueger in the upcoming Nightmare on Elm St remake is a black Belt in Kempo.

kfson

02-02-2010, 03:16 PM

Diamond Dave:
http://nozama.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ed05fc28833010536cd95ba970c-800wi

Drake

02-23-2010, 07:08 PM

David Lee Roth when he was with Van Halen...

GeneChing

03-08-2010, 10:35 AM

This article is just tailor-made to be posted here.

Celebrities Doing Martial Arts (http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/pow-mixed-martial-arts/2010/03/celebrities-doing-martial-arts.html)
Katalin Rodriguez-Ogren on 03.08.10 at 6:32 AM

There is such a wide range of martial arts to practice. Most long time practitioners will agree that the beauty of the martial arts is that there is one style out there that suits everyone. Some may even philosophize that the style chosen is a reflection of practitioners personalities. But it should come as no surprise that celebrities too have hobbies and part-take in activities that provide then with stress release and overall life enhancements. The martial arts fits the bill perfectly. Even celebrities that take on training for a role generally learn to respect the dedication required to excel and the benefits the martial arts offers the body and mind.

James Cagney - The classic actor who helped to define Hollywood stud, actually held a black belt in Judo. Cagney retuned to his beloved art of judo throughout his career. Practicing judo helped him focus when taken on new roles and offered him the discipline that lead him to become one of Greatest Male Stars of All Time.

Fisher Stevens -Although not a fighter frame at first glance, spent time boxing and really focused on the overall training regiment of a boxer. Although he never considered a celebrity bout, he acclimated well into sparring drills and never quit during training.

Madonna - The the queen of celebrities has probably tried most dynamic activities out there. A God gifted athlete with unbelievable coordination and strength took a stab at Wushu and Shaolin Kung Fu when preparing for her 2001 tour. Her dance foundation along with the amazing balance she acquired from yoga made the transition in the highly difficult art of Wushu very tangible.

Criss Angel - The crazy illusionist and magician is refers often to his practice of martial arts. Angel cross trains in the martial arts, dabbling in kung fu, karate and tae kwon do. He is open about his devotion to strengthening his mind along with his muscular body.

Kristy Swanson - Practiced a combination of kickboxing and tae kwon do. Beside her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Swanson excelled at the kicking drills and had a solid athletic foundation for the arts.

Phil Collen - The British rock band guitarist from Def Leppard trains in the popular combat sport of Muay Thai. Also, a long time student of karate. I have heard he has a black belt in karate. The fast fingered musician uses the martial arts conditioning key to the sport of muay thai to keep him in solid shape.

Robert Downey Jr. - One of our generation's most diversified actors. His most recent role in Sherlock Holmes gave Downey the opportunity to display some of his martial arts skills. A long practitioner of wing chun has evenly recently boosted about the importance of his training on the Regis and Kelly morning show.

Guy Richie - The Scottish director and most famous husband of Madonna is a die hard practitioner of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He also is a black belt in karate.

Wesley Snipes - His movies reflect his genuine interest in the martial arts. It has been reported that he has practiced up to 12 different martial arts although it is not reported whether he has acquired any rank in kung fu, karate and capoeira.

GeneChing

03-16-2010, 09:54 AM

With this kind of endorsement, perhaps it's time to take out an ad in Vogue.

Gisele Bundchen Knows Kung Fu (Video) (http://www.starpulse.com/news/Kevin_Blair/2010/03/15/gisele_bundchen_knows_kung_fu_video)
March 15th, 2010 8:42pm EDT post comment Post a comment favorite Add to My

Gisele Bundchen reveals her secrets about how she kept her body in shape throughout her pregnancy in the April issue of Vogue magazine.

The supermodel was unwilling to give up her strict fitness regimen in order to make it easier to lose the 30 extra pounds she put on during her pregnancy.

"I did kung fu up until two weeks before Benjamin was born, and yoga three days a week," she says. "I think a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals."

Gisele and her husband, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, welcomed their son on December 8, 2009. She gave birth at home in her bathtub & the couple waited well over a week to name him.

http://images.starpulse.com/news/bloggers/10/blog_images/gisele-bundchen.jpg

TaichiMantis

03-16-2010, 10:20 AM

Ok, found her sifu (http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2009/06/11/kung_fu_master_to_the_stars/?page=1) An ex wahlum-now-wushu/taichi guy who teaches other celebrities...

GeneChing

03-18-2010, 09:25 AM

Gisele uses kung fu to keep her figure after pregnancy. Amy uses capoeira for rehab. Does anyone just do martial arts for fun anymore? :rolleyes:

Amy gets her kicks (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/2897194/Amy-Winehouse-learns-karate-style-dance-moves.html)
Published: Today

AMY WINEHOUSE is taking care of herself with a bit of obscure Afro-Brazilian martial arts.

Her new obsession is Capoeira, a strange, karate-style dance without any violence.

Footage of two men performing it used to be featured in the links between programmes on BBC1.

Wino has been getting stuck in to it three times a week.

A source said: "Amy loves it because it's good for strength, toning and great for working up a sweat. It is also helping her focus."

That would be handy as there's still no sign of a new album.

Capoeira is often combined with musical instruments, so I can just imagine the madness in her house when she's having a session.

Winehouse uses martial art to focus on work (http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/winehouse-uses-martial-art-to-focus-on-work-450443.html)
18/03/2010 - 10:14:40

Amy Winehouse has taken up the Afro-Brazilian martial art Capoeira.

The ‘Rehab’ singer has turned to the exercise - a mix of martial arts, music and dance, which is performed in a non-violent way – to help her concentrate while working on her long-awaited new album.

A source said: “Amy loves it because it’s good for strength, toning and great for working up a sweat. It is also helping her focus.”

Amy, 26, has also been using the technique to help her stay in shape while she records her next LP – the follow up to 2006’s ‘Back to Black’ - and keep her away from the temptations of London’s Camden area, where she is reportedly moving back to.

The singer - who has now overcome her drug problems – originally lived in the area at the height of her hedonism, but moved to the area of Barnet, in the city’s suburbs, in 2009 to change her lifestyle.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg196/celebmonkey/amy_winehouse_284670g.jpg

enoajnin

03-18-2010, 10:04 AM

And they don't read the news. How do we list Putin as a former head of state? Totally buy him as celeb though after the topless horseback riding shot.

enoajnin

03-19-2010, 09:16 AM

He says he is a black belt in Kenpo and I think he said he has in interest in Kali which I'm not familiar with.

GeneChing

03-19-2010, 09:38 AM

We did Putin (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=926564#post926564) already. Whitaker is new.

Now for someone completely new: Noomi Rapace. I started a separate The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1000531).

Noomi Rapace is the ideal girl with the dragon tattoo (http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/60838,people,news,noomi-rapace-is-the-ideal-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-stieg-larsson-film)
Noomi Rapace in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Swedish actress’s portrayal of Lisbeth Salander wins over Larsson’s fans
By Rachel Helyer Donaldson
LAST UPDATED 2:12 PM, MARCH 12, 2010

When Danish director Niels Arden Oplev was casting Lisbeth Salander, the tattooed heroine in Stieg Larsson's international bestseller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, he was all too aware of Larsson's fervent fanbase.

Oplev needed an exceptional actress to play the troubled bisexual computer hacker with a taste for martial arts. He described Salander as "possibly the character in modern Scandinavian drama with the most expectations attached".

As a result, the director found himself "hysterical" about casting the film in 2007. He initially ruled out Noomi Rapace, then best known for her performances in several Swedish art-house films, because she was "too good-looking" and "too cute".

But Rapace fought hard to convince Oplev she was right for the role and spent seven months transforming herself to play the whippet-thin loner. "I wanted to be a bit more skinny, a bit more masculine... I was training martial arts like Taekwondo for four or five days a week with a crazy Serbian guy."

The result is a triumph, with rave reviews for Rapace's performance even from those film critics unsure about the movie as a whole. The Times critic Wendy Ide called Rapace the film's "main asset", adding: "It's hard to imagine an actress better suited to bringing Larsson's abrasive, strong-minded protagonist to life."

Fans of the book who have already seen the film before it opens in Britain today have also raved about 30-year-old Rapace, many saying that she is exactly how they had seen the character in their mind's eye.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sees Salander join forces with campaigning journalist Mikael Blomkvist (played by Michael Nyqvist) to solve the three-decades-old murder of a young woman. It is the first in a series of books by Larsson called the 'Millennium Trilogy' and three more movies, based on the second and third books, are already in the can.

Given the trilogy's global success it was inevitable that Hollywood would muscle in on the franchise and an American version of Girl is currently in pre-production. Swapping Oplev's mostly dour bunch of unknown Swedish actors for a glamorous Hollywood cast is sure to boost the film's appeal - but the brilliant Rapace will be a hard act to follow.

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/assets/library/426-noomi--126838912938676600.jpg

GeneChing

03-25-2010, 09:56 AM

Who's Jewel Lee? Miss Macao.

Come on now, we don't get Gisele Bundchen's every day, you know.

Macao's wushu beauty queen (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-03/01/c_13192238.htm)
English.news.cn 2010-03-01 10:13:08

BEIJING, Mar. 1 -- Jewel Lee seems to have it all. Currently vice-president of Shenzhen-based 3NOD Digital Group, Lee made an appearance in Beijing last month, not for business, but to promote her new biography, Ao Men Nu Er Li Fei (Biography of Macao Daughter Jewel Lee).

Elegant and poised, the 35-year-old business executive has already lived an interesting life – rising from an unknown wushu athlete to world champion and from the Miss Macao Pageant to director of a big company, Lee's biography by Li Xiaofeng, reveals the struggles and secrets behind her successes.

"I just want to make a good showing of myself, no matter what job and condition I am placed with and I want to prove myself not to be inferior to anyone else," Lee explained at a press conference.

"The biography is a review and summing up of my memorable years spent in Macao, my second hometown, combined with the changes and progress of the 10 years since Macao's return to the motherland," Lee told the Global Times.

"In the book, I also wanted to present a true persona of myself not only in the spotlight, but my personal struggles, losses and hesitations when met with obstacles and setbacks.

" Lee said that being a champion is about hard work and never losing sight of your dreams.

Born in Guilin, Guangxi, in 1974, Lee started training in wushu at the age of 9 and moved to Macao nine years later to be a professional wushu athlete. After years of training and practice Lee's efforts paid off and she became world champion in 1994 at the Macao International Wushu Tournament, the first world champion from Macao.

In the following years, Lee continued her victorious pursuit and won six gold medals at both international events and the Asian Games. She was the youngest person ever to be honored by the Macao government for bringing the glory to the city.

"Since the first day when I started practicing wushu, I have cherished the dream of becoming a world champion, for which I have devoted myself wholeheartedly and no matter what obstacles and hardships, I never parted with the dream," Lee said.

Two years later in 1996, Lee embarked on a different pursuit and entered the Miss Macao Pageant, she was awarded Miss Photogenic.

"I wanted to demonstrate to others that a pretty wushu champion could have versatile abilities and potential," Lee said.

Almost overnight, Lee became a household name in Macao and a favorite on the media circle. Named "Macao's daughter" by former Macao Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Lee is a contemporary role model for many young people in Macao.

In 2001 she was credited with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Martial Arts Alliance in 2001, honoring her role and achievements in wushu.

Lee has also turned her hand to acting, appearing in as many as 20 movies and TV series, including her role as professional assassin Jing in Naked Weapon (2002).

Lee explained that compared with male actors, there are relatively few female martial artists who have turned their craft into a successful acting career.

"I have been cherishing the idea of becoming the best in kung fu movies for quite a long time and in the following years I am going to invest as a producer and leading actress myself," Lee said, adding that there is plenty of room available for female actors to stand out in this area.

Lee explained that audience ratings for movies featuring a male martial artist such as Jet Lee are usually higher than if a female actor was to take on the role, because in addition to wushu skills and acting technique, a female actor's physical shape and looks matter as well.

Alongside Lee's path to multiple successes, her biography includes personal accounts of love, sorrow and joy, including the death of her mother and the birth of her twin daughters.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-03/01/13192238_11n.jpg

GeneChing

03-25-2010, 10:00 AM

Here's the original Gisele article. I hope it inspires more women to practice kung fu.

Earth Mother (http://www.vogue.com/feature/2010_April_Gisele_Bundchen/)

The most famous model in the world and the most famous quarterback in America live in a small building in the center of Boston. A tiny elevator opens into a massive loft. Patricia, Gisele's shorter, blonde twin sister, greets me with "Don't look at her." She's pointing down at Lua, a bull-terrier mix who just might bite.

I can't see Gisele Bündchen. In a wide living room, between two slate fireplaces, cradling a six-week-old baby in a deep armchair, is a slight, fine-boned woman. With skinny thighs in taupe jeans, socks that barely cover the ankles, UGG mules, and a cotton sweater, this is not the towering Amazon queen of fashion famous for her glare, mane, and swagger. She seems as ethereal as Audrey Hepburn when she was Rima the bird girl in Green Mansions, as expressive as Julia Roberts in mid-grin, as unearthly as a Na'vi. Her hair is pulled back into a careful pillbox of a bun, and her ears stick out a little. The pinup goddess who was the emblem of Victoria's Secret is breast-feeding her baby and a little embarrassed about exposing her breast in front of me.

She talks in a low, grainy voice with a soft accent in a rush of words, interrupts her own flow to ask the baby, "O que é que foi?"—"What is it?" To which the baby happily replies in a well-modulated series of gurgles.

The baby is called Benjamin Rein: "I wanted him to be called River because I wanted something always flowing, immortal. My husband said, 'There's no way we're going to call him River.' But my father's name is Reinoldo, so it's a homage to him. And it's like water."

Benjamin was born at home, in warm water in a deep bathtub that overlooks the Charles River. "I wanted to experience the transformation," says Gisele. A midwife friend of hers came in from Brazil as did her mother; her husband was there too. Gisele meditated through the birth. "It was the most amazing experience of my life, feeling him come through my body. And once he was born, I never felt so empowered as looking at him and thinking, Oh, my God, we did it together!"

She was up the next day, cooking and wandering around the vast apartment where her mother is staying in the guest room to help out—"I don't trust anyone else with Benjamin." She's regained her figure, apparently instantly and with no more exercise than some yoga on a mat in the living room. "I think it's muscle memory," she says. Gisele has always been in shape: Born one of six girls in the German-speaking hamlet of Horizontina in southern Brazil, she spent her childhood outdoors, "like a little monkey, jumping from tree to tree in bare feet." An athlete, she was captain of her volleyball team and hasn't stopped. "I did kung fu up until two weeks before Benjamin was born, and yoga three days a week. I think a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals. I was mindful about what I ate, and I gained only 30 pounds."

Her idea of family is a big family. "I'm so lucky to have my little munchkin, and I have two because I also have John." John, a.k.a. Jack, is her stepson, now two and a half, born to Bridget Moynahan after Moynahan's breakup with Tom Brady. The press went wild last year when Gisele said she loved Jack as her own. He spent the end of the Christmas holiday with them. "We don't see him all the time, unfortunately, but we're building a place in Los Angeles to be closer to him." For the last three years, she's vanished with Brady each winter for a month into her house in the jungle in Costa Rica.

At 29, the last and richest of the supermodels has given in to her preference for the inner life. Gisele has sold her New York town house. "I'm really a Bostonian now," she says, with all the sober, studious implications of that move: "I get to work on all my projects and have time to immerse myself in all the things I'm so passionate about." Within the year she will have launched three beauty products designed to alter the self-image of young women—a line called Sejaa. Seja means "to be" in Portuguese. She added the extra a because, she says, "words have a vibration, and aaah! is an exhalation, what you feel when you let go."

She's been an activist for years: In 2003, having spent time with Amazonian Indians who were being sickened by runoff waters poisoned as a result of deforestation, she arranged with the Brazilian firm Grendene to produce a collection of flip-flops under her name. The profits go toward replanting the Amazonian forest. That endeavor still goes on, and so far 25,000 trees have been replanted. With her family she started Projeto Água Limpa to clean up the river near Horizontina. An ecologically conscious comic book is also in the making: Gisele and the Green Team. Recently named a U.N. goodwill ambassador for environmental issues, Gisele is working those very problems into the story lines of the comic, whose profits will go to her foundation, the Luz. The foundation sponsors everything from yoga in schools to reforestation. Her Web site is already full of environmental advice, much of it dispensed by a cartoon version of Vida the Yorkie, her lapdog. Bündchen is contained, discreet, probably strategic but supremely elegant in her behavior. Not once in three hours does she mention that she has just given the Red Cross $1.5 million for Haiti.

Gisele has not left the apartment for six weeks. "Too cold," she says, pointing her chin at the winter rain beyond the window. A fire crackles in one of the fireplaces; the possibly dangerous dog Lua settles at my feet; Vida the Yorkie flops onto the carpet. Patricia brings tea and cashew clusters; she is Gisele's Brazilian agent and also runs the Web site, and she has come up for a few days to meet the baby. The place feels intimate, safe. Gisele's mother is napping; Brady, recuperating from a knee operation, is at a charity event for the Boston Centers for Youth & Families, where he'll alarm the press by announcing, "We're all way overpaid." He'll be home in two hours.

http://www.vogue.com/slideshows/2010/vogue/feature/2010_April_Gisele_Bundchen/08m.jpg

GeneChing

03-25-2010, 10:01 AM

from previous post

Bündchen kept herself out of the public eye for months. "I felt like my pregnancy was a sacred moment for me. I stayed in Boston and I didn't work apart from the contracts I have, and then I only let them use my face."

Today she left the apartment and the baby for the first time to pose for one of her advertising clients, which explains the chignon. "I got to the studio and I felt like I was E.T.—whoa, what's going on? Hair and makeup? I hadn't looked at myself in a mirror for a month and a half. I'd been in my house, in a cocoon with my kids, my husband, my dogs. Usually, as I walk through the door into that atmosphere, I already feel different. There's a button that goes On and I'm On. And when I go On, there is almost no me; there is just a character who is doing all this. This time it wasn't like that. I've been really inside with my husband and my baby, and everything is changed. But the client still deserves respect and professionalism, and I got a little bit concerned because I wasn't feeling it. Makeup was done, hair was done, and I looked in the mirror and I still wasn't seeing the person who's a model."

"Who was the woman you saw in the mirror?" I ask.

"For the first time, I think I actually saw me—the inside—instead of the persona."

The persona turned up for the second photo, much to the relief of the photographer David Sims and the Brazilian client.

Gisele started early; by fifteen she was in a "model apartment" in New York, or folded into airline coach seats to go to model in Italy, France, Japan. There's a small tattoo of a star inside her left wrist. "My grandmother told me and my sisters that everyone has a special star. I looked at my star every night before bed, just like brushing my teeth. When I came to New York and I opened the window of the thirty-fifth-floor apartment, there's light pollution and fog, and I couldn't see my star. So I drew it on my wrist with a pen, but it kept washing away. Then I went to a tattoo parlor on Second Avenue and had it done. It was something I had been missing, and now, no matter where I went, it came with me."

She consciously created the Gisele persona as she started to become a star herself. "I was in the fashion shows in Milan, I was seventeen, I was doing like 100 shows. People were asking, 'How does it feel to be the model of the moment?' It was hard for me to answer as myself. I barely spoke English. I thought, I have to give my best because they trust me with that. I invented this other person, and she could do everything. She wasn't afraid; she was able to be ballsy and risky and sexy or androgynous. She was bold. I had to believe in myself as this person that was strong, up-front, invincible, and positive, who knew what she was doing, even though I really didn't.

"I've worked for fourteen years, but I don't think anybody in the business really knows me, because there is that other person."

Gisele Bündchen's private life has kept its mystery, and she's let her avatar, the übermodel, take all the flashbulbs. Some years ago, when she felt that her life was nothing more than "get up, take pictures, go to sleep, get up, take pictures," she took off six months. She also logged on to Amazon.com and typed in SPIRITUAL BOOKS, which led to a passion for the writings of Miguel Ruiz, which taught her to rely on her own instinct: "The more you trust your intuition, the more empowered you become, the stronger you become, and the happier you become."

Three years ago, when Gisele met Tom Brady, she moved up to Boston to be with him. It was a vocational as well as an emotional turning point.

"I'm a person who normally works 300 days a year, and here I am in Boston in this apartment and Tom's playing, and what do I do here? On my Web site, a lot of girls were asking me questions about feeling awkward. I wanted to work with girls who were fourteen to sixteen." She wanted to be heard and chose the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers—"They take care of girls from shelters, girls who have been abused. I came up with a nine-week program and went to talk to them about empowerment and self-esteem."

It was a shock.

"I thought I was going to be able to save them, guide them. When I got there they were like, 'Who are you?' There were a lot of Latina and black girls. In Brazil, everyone is a mixture, and no one thinks about it. In America, maybe you have more problems with that. It took me a week or two just to get them to sit down with me and talk. I had my yoga teacher come up from New York to teach them yoga. I wanted to share something, but I ended up realizing that you cannot save anybody. I forced it, and it didn't quite go through."

Sejaa was born of that frustration, as a way for Bündchen to impart some of what she has learned, but by subliminal means.

"I wanted to teach girls to love themselves and take care of their bodies. What is the first thing you see every morning? Your face! What do you put every day on your face? Cream! I have made the simplest, purest cream—an everyday cream—but it comes with an affirmation."

Her manufacturers, she says, "were ready to kill me. I wanted the cream to be organic—they explained that if it's organic, it's alive, and that means it can't survive for a long time." The products are now called "natural," the ingredients are held to a high standard of purity, and the preservative is coconut oil.

She also wanted a mud mask. A real mud mask.

"When I was a teenager, I had pimples—oh, God, every time someone looked at my face I thought they were looking at my pimples. I put mud on my face to dry them out, and it worked. "I can do all this because I'm financing it on my own terms, and if I want to give away 5 percent of everything I make, no one can tell me not to."

Sejaa will not be sold in stores but on a Web site, to create a community—"So I can give my little tips, and it's not me telling anyone to have an awakening."

There's a noise in the front hall.

"It's my hubbeeeeeee!" says Gisele.

Into the dark room comes Tom Brady. He's tall, with a deep voice, the face of a young boy, and longish hair. Wearing a dark-blue zipped-up sweater, he treads the carpet with sweetly controlled impatience. Vida the Yorkie wakes from her slumber and goes berserk. Some swift Tom Brady moves prevent Vida from ****ing with joy on the carpet, but the interview is going to be cut short. Patricia brings in the packaging for Sejaa, a recycled-cardboard box with an interesting sliding tab that reveals different—empowering—keywords behind it, and inside, three products: the day cream, a night cream, and the mud mask, along with a bamboo washcloth.

Gisele hands Benjamin to Patricia, rises, and unfolds, all length and purpose, and gets me moving: I'm whisked across the hall to receive a bunch of Miguel Ruiz books in the open kitchen, taken to another floor to see the baby crib and the vast collection of essential oils that have gone into Sejaa, then kissed and hugged before she bathes Benjamin.

There are two secrets, says Gisele on parting:

"The first is wake up in the morning and be grateful you are here, alive and healthy. And the second is: Give."

I follow Patricia's cowboy boots back up the stairs. The rain is still pelting down, black and icy. "How do I call a cab?" I ask.

No need for a cab. Tom Brady drives me back to my hotel.

"Earth Mother" has been edited for Vogue.com; the complete story appears in the April 2010 issue of Vogue.
http://www.vogue.com/slideshows/2010/vogue/feature/2010_April_Gisele_Bundchen/03m.jpg
wish there was a pic of Gisele doing kung fu...:(

GeneChing

03-31-2010, 09:41 AM

Aidan Quinn Turns Up His Fight Game for "Unknown White Male" (http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/popcornbiz/Aidan-Quinn-Turns-Up-His-Fight-Game-for-Unknown-White-Male-89595397.html)

Aidan Quinn is happy the producer of the current action film he's filming didn't see his boozy brawl in "The Eclipse," which is just hitting theaters.

The 51-year-old actor told PopcornBiz he probably would never have gotten the martial arts-heavy role in "Unknown White Male," which he is shooting with Liam Neeson and January Jones, if the folks behind the flick had seen him as a drunken mauler.

"I love that 'Eclipse' fight. I think it's great," Quinn said. "But it would not get me a martial arts job at all. I don't think he would have hired me if he had seen that fight."

In the award-winning drama, "The Eclipse," Quinn's character has an ugly, drunken fight with his love rival (Ciaran Hinds) which verges on the "stupid and ridiculous" with just enough menace to make it scary. In the just underway "Unknown White Male," Quinn plays a man who might have stolen the identity of Liam Neeson's character, and the fight sequences are paramount to the story.

"What I am going through here is literally hour after hour of practice, going again and again and again," he said of the fight scenes on set in Germany. "I'm doing intricate martial arts with directions that have to be followed to a T."

The fights are a close combat style of martial arts called Wushu. Quinn wearily admits the hours of work and the combat are taking a toll on his body.

"I've got a hot bath running and when this is done," he said, "I'm going to enjoy it."
I had no idea who this was.
http://media.nbcchicago.com/images/267*200/AidanQuinnNBC.jpg
Will we need a Unknown White Male thread soon?

TaichiMantis

04-01-2010, 05:10 AM

"I've got a hot bath running and when this is done," he said, "I'm going to enjoy it."

You can share my bath anytime babe!;)

I've been in love with that man forever...*sigh*:o

GeneChing

04-08-2010, 10:00 AM

I wonder what style of tai chi he's doing.

Pete Doherty turns to Tai Chi as he prepares for comeback (http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/news/article_1546695.php/Pete-Doherty-turns-to-Tai-Chi-as-he-prepares-for-comeback)
By Sophie Eager Apr 8, 2010, 13:25 GMT

Rocker Pete Doherty has revealed he has turned to Tai Chi as he prepares to make his comeback with The Libertines.

The 31-year-old singer recently made up with bandmate Carl Barat and he is now preparing for the return of the band by taking up the martial art.

He said: 'Tai Chi is great for me. It's all about balance and serenity.'

Doherty also revealed that his other band Babyshambles are 'no more' and that it has been hard to beat his addiction problems.

He said: 'Any addict will tell you every day is like a running battle. But I'm dead happy at the moment, in spite of myself I suppose, because I'm quite a miserable sod.'

Taryn P.

04-08-2010, 10:37 AM

I wonder what style of tai chi he's doing.

I'd be willing to bet he doesn't remember.

TaichiMantis

04-08-2010, 03:30 PM

Below is a quote from a 2007 article in the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/dec/04/healthandwellbeing.health)

Chartered sports and exercise psychologist Paul Russell has encountered many people like Tony. "Exercise addiction tends to be a more transient addiction, marking time before the person returns to the basic ones, the drink and drugs. People become addicted to something because there's an underlying unhappiness, and if they haven't sorted out the underlying reasons, via counselling or whatever, they'll have to direct that need to something else."

Back with Doherty, though, the prognosis could be favourable. Chi gung and tai chi are believed to work in a different way to the types of activity that fit the Sympathetic Arousal Hypothesis. These martial arts stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system - the instiller of calm. Steve Pinnington is a trainer for the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association, and he uses a combination of acupuncture and chi gung on inpatients at drug rehab centres such as those run by Phoenix Futures. "With an addiction, it's all about the sympathetic nervous system; you're stuck in it 24-7, all stress, all agitation. Chi gung does the opposite: it helps you move into the parasympathetic nervous system, it brings about relaxation and real calm.

"Our clients sit down, and they're agitated and angry. To get them to sit still for 45 minutes would be impossible without the chi gung. I give them a very simple five-finger exercise, and combine it with acupuncture needles, and they move really quickly into the parasympathetic zone. I believe that this primes them for the counselling that's vital for looking at the roots of the addiction. They'd be too angry, too dismissive to do the counselling otherwise."

Pinnington taught mainstream martial arts for many years, before switching to chi gung. "There was too much ego addiction going on; with chi gung, you're not looking for something to boost your ego, but you're actually dealing with something much more powerful. Coming to chi gung isn't about swapping one addiction for another. It's literally a different mindset."

SoCo KungFu

04-08-2010, 11:24 PM

I remember one story.

The Sigung of the first kungfu I studied way way back in the day was himself a student of Daniel Pai. Supposedly they had a body guard type/security/escort service. Anyways, one of the clients was David Lee Roth. Mostly I guess to keep away the crazed groupies or whatever. Apparently he was crazy interested in the kungfu and stuff they would do but the guy being you know, who he is, had some crazy ideas. One time in a meeting with a producer or something, Roth was totally not interested at all. He pretty much just let his manager deal with it. So Sigung was in the corner of the room staying out of it all. Roth comes over and starts asking about iron body and all that. They try to brush him off but he's all persistent. So they tell him so lame story about how you just have to breath with the attack or something like that. Well he goes in the corner and starts practicing his "breathing." Bout 10 minutes later comes back and is all like, "Ok I'm ready." Raises his arms up and demands Sigung start kicking him in the ribs.

Other story. Sigung was in a chop socky movie once. Just as an extra and stunt man in a fight scene and he used to do some choreography stuff. Don't remember the name but it was waayyyy B-flick. Maybe even C or D. In the scene he plays a bad guy that is dressed up like a chick. Even had this funny wig and makeup. Only time I ever seen Sigung with earrings. He was laying beside a car in one of those big city garages. The hero was a cop that used karate, and apparently he was never issued a sidearm.... So he lays there pretending to be a lady unconscious like from an assault and the cop comes and see what up. Sigung jumps up and pulls a machete out from nowhere and starts doing broadsword techniques.

GeneChing

04-12-2010, 09:39 AM

That's a goofy headline - hard to parse - especially as Church is studying karate (http://www.martialartsmart.com/karate-styles.html). I have no idea who this is, but she looks very slim....yes, very slim indeed. Click the link and look at the slideshow for the before and after pics.

Kung fu dares win for slimmer Church (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/2928052/Charlotte-Churchs-karate-classes-at-SAS-base.html)
By ALEX PEAKE
Published: Today

SUPERFIT Charlotte Church is keeping in trim by learning KARATE at a secret SAS training hideout.

The Over the Rainbow judge, 24, is having martial arts lessons from a beefy ex-Para in Wales' remote Brecon Beacons.

Pals say she is trying to get as fit as her rugby star boyfriend Gavin Henson, who has just filmed a TV endurance show in the Arctic Circle.

One said yesterday: "Charlotte's learning karate and jujitsu - as well as having boxercise lessons. It's not the soft stuff, she's insisted on a hardcore regime.

"You often get people doing it for fun, but she's really determined and takes it to the extreme.

"She's always had the voice of an angel, now she's got the moves of the Karate Kid too."

Charlotte, mum to 2½-year-old Ruby and Dexter, one, puts herself through the gruelling exercise sessions at least three times a week.

She travels from her £1.5million mansion in the Vale of Glamorgan to the mountain hideout where the SAS train for Afghanistan and Iraq.

Her friend said: "Charlotte's trainer is a martial arts expert who was with the Parachute Regiment and the French Foreign Legion.

"He also did freelance bodyguarding work and was in Africa five years - so he knows his stuff.

"Charlotte isn't one of these pampered stars She's really tough. She might be gobby, but she could back it up without a doubt."

Charlotte, who revealed her sensational new figure last month, has also been spotted training in a Cardiff park.

GeneChing

04-13-2010, 09:39 AM

But now he's fronting Wing Chun on the cover of Men's Journal. :D
http://www.mensjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/downeycoverforweb.jpg

In the May Issue: Robert Downey Jr.
Mon, Apr 12, 2010

In the May Issue: Robert Downey Jr. (http://www.mensjournal.com/in-the-may-issue-robert-downey-jr)
Photo credit: Mark Seliger
In the May issue of Men’s Journal: Robert Downey Jr. on how an ass-kicking martial art helped him find his focus and resurrect his career, professional BASE jumper Jeb Corliss on his attempt to execute the perilous no-chute landing, and an inside look at the brutal, murderous turf war over a libido-enhancing aphrodisiac fungus in Nepal.

-

-
From Stephen Rodrick’s profile of Robert Downey Jr.:

On advice for practicing Wing Chun, a martial arts discipline:

“Seriously, don’t worry about looking like an idiot. It’s like life: The less self-conscious you are, the better it works. And remember, lots of ice and Advil afterward. Trust me on that one.”

On how Wing Chun helps him cope:

“This is all about focus. Wing Chun teaches you what to concentrate on, whether you’re here or out in the world dealing with problems. It’s second nature for me now. I don’t even get to the point where there’s a problem.”

On being reluctant to punch a stuntman full in the mouth while filming Sherlock Holmes:

“I was like, ‘I can’t or he’s not going to be able to play with his kids this weekend.’ And Guy (Ritchie) was basically saying, ‘He doesn’t have any kids.’ ”

On if he is worried about burnout from filming and promoting films:

“You don’t worry about something that has already happened,” he says with resignation. “You don’t need to worry about your car breaking down when you’re already on the side of the street with the hood up. Worrying is done. The hubcaps have already come off going around the corners.”

On being an actor:

“This is still art for commerce, at best. I consider myself to be a pain-in-the-ass artist who’s self-aware enough to still be tolerable. While I have a little bit of juice, I try not to rub it in anyone’s face, because it’s just disgusting. And I use the term ‘artist’ loosely.”

On his Iron Man character Tony Stark’s relationship with his dead father:

“We’re having Tony go back and really deal with the ramifications of his lack of connection to his dad, his almost professional-stock, prop-smile answers, and how he’d been using Dad’s memory as a weapon against others. He’s really feeling hugely conflicted by assumptions about his dad’s feelings about him and whether or not there’s any real connection between them at the most basic level, which is: You’re not here anymore for this. Is there something you have for me, is there something you left for me, is there some sort of bread-crumb trail I can find that will help fill me at this point in my life?”

Eric Oram, Downey’s Wing Chun instructor, on working with the actor:

“When he first came to me, insurance companies wouldn’t bond him for movies; he couldn’t get roles. I told him if he didn’t show up to a lesson, I was going to chop off his toes and feed them back to him. One day he didn’t turn up, and I told him goodbye. Then he had a couple of producers call me and vouch for him, saying, ‘He was with us in a meeting; he didn’t have a phone. It’s our fault. Don’t cut his head off.’ He has committed himself to it ever since and turned his life around.”

Guy Ritchie, on working with the actor:

“The word to describe Robert is hard. I know that’s ****ing ridiculous in describing an actor, but he really can scrap. He’s done time in jail, which didn’t exactly soften him up. He has a real physicality that is pretty ****ing amazing.”

SnowDog

04-14-2010, 07:40 AM

LOL!!!! After reading this: The word to describe Robert is hard. I know that’s ****ing ridiculous in describing an actor, but he really can scrap. He’s done time in jail, which didn’t exactly soften him up. He has a real physicality that is pretty ****ing amazing.”

I can't get the image of Robert Downey Jr. having a throw down brawl in the prision yard with bikers and gang bangers out of my head....... And it's a pretty **** funny image. :D

sanjuro_ronin

04-14-2010, 08:04 AM

I love this guy as an actor and he SEEMS to have gotten his life in the right direction.

SnowDog

04-14-2010, 09:20 AM

solo1

04-14-2010, 09:52 AM

Same here, I've always liked him as an actor too.

And it appears he is getting his life back together with the help of his Wing Chun training, which is a great endorsement for CMA.

And I have to admit his fight scenes in Sherlock Holms impressed me, they were pretty tight and entertaining.....although maybe a little bit too Wing Chunny to be late 19th century England.

Same he was a friggin basket case in the late 80s and most of the 90s looks to have gotten his life together, seems like a decent guy bet hes a blast at a barbeque.

GeneChing

05-11-2010, 03:29 PM

Well, her kids at least.

Monday, May 10, 2010
Britney Spears: Karate Mom (http://celebrity-gossip.net/britney-spears/britney-spears-karate-mom-360424)

Ever the doting mother, Britney Spears was spotted taking her boys to their Karate class on Saturday afternoon (May 8).

The “Toxic” songstress escorted Jayden James and Sean Preston to a Studio City dojo with the help of her nanny and an assistant.
http://celebrity-gossip.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_header/photos/britney-spears-karate-cutie.jpg

GeneChing

05-12-2010, 09:44 AM

Russell Brand turns to martial arts to shape up for his wedding to Katy Perry (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1276188/Russell-Brand-gets-shape-wedding-Krav-Maga.html)
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:36 PM on 10th May 2010

Since relocating to Los Angeles with fiancée Katy Perry, Russell Brand has embraced the healthy Californian lifestyle.

She's constantly at the gym and now it appears he's looking to add a few muscles to his skinny frame in time for the couple's wedding later this year.

The 34-year-old has started taking lessons in Krav Maga.

The martial art, which features hand-to-hand combat, derives from Israel and the former Czechoslovakia.

Spotted having a private lesson in Hollywood Hills yesterday, Brand showed off his surprisingly muscular figure in a pair of burgundy shorts and white T-shirt.

The funnyman had also tied his long, scraggy hair up in a bun.

After working up a sweat with his trainer, Brand then met up Perry to attend actress Rosario Dawson's 31st birthday party.

The Seven Pounds star hired an area at the Moroccan restaurant Tagine in Beverly Hills.

Perry, 25, was unusually covered up in a city nightscape tunic and leggings, while Brand wore his signature skinny jeans, boots and leather jacket.

Following their engagement on New Year's Eve in India, Perry and Brand are hoping to return their later this year to tie the knot.

In the meanwhile, Perry has been busy recording her new album - a follow-up to her 2008 breakthrough hit LP One Of The Boys.
Dinner date: Brand later joined his fiancée Katy Perry for dinner at Tagine in Beverly Hills last night

The upcoming LP will be her third album. She released her debut disc Katy Hudson, a gospel-rock album, in 2001.

She said: 'Well, I have to plan my new album, first and then I'm going to get to my wedding - but I'm really excited about that, too.

'Russell is a real match for me - in previous relationships I feel like I've just steamrolled the guy, so it's nice to find someone I can't do that to.'

Brand proposed to Perry after fewer than four months of dating on New Year's Eve, during a romantic trip to India's Taj Rambagh Palace hotel.

They are hoping to return to India later this year to tie the knot, Perry's friend and bridesmaid Rihanna revealed last month.

Rihanna told US radio DJ Ryan Seacrest during a recent interview on his KIIS FM show: 'She put (organising the hen night) on me last week.

'I have to come up with something cool because she's getting married in India so I'm like "OK, now what do I do to match that?"

'That's at the end of the year so we've got some time to plan that.'

Couldn't have been that private a lesson if they got pics
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/10/article-1276188-09821DFC000005DC-571_468x676.jpg

GeneChing

05-14-2010, 11:36 AM

Check out our Shaolin Journeys (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1013677#post1013677) thread.

http://www.thesweetscience.com/images/17392/get_attachment_aspx_240x230_20100513.jpg

Brule

05-14-2010, 11:52 AM

Couldn't have been that private a lesson if they got pics
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/10/article-1276188-09821DFC000005DC-571_468x676.jpg

I thought Krav Maga was more H2H and weapons and less on the stomp the cat move. Where's the bubble over the cat that says, "Help Me!!".

GeneChing

05-18-2010, 02:29 PM

More like celebrities supporting martial arts. Wish Kobe would donate $25,000 to the magazine...

Thanks to Kobe Bryant, students get a kick out of the martial arts (http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-me-martial-arts-20100516-21,0,7104198.story)
The Lakers star's helped provide funding for classes by film fighter Hu Jianqiang at three schools.
May 16, 2010

The students at Richard Merkin Middle School in South Los Angeles had not heard of Hu Jianqiang before they met him.

They hadn't seen the movie "Shaolin Temple," in which he performed with Jet Li.

But one demonstration of his lightning-fast fists and the butterfly kick in which he throws his body off the floor light as a Frisbee and the Chinese kung fu master was a celebrity in their eyes — maybe even more than the person whose money helped bring him to them.

Thanks to intercession from Kobe Bryant, a $25,000 donation pays for the two-time Chinese national champion in martial arts to teach students at this school and two others how to kick, punch and roll — and in the process speak some Mandarin.

"Kobe has a particular affinity for China," said Doug Young, the spokesman for the Kobe Bryant Family Foundation. "The Beijing Olympics was a formidable experience for him. It magnified his interest in using sports as a way to foster cultural respect."

The Lakers star is so popular in China, Young said, that his basketball jerseys are consistently top sellers there. And as someone who spent part of his childhood in Italy and speaks Italian and Spanish, Bryant particularly appreciates the growing importance of the Chinese language — and thinks inner-city kids should be exposed to it.

"Martial arts seemed like an exciting way to get kids interested," said Young.

The martial arts classes are part of a pilot program run by the nonprofit After-School All-Stars.

"Our goal is to keep the kids on campus, so they will be in a safe environment to do their homework and engage with something that is interesting and meaningful," said Ana Campos, executive director of program's L.A. branch. "Mr. Hu is a real champion martial artist. We are lucky for him to be willing to take this project on."

Hu, 51, began his career as a gymnast at age 10 and switched to wushu, Chinese for martial arts, because his teachers thought that's where his best promise lay.

He won numerous awards as an all-around national champion famous for his speed, power and agility. His big break came with "Shaolin Temple" in 1982. Since then, he's appeared in more than a dozen martial arts movies.

Hu and his wife, Zong Jianmei, a fellow wushu master, left China in 1992 and came to the U.S. after a stint in Buenos Aires.

In 1997 they started their own martial arts academy, the Shaolin Wushu Center, in Connecticut. They opened one in L.A. in 1998.

So far, about 100 students have signed up for Hu's after-school sessions.

"Try it! It's fun! It's easy!" the students holler at first-timers as Hu asks for volunteers to roll around on the rug with their legs folded like pretzels.

"He makes us laugh," said Eve Louis, 11. "He shows us how to do the windmill with our arms. It's really fun."

When the students kick their feet in the air, or stretch their legs on the floor, they count out loud from one to eight in Chinese: "Yi er san si wu liu qi ba."

Hu asks them to bend their legs into a horse stance — legs wide, knees bent as if on horseback — and then to hold the pose.

"One more time!" Hu tells them just as they begin to collapse from the tension.

"Zai lai yi ci!" the students repeat after him in Chinese.

The students had a wide range of reasons for wanting to learn from Hu.

"I want to take this class because me and my mom watch a lot of soap operas where men are mean to their wives" said Sari Hernandez, 11. "I think we should learn to defend ourselves."

Cristal Cardona, 11, said it was great to learn a little Mandarin.

"I want to be a doctor when I grow up," she said. "It helps me to know Chinese because in the hospital, if Chinese people come, I'd know what to say."

GeneChing

06-21-2010, 02:22 PM

Jillian Michaels: How I lost 55 pounds doing martial arts (photos)
June 16, 6:58 PM
Celebrity Fitness and Health Examiner
Samantha Chang

The Biggest Loser star Jillian Michaels may be the picture of good health now, but the 5'2" fitness trainer was once a 175-pound couch potato!

Michaels, who stars on her own reality show, Losing It with Jillian, says a dysfunctional home life led her to an unhappy, sedentary youth of overeating and self-hatred.

'I HAD A THERAPIST BY AGE 5'

Jillian, who describes herself as a "really disturbed kid," began therapy at age 5.

"You know how kids have night terrors? Mine were really bad," Michaels, 36, says in the July issue of Redbook.

She recounts: "I thought sharks were coming out of the drain in the bathtub. I couldn't sleep at night, every night, waiting for aliens to come. I'm not kidding you: I. Was. Traumatized. And mom got me into therapy."

'I WAS TEASED FOR BEING FAT'

Michaels, 36, says she began a rapid downward spiral into overeating and gaining weight at age 12, when her parents decided to split.

"Being big as a kid was pure hell," says Jillian. "I spent all of eighth grade in my classroom because God forbid I ever left. I was terrorized."

Michaels was stunned when her mom kicked her out of her home when she was 17. "They were kind of midlife-crisis-ing, and I was sort of the afterthought," Jillian recounts. "I became pretty angry -- no one wanted to deal with me -- so when I was 17, my mom was like, 'You're not living here.'"

Being on her own helped Michaels to become more independent and introspective.

"I learned a lot being on my own," she says. "I grew up. I had to make money. I learned how to make decisions that are right for me."

'KARATE CHANGED MY LIFE'

One of those "right decisions" was taking a martial arts class -- something which literally changed her life.

"Karate saved my life," she says. "It all stopped the day I broke two boards with a kick."

Armed with a newfound self-confidence and a fitter physique, Jillian became a certified fitness trainer, and auditioned for The Biggest Loser. After starring on the hit reality TV show since 2004, Michaels branched out by writing fitness books, releasing her own fitness DVDs and starring in her own spinoff, Losing It With Jillian. [see slideshow below]

Michaels, who's now helping other people transform their lives, confesses there are still lots of things she'd like to change about herself.

"I'm impatient," she says. "I'm demanding. I'm neurotic. I'm high-stress. High-anxiety. Perfectionist to the point of impossibility. Nothing's ever good enough. I'm never happy."
It's not up on the REDBOOK (http://www.redbookmag.com/) site yet. The Examiner reporter made a slideshow using one of Jillian's FB photos, but there's no pic of her doing karate.
http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID14380/slideshows/Jillian_Michaels_karate_martial_arts.jpg
Martial arts for weight loss. If anyone can push that, it's Jillian. And once people put that one together, our economy could really grow.

GeneChing

07-02-2010, 09:52 AM

From the devastating Rolling Stone (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236?RS_show_page=3) interview.

He carries a custom-made set of nunchucks in his convoy engraved with his name and four stars, and his itinerary often bears a fresh quote from Bruce Lee. ("There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.")

GeneChing

07-08-2010, 09:36 AM

Yea, I didn't know who she was either until I read the article.

Middlesex Oscar winner, Nancy Walzog, shifts to martial arts with Satori Academy (http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100708/BUSINESS/7080307/Middlesex-Oscar-winner-Nancy-Walzog-shifts-to-martial-arts-with-Satori-Academy)
By CHRIS ZAWISTOWSKI • STAFF WRITER • July 8, 2010

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — When Nancy Walzog left her Emmy- and Academy Award-winning television and film career to take over two local martial arts academies, the reactions were predictable.

"They thought I was nuts," said Walzog, 47, of Little Silver. "Most people thought I was absolutely crazy."

But in the end, sensei knows best. In Walzog's two and a half years as owner, her Satori Academy's of Martial Arts in Edison and East Brunswick have seen a jump in enrollment from 130 to 400 students despite the economic downturn.

"It's a cool thing just to finally find something that you love so much that you want to upset your life and just go for it," she said.

Although she started in martial arts in the late 1980s, Walzog said she took a hiatus to work on her career and start a family.

The pinnacle of that career was an Academy Award for her work on the 2008 documentary "King Gimp," the story of a young artist with cerebral palsy, and two Emmys for Outstanding Children's Series for "Assignment Discovery" and "Greatest Inventions with Bill Nye."

With the success, came more and more stress. After attending a free Mother's Day class with her then 3-year-old son, Walzog said she found herself once again hooked on martial arts, especially as a way to escape the pressures of work.

Soon after she earned her black belt in mixed martial arts in 2004, she became a volunteer instructor at a local martial arts school. When the opportunity came about to purchase the two New Jersey Satori Academies, she took it.

"I was kind of thinking it was time for a change," Walzog said. "Things come to you for a reason — I am a big believer in that."

At first, Walzog continued her television work, while running the two schools, but eventually gravitated full time toward her passion for martial arts — 12 to 13 hour days are not uncommon for her at the Satori Academies. She said she never has looked back.

"There has never been a day I said I made a huge mistake," Walzog said. "I love it here."

The Satori Academies teach traditional martial arts techniques and values with a blend of contemporary styles, such as Brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts tactics, Walzog said.

Yet the school's teachings go way beyond fighting, she said.

Satori tries to teach all of its students, which range in age from 3 to 61, to broaden the definition of self-defense to include things, such as being environmentally responsible and trying to live a healthier lifestyle, Walzog said. Along the way, the program also develops self-confidence and a positive mindset.

The school also runs a quarterly project to benefit the community, such as this summer's forthcoming beach cleanup at Sandy Hook.

"It's really a philosophy of using martial arts to become a better person," Walzog said. "We are all good fighters, but we also use martial arts as a way of personal growth."

Yao Sing

07-08-2010, 10:11 AM

A Black Belt in mixed martial arts? How does that work?

JamesC

07-08-2010, 12:05 PM

A Black Belt in mixed martial arts? How does that work?

******. You beat me to it...

GeneChing

07-09-2010, 01:16 PM

Piper Perabo Ready To Be Action Heroine On 'Covert Affairs' (http://a.tvsquad.com/2010/07/07/piper-perabo-ready-to-be-action-heroine-on-covert-affairs/)
by Steve Baltin, posted Jul 7th 2010 3:00PM

Piper PeraboSince bursting on the scene in 'Coyote Ugly' a decade ago, Piper Perabo has proven her versatility as an actress, doing everything from horror films ('Carriers') and romantic comedies ('Imagine Me And You') to blockbusters ('The Prestige') and family fare ('Cheaper By The Dozen 1 and 2').

About the only thing Perabo hasn't done is kick some ass as an action star. Now she's ready to do that as CIA spy Annie Walker in the new USA series 'Covert Affairs.'

Turns out that's the role Perabo has been waiting for. "I really like action movies. It's really more like my personality," she told TV Squad. "I've always been a tomboy and so I get to show a lot more of kind of who I am in real life."

As a hardcore action movie fan, what are some of the flicks she would have loved to have been in? "I would have died to have been in 'Fight Club,' except Helena Bonham Carter did such a good job how could you ever replace her? But I think 'Fight Club' is a perfect film; it's in my top three," she said. "I really like 'Hit Man,' people get up on me about that, but I thought Timothy Olyphant is like the perfect mix of that unemotional detachment and sort of hawk-like focus that is really fun to watch. I thought 'Mr. And Mrs. Smith' was a great film; it's a great combination of comedy and action and they do them both really well. I think the first 'Die Hard' is incredible. Bruce Willis has like the perfect mix of humor, but the stakes are really high. It's really hard to do."

So it may be too late for those, but on 'Covert Affairs' she gets to kick some serious ass and she's taking that very seriously. "I started training four weeks on my own before I even got up to Toronto and then we did four more weeks of training just getting into choosing what the fight style of the show would be because [executive producer] Doug Liman comes out of the Bourne world, 'Bourne Identity,' he likes really close, messy hand-to-hand combat," she noted.

What did they finally settle on? "It's a combination of Krav Maga, which is the Israeli army style of street fighting and Wing Chun, which is the martial arts style developed for nuns during the Samurai period," Perabo explained. "Wing Chun is mostly deflection technique so that you can take the oncoming energy of your attacker and move it past you and then get hits in as they go past."

Perabo is not a fighter in real life, though. "The last time I was in a fight was about 48 hours ago on set," she said. "Before the show, in real life, I think it was maybe fourth grade." But is she gonna be tempted to use her cool new skills? "Actually my Wing Chun teacher keeps saying, 'Don't think that now that I've taught you this you can get all mouthy when you go out and fight people,'" Perabo laughed. "She said, 'I'm teaching you to fight for camera, not for real life. So don't get all over confident.'"

So, for the time being, she'll have to settle for busting heads onscreen. She's loving that, along with things like stealing a Ferrari in an upcoming episode and skydiving, which seems like the perfect show for a tomboy at heart. "Even fantasies that I never even had are coming true," she said. "This show is so extreme, you start doing things and you're like, 'Wow, this is pretty awesome. I don't know if I could've dreamt this up.'"

There's video - follow the link. This show reminds me of Alias. She was good in Beverly Hills Chihuahua. ;)

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2010/07/perabo250.jpg

GeneChing

07-20-2010, 09:42 AM

Angelina (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=943118) bears repeating. ;)

Angelina Jolie flaunts sexy legs at L.A. premiere of Salt (photos)
July 19, 11:26 PMCelebrity Fitness and Health ExaminerSamantha Chang
July 19, 2010. (Getty Photos/John Shearer)

Angelina Jolie showed off her toned legs in a sleeveless beaded black Emporio Armani dress at the premiere of Salt in Los Angeles July 19, 2010.

Jolie, 35, was accompanied by a beardless Brad Pitt, 46, who looked dashing in a charcoal Tom Ford suit.

'I'M THIN BUT I LOVE TO RUN AND JUMP'

Angelina, who plays a CIA agent in Salt, got lots of cuts and bruises from doing her own stuntwork for the action thriller.

“I’ve always been kind of slight, but I’ve always loved to run and jump around and be physical, so action roles are not a huge challenge for me," Jolie said at a recent press junket. "I enjoy them."

Angelina, an Academy-Award winner, considers herself very lucky to be offered both action roles as well as dramatic parts.

"I got really lucky early in my career that I got offered roles where I could train for fighting," she says.

Jolie adds: "And then I met all these amazing stunt people who I've worked with for quite a few films, and so we've become kind of a family and they know the things I'm good at and they know the things that I complain about, but I end up getting through."

Interestingly, the role of CIA agent Evelyn Salt in Angelina's spy thriller, was originally written for a man, with Tom Cruise cast in the lead. But after Tom dropped out of the project, studio execs rewrote the part to accommodate Jolie in the role.

'SALT IS FRAILER THAN HER RIVALS SO I MADE HER MEANER'

The slender Angelina modified the character's demeanor to convincingly play a gun-slinging super-spy. "The physicality had to change," she says. "I’m smaller than everybody, so how do I go up against a bunch of men without looking silly? How do I fight?"

She adds: "We made her meaner than a guy, and dirty. She uses the walls, the fact that she’s lighter and can throw herself around. It’s the Chihuahua up against the big dogs.” Angelina_Jolie_brad_Pitt_Salt_Los_Angeles_premiere

Jolie, who bounced back into peak condition following the birth of twins Knox and Vivienne in July 2008, underwent grueling martial arts training for her blockbuster action thrillers, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and its sequel, Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life (2003).

She also did fight training and took up gun-shooting practice for the 2008 hit Wanted and the 2005 blockbuster Mr. and Mrs. Smith (which co-starred Brad).

'I LOVE MARTIAL ARTS'

While Angelina gets bored by regimented workouts, the lanky Oscar winner stays slim by being active and encourages her six young children to be active as well.

"I love martial arts," Angelina recently told OK! "They are ideal for children because they teach them discipline and perseverance. My son [Maddox, 8] is already starting to go to class."

So when she does sit down to see a movie, what does Angie like to watch? "I like all of Bruce Lee's films; he was the best," she notes. "I also like Jackie Chan a lot—my kids are Jackie Chan fans."

Salt, which co-stars Liev Schrieber, opens July 23.
http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID14380/images/angelina-jolie-brad-pitt-salt-premiere.jpg

Taryn P.

07-20-2010, 02:06 PM

Angelina Jolie has dieted herself into a condition wherein her arm would snap like a toothpick the first time she tried to hit something.

JamesC

07-21-2010, 12:34 PM

I can't believe I ever thought she was attractive. Gah.

Was she thicker in her older movies? I sure hope so because her current stick figure is creepin' me out.

sanjuro_ronin

07-21-2010, 12:49 PM

Angeling has never been my cup-of-tea, not enough ass and way to prone to being a "home wrecker".

doug maverick

07-21-2010, 01:23 PM

back in the day she did have that nice figure but now its like wth... she's just a pair of lips.

Taryn P.

07-21-2010, 08:00 PM

It seemed like she had a little more muscle and curves on her frame back in the "Tomb Raider" era, but in the past few years she has just been shrinking away into a skeleton.

I really can't take some of these female movie/TV stars seriously when they talk about training martial arts, and yet they are so emaciated that they look like they don't have the strength to lift a six-pack of Diet Coke without help.

Hebrew Hammer

07-22-2010, 12:11 AM

Angeling has never been my cup-of-tea, not enough ass and way to prone to being a "home wrecker".

I agree with her being too skiny, not enough bootay, add terrible acting with the worst effected accents in the biz. Did I mention her lips always looked chapped?

Piper Perabo is delish...

TaichiMantis

07-22-2010, 03:15 PM

GeneChing

08-02-2010, 10:28 AM

Christina Hendricks: Joan is back where she belongs this season (http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/popwrap/christina_hendricks_9wpP55uxx28MGPoGrTX77L)
July 30, 2010 ι Jarett Wieselman

With her shock of red hair, it's hard to miss Joan Holloway. And yet that's exactly the predicament "Mad Men" fans found themselves in last season as the smokin' hot office manager quit her job and left Sterling Cooper to the wolves. Thankfully the just launched fourth season has placed Joan back where she belongs: running an office, sauntering through its halls and knowing everything about everyone who walks through the front door.

This week, the newly formed Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce hold its first holiday party and you can be **** sure Joan's going to make it better than her going away party, which ended in tears. And bloodshed.

Despite her character's reduced screentime last season, actress Christina Hendricks snagged a well deserved Emmy nomination thanks in no small part to an enchanting accordion performance. I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the beyond bubbly actress about her musical stylings, Joan's journey in season four and if those Joan/Roger 'shippers should hold out hope for a reunion!

PopWrap: Congratulations on the Emmy nomination -- I was pulling for you because although Joan wasn't in season three that much, the scenes she did have were electric.
Christina Hendricks: That’s exactly right – when Joan was there, the material was amazing. But there wasn’t a lot of filler. She came in with a bang but there were so many other [characters] to service. Her story was so rich and fantastic last year. It just was condensed.

PW: Would you agree that Joan lost herself a bit after she left Sterling Cooper?
Christina: Absolutely. I think season three was very much about Joan “getting what she wanted” and then discovering, “oh no, this is not how the plan was supposed to go.” Joan excels in the office. She's respected as a woman and someone who keeps the ship running. But she lost some of that power, so she lost some of her confidence. There’s nothing more fun than being good at what you do and I think she missed that. One thing that I thought about Joan from the very first moment in the pilot is that she is someone who needs to be needed. So that moment at the end of season three was great because it felt like, “oh I’m needed again.”

PW: That must have been a relieving script to read.
Christina: Well, I had spoken to [creator] Matt Weiner earlier in the season and said, “so what’s the plan here because as far as I can tell, I’m not working at the office anymore.” [laughs] He explained his plan to me so I was excited about that moment – even though it’s a brief moment on screen, it’s a grand idea for those characters. And I think it was nice too because although Roger has the idea, as soon as he says, “I know who to call” everyone knows who he’s talking about. So everyone was already on board, which was cool.

PW: It's like she's back where she belongs this season.
Christina: Yea, that’s how it felt to me too.

PW: You said that season three was about discovering that her plan was flawed, does season four involve Joan readjusting that plan?
Christina: Season four opens with this line of “who is Don Draper?” and there is an underlying theme of “who am I” for everyone. Obviously at the end of season three, Joan's husband announced that he joined the army without consulting her. There’s definitely still discomfort and unease at home – so we see her figure out how to deal with that. You'll definitely learn more about their relationship [this season].

PW: Sunday's episode involves the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Christmas Party -- is it less lively than Joan’s going away party?
Christina: [laughs] What could be more lively than that?!? That was like the worst party ever – guest of honor cries, man is amputated. That was a dismal party. I can’t wait for people to see this because it’s incredibly clever. I hope that it comes across that way.

PW: Hosting a party at the office is kind of like Joan's bread and butter.
Christina: Absolutely, are you kidding. This is like Christmas for Joan, but it actually is Christmas [laughs]. It’s the best gift she could get – organizing a party.

PW: Joan's other season three party led to one of the most beautiful and memorable moments of the whole show -- that accordion performance.
Christina: Thank you. That was something I knew was coming from the beginning of the season. They called me and asked if I spoke French and played the piano. I said, "I could learn French and I don’t play the piano, but I do play the accordion." So they got me some freshen up lessons. It was a one of those great things as an actress where you get to refine another skill.

PW: What other skills would you like to obtain through work?
Christina: I always wanted to do a movie where I had to learn kung-fu for three months. Where if someone made you do it, you could do it. But there was a moment of, “what do you mean I have to sing on screen? What do you mean it’s in French? What do you mean it’s while playing the accordion?”

PW: You already had an accordion playing foundation -- how did that come about?
Christina: I had always enjoyed the instrument and vocalized that many years ago, so a friend bought me an accordion. I kinda looked at it like, “I can’t believe you bought me this," and stared at it for 6 months before finally calling around to find lessons, which aren’t that easy to find. You’d think they’d be on every corner! The Silver Lake Conservatory of Music teaches every instrument, so I started to take some lessons five years ago and did for maybe 8 months. I never really revisited it until “Mad Men” asked me to.

PW: Are there any other instruments you play?
Christina: No. I love to sing and I sing all the time much to the chagrin of my husband [laughs]. I’m a huge music lover and an admirer of people who are really good at it.

PW: What's your go-to song for serenading Geoffrey?
Christina: Sometimes they’re just made up on the spot – which are particularly dismal. I probably belt out musicals more than anything else. Maybe a little Jesus Christ Superstar or Hedwig [and the Angry Inch]. My husband is actually a really great singer and he did a little performance of a couple songs from Hedwig last week and I did his makeup. It was fabulous.

PW: More than any character, save for maybe Don, Joan has deeply permeated pop culture. I can't count the number of times a rival Pub Trivia Team has been named "Joan Holloway's Accordion" or "Joan Holloway's Pen Necklace."
Christina: [laughs] Oh my gosh, I’m so flattered. I got some goosebumps. First of all, I love that they say Holloway, not Harris.

PW: I believe we prefer to think of her like that.
Christina: I still do! I remember at the first season three table read, we have nametags with our characters on them so guest stars know who we play, and mine said Joan Harris. When time came to introduce ourselves I said, “Hi I’m Christina Hendricks and I play Joan H-H-H ... I couldn’t bring myself to say it. So I just said Joan [laughs].

PW: Are you aware of how fond people are of Joan -- and by extension, you?
Christina: It’s really been phenomenal. And I really think the moment for all of us was getting our Barbies. I put her up on her little stand, and I’m analyzing all the little bits about her -- I kind of undressed her a little bit.

PW: Era appropriate undergarments?
Christina: She had a cool corset on. She’s so cool. But I still can’t fathom that it’s a character I play. It just looks like a cool doll. It’s a lot to swallow. I love playing with her, bring over your Roger doll!

PW: Do your Joan doll and Roger doll have chemistry?
Christina: Well the fact that I would only choose to play with those two doll should tell you how I feel about it [laughs].

PW: Elisabeth Moss told me she was shocked fans still want Peggy to be with Pete -- what are your feelings on a Joan and Roger reunion?
Christina: I think there is an undeniable caring about the two of them. And in a way that maybe you don’t see with other characters. When he had his heart attack and she’s left helpless, you can feel that yearning. He wants comfort from her and she wants to offer that, but can’t because the whole office is watching. I think the audience feels that and wants that, so Matt’s like “well if the audience wants it, of course I won’t do it” [laughs]

PW: Is that a rule?
Christina: No, I’m joking – he just cares that what is going to naturally happen, naturally happens. What I think is fascinating are the people who want Don and Joan together, based on that one scene when they sit together. It’s so random, but for some reason people want that.

PW: What do you say to that?
Christina: You never know!

"Mad Men" airs Sundays at 10pm on AMC
My lord. Some one teach this woman some kung fu pronto!
http://www.pinkhues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/christina-hendricks.jpg

Hebrew Hammer

08-02-2010, 11:32 AM

Talk about Melon Hammers!!! Good Lord that woman is fine...I'd take her right to ground for some long over due yoga practice, downward facing dog comes to mind.

GeneChing

08-04-2010, 09:42 AM

Celebrity Kung-Fu (http://www.tomsgames.com/action/10358-celebrity-kung-fu.php)
Fighting game
Game type : Flash game

Kung-fu game which gathers the American celebrities which made the news in 2009. Use the arrow keys to move, jump or dunk, Z, X, C to attack, down arrow key+Z,X,C for an uppercut, up arrow key +Z,X,C for a jump kick and left arrow key +X to rush, Space to block, Shift to throw a projectile. You have the choice between Lady Gaga, Barack Obama and a lot of people.

Close games :
celebrity

You want to play to Celebrity Kung-Fu, one of the free games. Celebrity Kung-Fu is an Internet flash game for PC and notebook is a game of fighting.
The following comments concern this game (Celebrity Kung-Fu), they can contain cheats
I didn't bother to play it though...

GeneChing

08-04-2010, 10:09 AM

IS A NINJETTE (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1030108#post1030108)!!!

http://cdn.photos.tmz.com/gallery_images/images/2010/08/lindsay_lohan_marc_ecko_014_full.jpg

Lindsay, when you get out of the slammer, we got a whole line of ninjette wear (http://www.martialartsmart.com/ninja-styles.html) for you to model. Call me! :cool:

GeneChing

08-16-2010, 09:59 AM

From Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58042)

The Verge: Mary Elizabeth Winstead (http://www.movieline.com/2010/08/the-verge-mary-elizabeth-winstead.php)

It’s not easy to play a cinematic dream girl, especially the inscrutable Ramona Flowers of Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, who literally meets our titular hero (played by Michael Cera) for the first time inside his own dream. Still, actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead pulls it off, and why shouldn’t she, after braving challenges like Live Free or Die Hard, Death Proof, and the upcoming remake of The Thing? Just before Scott Pilgrim’s release this past weekend, Winstead called up Movieline to discuss elements of a fight scene you didn’t see, the film’s reshot ending, and the credit she’s got that’s even weirder than Scott Pilgrim.

What was it like to walk around Comic-Con and see people who were dressed as Ramona?
It was pretty wild. It was overwhelmingly positive, though. I think we were all kind of nervous about it, like, “What are reactions going to be to this movie?” But people were just so excited about Scott Pilgrim and so passionate about the books, and you could just feel that everywhere. It was a really wonderful experience, especially the screenings. I don’t think I’ve ever had as fantastic a moviegoing experience as seeing this movie with the fans at Comic-Con.

Did you watch all three screenings of it at Comic-Con?
I did, I went to all three. I wasn’t planning on it, but we were introducing the films, and each time I was like, “OK, I’ve got to stay and watch a little bit of it,” and then I would get sucked into it and watch the whole thing.

You were worried about what the reception might be, and I think some people wonder if there might be a generational divide with this movie, a la Fight Club, in that younger viewers will really respond to it, but older people might be left scratching their heads. Do you think there’s any truth to that?
Yeah, I think that’s a general concern that people seem to have, but what’s been interesting is how many people who are not considered to be part of the target audience who’ve been coming up to me at press events or junkets to say, “I didn’t think I was going to like it, but I loved it.” It’s interesting, because I’m getting so many of those comments that I wonder if that generational gap isn’t as much of a concern as people think it is. I think it’s a great story and really funny and refreshing and unique, and those are all things to me that any person who enjoys film would be entertained by. We’ll wait and see, I guess.

2010_scott_pilgrim_mary-elizabeth.jpg

Ramona can very guarded. How do you play that without her coming off as unreadable?
It definitely was challenging, the most challenging part I ever had to play. It was a daunting task when I read it and started to prepare for it, like, “How do you play someone who’s so guarded that you never really know what she’s thinking or feeling, yet she’s still human, so there still has to be some level of emotion there?” I had to figure out a way of keeping her in a very emotional place all the time, but at the same time, covering that all up and putting up a wall. It was really helpful to be able to talk to [comics creator] Bryan Lee O’Malley and get some insight into the character. Some of the things he told me really gave me an understanding as to why she is the way she is. Hopefully because I understood it, other people will understand it.

What kind of backstory did Bryan give you?
The main things that I really took with me were about her childhood, and several things that were very sad, these traumas that she had been through. It made me realize that she was a pretty dark character and somewhat sad, and this hardened shell that she puts around herself is just a facade to keep people at bay. She’s got so much emotional baggage that she carries around everywhere she goes, so to me, I needed her to feel like she always had this weight on her shoulders, the weight of what she’d been through in her life.

You worked on this film for about seven months. Is that the longest amount of time you’ve ever spent on a movie?
Definitely. That was my life for quite a while. [Laughs]

What was the bulk of your fight training like?
We actually didn’t really start into the fight choreography until a few weeks before shooting. Most of the training was to get us prepared physically and get us familiar with the fundamentals of kung fu. For two months or more — because we actually started in LA before we went to Toronto, so it was more like three months — every day, we would have bootcamp training in the mornings when we would do push-ups and run. Then we would rotate to different training sessions of kung-fu, or I would go practice wushu or go work with my hammer or staff, or Mae [Whitman] and I would be put together to spar and learn hand-to-hand combat. Once we had all the fundamentals down, then they would actually teach us choreography, which was almost like learning a dance.

That battle with Mae is actually my favorite evil ex battle, and it does feel like a dance.
It’s like a musical, especially the way Edgar is so influenced by music and that’s such a big part of all of his films. We knew that we would be fighting to a beat at certain points, so it definitely felt like dancing. Michael and I actually learned swing dancing to prepare for that puppeteering part of the fight. At one point, that was actually much more elaborate, and I was swinging Michael around me. [Laughs] I would swing him over my back and lift him up and carry him and all sorts of stuff. We actually rehearsed a lot more fighting for that segment, which was a lot of fun, but I think it turned out to be a bit much.

What was the process like of actually shooting that fight? It goes by in the blink of an eye, but I’m sure it took much, much longer.
It did. I think at least fight took at least a week or week and a half to shoot. It was pretty intense, long hours of physical stuff take after take. It’s funny because it goes by so quickly on screen, but we spent months training for it and weeks shooting it. Still, it looks brilliant and I’m incredibly proud of it.

**What was it like to shoot so many of those tiny, blink-of-an-eye shots the movie is littered with? Anna Kendrick talked about learning the art of acting during a crash-zoom
It was challenging. There were a lot of days where it might be a sixteen-hour day, but all I’d be doing is a shot of me flipping my head to the right really fast, and something would go off in the background and the camera was going to zoom in on my face and it had to be the right focus at the right time. There were always so many elements to perfect that went beyond giving the right performance, and it was definitely a unique filmmaking experience because there was so much going on that the actors weren’t doing. I think we all had to take one for the team and know that we were in good hands and that we’d be a part of something that would be amazing. We took a cue from Edgar and worked really hard for the finished product, because he works harder than anyone.

SPOILERS

Let’s talk about the ending, because I heard that Scott ended up with Knives Chau in the original cut. When did Edgar have you go back and reshoot that, and what did you think of the change?
I think the main thing was wanting to be true to the books. When we originally shot it, the sixth book hadn’t been written yet, and Bryan didn’t know necessarily what he was going to do. So when the sixth book was finished and our ending was very different than the book’s ending, I think it just felt kind of wrong to a lot of people for it to be so vastly different. Also, I think having some hindsight and seeing the film again after having been away from shooting for a while, I think that Edgar just felt that it was right to change it. I don’t want to go into too much detail to give stuff away about the ending, although you obviously already already know it, but I think it was mainly about being true to the books.

END SPOILERS

Bruce Willis was recently quoted as saying that Die Hard 5 was imminent. Have they checked on your availability yet?
They have not. I don’t know the validity of that, or if they have any interest in Lucy McClane, but I’m waiting. We’ll see!

Can we please talk about the fact that once upon a time, you were on Passions? I think that aside from Scott Pilgrim, that may be the most out-there project on your resume.
I know! It’s funny, I keep getting Passions questions lately, and I haven’t in years. But yeah, that’s gotta be more out-there than anything. Not only were there witches, and Hell was in my basement at one point, but I was also having to perform monologues to myself and ridiculously cheesy stuff. [Laughs] So yeah, I’ve been there, done that.

So if Edgar Wright asks you to pull a giant hammer out of thin air, you don’t even flinch at this point.
“No big deal!” I’ve done far crazier stuff in my day.

http://www-movieline-com.vimg.net/images/mary-elizabeth-winstead-main.jpg

GeneChing

08-20-2010, 03:11 PM

Dr. Laura's Next Moves: Sharks, iPhone App, Kung-Fu? (http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/what-will-dr-laura-do-next-4-options-from-her-interview-in-the-hollywood-reporter/19601861)
Updated: 4 hours 52 minutes ago
Steven Hoffer
AOL News Surge Desk
(Aug. 20) -- It's a new day in a whole new media world for Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Sure, she just announced her retirement from her popular, long-running radio show, but you really didn't think she would just fade away, now did you?

Admittedly, after her live "N-word" outburst last week elicited a wave of criticism, things weren't looking exactly promising for the 15-year radio veteran. But now she's begun a new PR push to show her fans that she regrets the incident and is moving on, starting things off with a candid interview in the Hollywood Reporter on Friday, in which she reveals myriad potential future career opportunities.

What's next for Schlessinger? Surge Desk has taken the liberty of highlighting some of the most interesting possibilities:

Satellite Radio
Dr. Laura may not be the biggest Howard Stern fan -- "He spends his life trying to hurt people" -- but as someone looking for a bit less censorship in her programming (possible common ground?), she has indicated that following the path of the "King of All Media" to Sirius XM is "an option," though no details on an offer have been released.

Shark Attack!
Since the early '90s, Dr. Laura has been a prolific writer, most noted for her self-help book, "Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives." With the radio show coming to a close when Dr. Laura's contract ends in December, Schlessinger will have plenty of time to support the scheduled January release of her new book on betrayal and revenge, titled "Surviving a Shark Attack (On Land)."

iLaura
Dr. Laura is already far more than just a radio presence. Between her website, YouTube channel and blog, Dr. Laura will have plenty of venues for her voice the moment her radio show ends, including ... a mobile application?

"The other cute thing is that next month I'm going to be an app. 'Dr. Laura's Moral Compass.' You ask it questions about relationships, like that Magic 8-Ball game," she told the Reporter.

And indeed, some commentators are even predicting that Schlessinger will become a bigger media presence than ever before when she shifts away from conventional radio and more into the multimedia options she's been cultivating quietly all along. As she explained:

I own thousands of hours of my shows, so I'm looking to do something with that: Internet streaming, podcasting, searchable database, satellite radio. I've got a million things I can do with the hours of my show I own, much less be live. I've had a website since 1997, and last week the traffic went up 311 percent, and the blog traffic went up 634 percent. I'm also the first major talk-show host with a YouTube channel. Already 10 percent of our revenue comes from new media. But this isn't about money, it's about continuing to help people and express my First Amendment rights.

Kung-Fu Assassin?
Apparently Dr. Laura has a thing for grindhouse female-empowerment flicks. When asked by the Reporter to name her favorite movie, Dr. Laura responded, "Do I have to tell you the truth? It's 'Kill Bill' volumes one and two, because I'm a martial artist. The fight scenes were amazing. All that samurai stuff -- amazing!"
Just kidding.... i think...

TaichiMantis

08-21-2010, 03:07 AM

Just kidding.... i think...

So...she's just another samaurai wannabe :rolleyes:;) Or...she has a secret ambition to be included in the sword hotties thread.:eek::D

GeneChing

08-25-2010, 09:39 AM

Aug 24 2010 6:12 PM EDT 1,492
Chris Brown Studied Parkour, Martial Arts For 'Takers' (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1646413/20100824/story.jhtml)
'We use different acrobatics and flips and stuff,' singer/actor says.
By Shaheem Reid

If he were in singing mode, "Lamborghini Breezy" could have used his car to make a getaway. But as an actor in the film "Takers" (due Friday), Chris Brown had to go through days of rigorous running through the streets of Los Angeles during a climactic chase scene, in which he flees from actors Jay Hernandez and Matt Dillon.

Brown's character, who is part of a group of bank robbers, leaps on top of cars, scales buildings and jumps through windows. And fans may also notice a hint of parkour movement in Brown's getaway tactics.

"It was funny because in the beginning, a couple of weeks prior to me being on-set and filming the movie, I was already training with my friends, doing parkour and some martial arts stuff," Brown recently explained. "We call it 'trickin'.' We use different acrobatics and flips and stuff. I always incorporate that in my dancing too. Being able to apply that to the movie was a step up on my entertainment value. It was great."

"I've never had to do so much running in my life," Dillon said about the scene. "For that sequence, we were just, like, four days straight, just running through the streets, and this kid Chris is an unbelievable athlete. This guy Chris Brown, he's unbelievable, man. So keeping up with him was a challenge even in itself, which was perfect for our characters."

Chris says that for the most part, when you look at the stunts he does in the film, you won't be looking at some stuntman.

"A big muscle dude with a different-shape head," he joked of what his stuntman would look like. "For the most part, it was all me.

"The most thrilling part about this movie is probably the stunts," he said on the set. "I do, like, 96 percent of my stunts. Some stunts they wanna use the doubles; I don't wanna use the double! And they're like, 'We have to for safety and insurance issues.' I think the most exciting parts are the stunts, getting to blow stuff up, shoot guns, you know what I'm saying. It's all fun!"

Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that's alright
Because I like
The way it hurts

David Jamieson

08-25-2010, 12:15 PM

This film strikes me as odd.

In this day and age of billion dollar rip offs, I can't figure out what all the noise is in a movie about people stealing 35 or so million bucks?

It's chump change in today's big time criminal movies.

But then, Chris Brown is chump and he's not getting my change for his movie that's for sure. lol :p

(way to play up the rhianna and eminjibbajabbadudem song :p )

doug maverick

08-25-2010, 01:33 PM

well because they are chump change, thats the point, criminals with all there guns are nothing, compared to a wall st. guy with a brief case and a smile.

or as mario puzzo wrought in the godfather.."a man could steal more with a breifcase, then i could with a hundred guns."

thats the dynamic of the criminal mind, vs. the devious truly evil mind. bank robbers steal from the insured banks...they look at themselves as robin hoods even thou they keep the money...but see guys like bernie madoff, they steal from YOU, the person, take the bread out of your mouth if they could.

Dragonzbane76

08-26-2010, 09:03 AM

Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that's alright
Because I like
The way it hurts

been listening to eminem to much? got it stuck in your head?

GeneChing

09-29-2010, 09:44 AM

Do reality stars count?

Amber Portwood: I Have Lost 65 Pounds (http://www.gossipjackal.com/entertainment/2010/09/29/amber-portwood-i-have-lost-65-pounds/)
Wednesday, 29 Sep 2010

MTV reality star Amber Portwood has announced in the recent edition of Us Magazine that she has lost 65 pounds post pregnancy.

Portwood was in the reality series Teen Mom and she went on to say that she was tired of being chunky. ‘I have been chunky my whole life’ said Portwood.

Portwood gave birth to a baby girl back in November of 2008.

Afterwards she decided that she needed to lose some of the baby weight.

Once she had lost 20 pounds, she decided that she wanted to lose more. She went on to say that she has been studying the marital art Krav Maga and is getting ready to enter her first competition.

http://www.gossipjackal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Amber-Portwood.jpg

GeneChing

10-21-2010, 02:15 PM

Suddenly, this thread has lost some appeal...

Justin Bieber: Kung Fu Concert Fun (http://foreign.peacefmonline.com/entertainment/201010/95341.php)
Date: 20-Oct-2010

Celebrity Gossip : He’s always up to something and last night (October 19) Justin Bieber gave a killer performance in Vancouver, Canada. The “One Less Lonely Girl” singer took the stage at the Rogers Arena and even had a little extra action for his many fans.

Justin showed off his Kung Fu skills by performing a choreographed fight sequence with his backup dancers, and his moves looked pretty impressive.

GeneChing

11-02-2010, 10:01 AM

and Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and Martin Kayme!

* November 2, 2010, 6:40 PM HKT
Sponsorship Dollars Draw Golf to Asia (http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2010/11/02/swords-play-in-shanghai/)

http://online.wsj.com/media/1102golf01_F_20101102061230.jpg
Americans Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood of Britain, and Martin Kaymer of Germany, perform the Chinese martial art of tai chi together with a tai-chi master on a stage in Shanghai, China, Tuesday. The players are in town for the HSBC Champions tournament.

http://online.wsj.com/media/1102golf02_D_20101102062748.jpg
Tiger Woods of the USA (L) and Lee Westwood of England (R) receive a tai chi lesson with swords during a press event ahead of the 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China.

By Duncan Mavin and Jason Chow

The chatter ahead of the HSBC Champions golf tournament, which tees off in Shanghai Thursday, is whether Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or Martin Kaymer will emerge as the world’s No.1 ranked golfer.

One thing is certain — the winner’s share of $7 million in total prize money at the Shanghai tournament is just a splash in a growing pool of corporate sponsorship money in Asia.

According to a report from accountants KPMG, Asian golf tournaments awarded approximately $69 million in 2009–20% of golf’s total global prize pool of $343 million and more than the $56 million in total spoils at European golf events.

“The distribution of prize money provides a clear indication of sponsor’s appetitie to promote themselves in different geographies,” said the KPMG report.

In fact, sports, arts and other events in Asia are benefiting as companies spend more of their sponsorship dollars in the region. This year, corporate sponsorship in Asia is forecast to total $2.5 billion, an increase of 67% from last year, according to Ben Flint, Asia-Pacific chief for Fuse, a sports-and-entertainment marketing agency that is a division of the advertising company Omnicom Group.
Total corporate-sponsorship spending in Asia in 2010 is likely to be close to the record $2.8 billion in 2008, when it was boosted by the Beijing Olympics, Mr. Flint said. “We’re definitely getting back up to Olympic levels.”

His numbers show that 65% of this year’s spending in Asia will be dedicated to sports sponsorships; the rest will be divided among categories that include arts, culture and community events.
HSBC would not confirm how much it paid to sponsor the Shanghai golf tournament, though title sponsors typically cover the prize money. The bank said its sponsorship of the Chinese event ties in with its focus on growing in Asia.

“We’re sponsoring where the bank is targeting itself,” said Giles Morgan, group head of sponsorship at HSBC. “It’s important our geographical focus is communicated.”

Other banks have also put money into sponsoring events in Asia, where the economy has generally stood up better through the economic downturn than in Europe or the U.S. For instance, last November, Deutsche Bank announced plans to sponsor the Hong Kong art fair, ArtHK, for five years. Standard Chartered announced last autumn that it would begin a four-year $128 million tie-up with English Premier League football team Liverpool—a move aimed at targeting the sport’s fans in Asia.
“Yes, it is an English team but only a handful of clubs…are big brands in Asia,” said Susan Ho, global head of brand and sponsorships for Standard Chartered. “In Asia alone, we count that there are 130 million Liverpool fans.”

Event planners said the rise in sponsorship spending won’t be felt in force until 2011. Michael Chiary, general manager of MCI Hong Kong, a global events-management company, said he expects his business to pick up next year given that big corporate events typically take six to nine months to plan.
Mr. Chiary predicts that Hong Kong’s largest sporting event—the annual Rugby Sevens tournament—is going to be a decadent affair next year after a relatively subdued 2009 and 2010.

“We expect a big surge in demand by the financial sector, not only for private booths, but also for doing a ‘bash’ for the suites,” he said. “We are definitely seeing stronger demand for events, but we won’t see it until next year.”

HSBC says it is targeting golf and rugby, which appeal to affluent sports fans.

“If we were going for huge ubiquity, we’d do Formula 1 racing or soccer,” said Mr. Morgan. The bank previously sponsored the Jaguar F1 team.

doug maverick

11-02-2010, 05:14 PM

tigers form is not that bad. but...he needs to get back to whoring around so he can get his #1 spot back..lol

Jimbo

11-03-2010, 01:58 PM

A bit off-topic, but I was watching Audrey Rose (1977), and in one scene, a young-looking Anthony Hopkins uses a judo sacrifice throw (tomoenage, sp?) on the title character's obnoxious father, then proceeds to use a collar choke to end the confrontation.

mickey

11-04-2010, 08:43 AM

doug maverick,

You are spot on with regard to Tiger Woods. I thought I was the only one noticing this.

He has to put one in the hole before he can put one in the hole.

mickey

MasterKiller

11-04-2010, 10:16 AM

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/1102/pga_g_woodswestwood_576.jpg

taai gihk yahn

11-04-2010, 10:17 AM

guess he's taken up jian because it's the closest thing to learning to defend against golf clubs?

hskwarrior

11-04-2010, 10:18 AM

Tiger Wood's if he could but he can't so he won't!!!!!!!

Lucas

11-04-2010, 10:29 AM

I want to fight tiger woods.

MasterKiller

11-04-2010, 11:52 AM

Who moved my KUNG FU related thread to this black hole to die?

Scott R. Brown

11-04-2010, 12:39 PM

Who is Justin Beiber?

GeneChing

11-04-2010, 04:33 PM

Mostly to show that my forum fu is faster than yours. :p I ate your cheese too, that one you were saving in the fridge next to the six of bud light.

This thread will live forever.

GeneChing

11-12-2010, 05:53 PM

again....sort of.

There are some satire pix if you follow the link.

Your Meme of the Week: Tai Chi Keanu (http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2010/11/your_meme_of_the_week_tai_chi.php)
By Craig Hlavaty, Thu., Nov. 11 2010 @ 3:25PM

So Keanu Reeves officially knows that he is a walking meme, so now he spends his days baiting us trolls on the Internets by posing himself in ridiculous positions. Your meme of the week is Tai Chi Keanu.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/assets_c/2010/11/keanutaichi_507-thumb-507x320.jpg
Keanu: Meme-baiting.
In photos taken by paparazzi over Halloween weekend, the actor was seen doing Tai Chi Chuan stances and moves under a tree dressed like a homeless Keanu Reeves. Obviously these moves are easily dropped into Photoshop to create something more hilarous than we could imagine.

We once saw a hippie doing Tai Chi in the park near our house when we were growing up and some older kids went and bought a Coke Icee from the gas station a few blocks away and threw it at his head. Good times.

That's all we know about Tai Chi, really.

GeneChing

11-23-2010, 10:57 AM

Montana Fishburne Talks Plastic Surgery, Covers Black Men Magazine
Submitted by The Hip-Hop Socialite on November 22, 2010 – 9:52 amOne
http://live.drjays.com/index.php/2010/11/22/montana-fishburne-talks-plastic-surgery-covers-black-men-magazine/montana-fishburne-vivid-500x384/

Montana Fishburne is continuing in her mission to bring shame to the Fishburne name. The daughter of Hollywood legend Laurence Fishburne is more determined than ever to make it in the adult entertainment industry; so much so, she’s willing to go under the knife to make a few adjustments to her breasts and nether-regions. The 19-year-old told Hustler magazine during a recent interview:

“I don’t want to get real big ones [breasts]. I would just go one size bigger. And I want to get my p—y tightened….I want that kung fu grip.”

Uh, forgive me if I sound a bit crass, but what’s the point if it’s going to end up being loose as a goose anyway? Montana also appears on the cover of the holiday issue of Black Men magazine, and if you ask me, whoever took the time to Photoshop all those pockmarks off her booty deserves a raise.
words fail me on this one... :confused:

sanjuro_ronin

11-23-2010, 11:04 AM

Mostly to show that my forum fu is faster than yours. :p I ate your cheese too, that one you were saving in the fridge next to the six of bud light.

This thread will live forever.

Gene is evil, pure unadulterated evil !

GeneChing

12-01-2010, 10:52 AM

Chris Colfer Shows Off Mad Ninja Skills on 'Conan' (http://www.zimbio.com/Chris+Colfer/articles/gIMBsi9CQeF/Chris+Colfer+Shows+Off+Mad+Ninja+Skills+Conan)
Written by JJ on Nov-30-10 1:56pm
http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/mp/-xjoq9kaSWil.jpg

After a season and a half of Glee we all know that Chris Colfer can sing, but last night on Conan O'Brien's TBS show, Chris revealed he can swing a sai better than a Ninja Turtle.

Chris Colfer shows off his ninja sai weapons on Conan O'Brien's show. (From TBS.com)
Chris explained to his incredulous host that he studies martial arts in his spare time, and even practices his ninjitsu in his trailer while filming episodes of Glee.

"I have swords that I practice with every day in my trailer, and it makes the cast very nervous," he said. "But they're called sai... I grew up watching 'Ninja Turtles' and always wanted to do them, and bought some on eBay finally and just taught myself how to do it.

Chris proceeded to put on a demonstration of his sai skills, swinging the weapons deftly with both hands simultaneously before doing a little sword fighting with Conan. Watch the video here to see him spin the blades. The pictures below (from TBS.com) show his demo. In the final pic, you can see Chris apologizing to Andy Richter for swinging a sai a little too close for comfort.

Conan: Chris Colfer Interview 11/29/10 (http://www.tbs.com/video/conan.jsp?oid=236106&eref=sharethisUrl)

GeneChing

12-02-2010, 10:30 AM

Click for vid.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Heidi Montag Learning Martial Arts Because She Can't Afford Bodyguards (http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/12/exclusive-video-heidi-montags-hell-i%E2%80%99m-learning-martial-arts-protect-myself)
Posted on Dec 02, 2010 @ 06:48AM

Heidi Montag’s life may have seemed charmed during her days on The Hills, but the reality TV star revealed a darker side of fame in a recent exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com. Montag says that the attention can often be more overwhelming than flattering and she recently schooled herself in martial arts to learn ways to protect herself.

“I can’t afford security, so I practice self defense and chain punching,” Heidi explained to RadarOnline.com.

Though she used to have a posse of bodyguards on hand, she and husband Spencer Pratt have fallen on learner times. “I have spent millions in security in the last 4 years because I had to take care of the cost all on my own. It’s crazy and it’s hard, but life is not always fair.

“I have had to change my life. I can’t afford to go out to the clubs anymore because the sort of protection I need can cost anywhere from 5 to 10 thousand dollars a night...when you travel it’s even worst, because you need to cover the guards travel, food lodging, etc., and pay them. That is actually where all my money went because safety is number one.”

Besides cutting costs, Heidi has enjoyed the burst of independence from her practice.

“It gives me a confidence I didn’t have before,” she added. “I am doing this self defense because it gives me inner strength, and I feel safe in my home. It’s a deterrent, but I know I can’t do what the body guards do.”

Heidi has been training to become a black belt in Wing Tsun with her trainer (SIFU) Michael Casey who explained that “the system is geared straight towards self defense, so there are no rules. Punches, kicks, knees, elbows, ground fighting, strikes to vital areas. Anything goes as the goal of the system is to stop an opponent.”

“It is scary to be out there without protection, people do follow me and you can never be to careful,” Heidi added.

“It’s overwhelming, and it’s most difficult when I’m in large groups of people.”

The beautiful reality star said that while it takes years to perfect the ancient Chinese martial arts form, she has been practicing for about 6 months and realizes she has a long way to go.

“I’m not ready to go out alone yet...I’m only 5ft 2inches tall and have a small frame so I understand I can’t completely do it alone. Which is why I don’t go out as much anymore.

“Half the reason I am laying low and staying to myself is because I don’t have that security like I used too, and you never can predict what will happen.”
http://sithomeandrot.com/celebs/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/heidi_montag_bikini_bags_big.jpg

GeneChing

12-07-2010, 10:38 AM

Justin Timberlake Injury Stalls Filming On 'Now' (http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/12/06/justin-timberlake-injury-now/)
Posted 18 hrs ago by MTV Movies Team in News
By Roberto Mucciacciaro

Last week, Justin Timberlake was spotted limping around on crutches after sustaining a leg injury while filming the sci-fi thriller "Now," also starring Amanda Seyfried and Olivia Wilde. We wondered how this might affect production on the movie, and now we know.

E! News has confirmed that production on the film will be temporarily shut down to give Timberlake time to mend. "Justin Timberlake sustained a muscle injury to his calf on the set of Andrew Niccol's thriller 'Now,'" a rep for the production company told the site. "Production has taken a brief hiatus and will resume shortly."

A source told E! News that "shortly" means about two weeks -- just long enough to give J.T. time to heal properly. "He hasn't heard anything about the MRI results," the source said. "But they're freezing production until he's off crutches and able to act again."

In a recent interview with "Entertainment Tonight," Timberlake jokingly spoke about his injured left calf. "My calf is... it's not that bad. It'll be fine. It's not irreversibly damaged... I was just on set and I hurt it. I wish I had a way better story about how I got into this Bruce Lee, kung-fu fight with someone and 'you should see the other guy,' but unfortunately I did it to myself."

Directed by Andrew Niccol, "Now" takes place in a not-too-distant future where people don't age past their 20s. Instead, time is currency and people must pay to stay alive. Timberlake plays a poor guy who inherits a fortune of time but not in time to save his dying mom. Accused of murdering the upper class gent who left him the inheritance, Timberlake's character is forced to go on the run from the authorities. So, yeah, a healthy calf would come in handy.
This is really more of Kung Fail than Kung Fu, but it's Boo Boo Bear, so it had to be included here. Besides, it's a slow newsfeed day...

GeneChing

12-13-2010, 10:38 AM

Again (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=930600). Well, sort of... ;)

Michael Gene Sullivan
Writer, actor, director, rouser of what the frightened overlords call the rabble
Posted: December 13, 2010 12:59 AM
Kung Fu, and the Presidency of Barack Obama (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-gene-sullivan/kung-fu-and-the-presidenc_b_795653.html)

"In combat, spontaneity rules; rote performance of technique perishes." -- Bruce Lee

Back when President Obama was Candidate Obama one of his most commented on talents was his style of dealing with seemingly impossible political situations. Turning negatives into positives, political traps into triumphs, pundits called it mojo, Birthers called it Voodoo. Many called it brilliant. But a few called it what it was -- Kung Fu.

Kung Fu is all about deflection, about using your opponents momentum against them, turning that defense seamlessly into attack. It's coaxing your opponent into attacking, slipping to the side, tripping them as they pass, and giving them a quick smack on the head for good measure. But most importantly to master Kung Fu you must be unpredictable.

"A martial artist who drills exclusively to a set pattern of combat is losing his freedom. He is actually becoming a slave to a choice..." -- Bruce Lee

Attack:

"A guy named Hussein is running for President!"

Typical politician reaction:

Verbal attacks on muslims, and a promise to bomb something.

Kung Fu:

"That I have a chance to run for the highest office in this nation proves how great a country this is! And that so many people of different backgrounds support me shows how far we have all come in our understanding of what it means to be an American..."

"When my opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand."-- Bruce Lee

Attack: "He got a racist preacher!"

Typical politician reaction:

Throw preacher under the bus, deny existence of racism in America.

Kung Fu:

"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother."

and:

"Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many."

"The highest technique is to have no technique. My technique is a result of your technique; my movement is a result of your movement." -- Bruce Lee

Obama's Kung Fu was strong. While his opponents kept attacking the same old way, relying on him to respond the same old way, he deflected their attacks, used their weight and momentum against them, and before they knew it they were on their backs, gasping and confused.

Attack:

"Pull the troops out of Iraq? He wants to surrender to the terrorists!"

Fu:

"Our mission in Iraq is over, and we must not shed any more of our children's, father's or mother's precious blood there. We must focus on where those who actually attacked us still are."

This was the Kung Fu Master people voted for, and we were crowding the arena to see him kick conservative butt just like Bruce Lee did to that dude with the face scar in Enter the Dragon! Sensei Obama was going to flip, clip, dip, dazzle and finally change Washington into a place where the People, not the evil business lobbyists, control the Nunchucks of Power!

"Be like water..."-- Bruce Lee

But when this Dragon finally did Enter Washington, there was something suddenly not so martial about his art. Suddenly he seemed as yielding as water. "Water can yield, it can also crash!" said Bruce Lee. Great! But where was the crash? Once in office Obama seemed to be the one doing all the contracting, while his opponents were expanding like toads! To please critics he fired supporters and took advisors who disagreed with his stated opinions. He adopted policies he'd attacked months earlier. Bankers got bonuses, homeowners got shafted, Wall Street got bailed out, Main Street got left out, nobody got a Public Option, and Guantanamo... well, it's still open for business.

Some said he was unprepared for the office, others that he was bidding his time (waiting for the right moment to unleash his awesomeness) Others said he had to make decisions based on new political realities. Some simply said he lost his mojo. But I think it was much worse, much more fundamental. I think he lost his dojo.

"One should not respond to circumstance with artificial and "wooden" prearrangement. Your action should be like the immediacy of a shadow adapting to its moving object." -- Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee always said that if your Kung Fu becomes predictable, you will lose -- and Obama's Kung Fu became exactly that. Despite his willingness to deal with difficult problems, he had a weakness which allowed his opponents to dictate his reaction, make him predictable, and ultimately defeatable. And the weakness is that Barack Obama desperately needs to be seen as fair, above the political fray, as not using his power to stifle or oppress his opponents. Once those opponents realized that an accusation of partisanship would incite a predictable shift on the President's part toward bipartisanship, that they could easily maneuver into a position where compromise became his goal rather than winning, they had him.

And that was that. His Kung Fu was negated, because he was easily coaxed into a predictable response. Simply accuse Obama of being too partisan, of not being willing to work with you, and he will sacrifice his strategic advantage and cut himself off from his allies to prove he is willing to compromise. Now, compromise is an important option in every fight - you might be evenly matched and have to reach an understanding. But Obama became defeatable when the mere accusation of his not being willing to compromise meant he would have a predictable, automatic response. All it takes is a loud "You're trying to pass this over the will of the Minority" as we heard in the recent extension of the Bush Tax cuts for the wealthy, and before the fight begins White House compromise becomes the deal of the day. Obama's Kung Fu was beaten.

"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
-- Bruce Lee

At the end of Enter the Dragon Bruce Lee is fighting against that freaky guy with the swapable metal weapon hands in a hall of mirrors, the two of them hunting each other through the narrow passages, with Lee punching at reflections. Obama is also caught in a hall of mirrors, with his enemy coming at him from all directions. But when Obama looks in the mirrors he sees himself in a fighting stance, rejects that image of himself, and lowers his fists. And each time he does he gets punched or kicked again. In a trap created by his enemy he has decided that the most important thing to do is not reflect the posture of someone willing to fight. Ultimately Bruce Lee defeats his enemy by making the unpredictable choice -- he smashes the mirrors, reveals the true location of Kung Fu Cap'n Hook, and kicks him into a conveniently placed spear. And if Barack Obama is going to regain his Kung Fu mastery he must first recognize that his technique is being used to manipulate him, then smash the mirrors that are confusing him so he can concentrate on his actual opponents. He cannot wait for some perfect circumstance where his own fighting can't be used against him. He must fight to win. Is that possible? I don't know, but I do know we cannot wait any longer.

"To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities."
-- Bruce Lee

GeneChing

01-03-2011, 01:08 PM

This is just what S.F. needs. ;)

Incoming S.F. supervisor Jane Kim has grand goals (http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-12-31/bay-area/26352616_1_children-in-neighborhood-schools-jrotc-public-schools)
SAN FRANCISCO
December 31, 2010|By Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2010/11/03/ba-sfsupes03_PH__0496059128.jpg
Jane Kim spent the past four years on the S.F. Board of Education.

Jane Kim's black belt in tae kwon do, a martial art emphasizing strength, discipline and self-defense, may come in handy in her new job as San Francisco supervisor in the sometimes bare-knuckles environment of City Hall politics.

Kim, a Boalt Hall-trained attorney practicing civil rights law, will take over the District Six seat representing the South of Market, Tenderloin and North Mission areas on Jan. 8.

She already has shown she can hold her own during her four-year tenure on the San Francisco Board of Education, the last year as president.

There, she earned a reputation not as an ideologue cemented in her left-leaning political roots but as someone willing to work with her more conservative colleagues to forge compromises - even if, in the end, the divisions remained.

There have been plenty of issues confronting the city's public schools: the school assignment process, the student discipline policy and whether the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program belongs in San Francisco schools.

Kim opposed the JROTC and favors alternatives to suspending and expelling students for bad behavior. The new school assignment system, supported by Kim, gives some preference for families hoping to enroll their children in neighborhood schools.

"She doesn't just pooh-pooh every idea that doesn't come out of her camp," said Hydra Mendoza, a school board colleague who described herself as a moderate and Kim as a progressive. "She's open to listening to ideas, but also will challenge me, wanting to know how I came to my position."

Kim has said her legislative priorities at City Hall will include building more affordable housing, improving pedestrian safety, beefing up the city's community policing program, combatting the bedbug epidemic, making it easier to open small businesses, and revitalizing blighted areas by offering businesses incentives to move into vacant storefronts.

She also supports efforts to generate more revenue for the city and backs hiking the city's parking lot tax and imposing a new fee on downtown business interests to help fund Muni service. She said the idea of enacting a local income tax is worth exploring.

Born and raised in Manhattan, Kim is the daughter of Korean immigrants who came to the United States in 1971, six years before her birth.

She grew up speaking Korean and English at home. At 14, she started serious training in the Korean martial art tae kwon do, a pursuit that, she said, made her stronger and more confident.

A single, 33-year-old electric bass player, she rents a condo near Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue in a hard-to-define neighborhood that falls between Hayes Valley, the South of Market and the Mission. She owns a car and also gets around town on Muni and on foot.

Kim got her political start through community organizing. When she was a teenager, she worked at the Coalition on Homelessness in New York City. She moved west to attend Stanford University, where she majored in political science and Asian American studies, settled in San Francisco 13 years ago and was admitted to the State Bar last year.

She landed a job with the politically connected Chinatown Community Development Center, focusing on tenant rights, affordable housing, public safety, alleyway improvements and youth leadership training.

SenseiShellie

01-03-2011, 01:44 PM

Christian Slater studies Shaolin Kempo...

GeneChing

02-07-2011, 06:17 PM

Tura! Tura! Tura! (http://www.sfbg.com/39/39/art_film_tura_satana.html)
The goddess has spoken: Faster, *****cat! Kill! Kill!'s Tura Satana.
By Kimberly Chun

ELVIS PROPOSED TO her and styled Priscilla in her image. Male cast mates crumbled before her. Playboy Playmates feared her. But after seeing her in Russ Meyer's 1965 masterpiece, Faster, *****cat! Kill! Kill! as a teen, I just wanted to name my firstborn girl after her. Tura Satana Chun – I liked the ring.

Satana's Varla, the knife-throwing, back-breaking, and ball-busting leader of a pack of hell-bent strippers – including the kooky go-go-booted blond Billie (Lori Williams) and heavier-on-the-Italian-than-Chef-Boyardee Rosie (Haji) – was unlike any other in the cinema. She was the butchest babe in the bunch, who killed men with her bare hands, barked orders, and suffered few fools. When a gas station doofus stares down her cleavage, leering, "Boy, that motor's still hot," the Valkyrie snarls back, "You won't find it down there, Columbus." She's "more stallion than mare," quips Stuart Lancaster, the lecher in a wheelchair who hopes to prey on the girls and their teenybopper captive Linda (Susan Bernard) before the women prey on him for his hoarded cash. All you could do was pray: Booted, buckled, and buxom, the formidable Satana/Varla became an inspiration for Quentin Tarantino (where else does Kill Bill's ***** Wagon roll from?), John Waters, Divine (check the sketchy eyebrows), and countless little girls looking for a superheroine, part all-consuming id, part wrathful goddess.

When I call the 66-year-old Satana, née Tura Yamaguchi, at her Reno home, I find her still taking care of business: ordering around a repairman, looking after an autistic grandchild, and coping with a fussy fax machine. "It's trying to tell me that I don't have any more memory," she complains. Her interview proves otherwise.

Bay Guardian: Did you know I wanted to name my daughter after you?

Tura Satana: As a matter of fact, I know of several little girls named either Tura or Varla. I'm flattered. I think it's because the character I play in that film empowered women so much. Varla was a person who was looking to get her own thrills at that time in her life. Russ [Meyer] just liked to have the women in his films play roles that made them look stronger than what they were. Fortunately I got to play who I was! I actually always saw myself as a very independent female.

BG: How did you get involved in Faster, *****cat?

TS: My agent called me and asked me to go for an interview. When he mentioned Russ's name, I said, "No, I don't do porn." He said, "No, this film isn't porn. There is very, very little nudity in it." I said, "OK, as long as it's not porn."

Russ was actually a very nice person. He wasn't very intimidating. He stayed behind his desk. He said, "I want you to read for the main lead in the picture." I said, "OK, how do you want to play it – hard, soft, or what?" He said, "Just read it and see how you think she should be like." I read for him, and he said, "Oh, God, you definitely are Varla."

BG: What was it like growing up Asian in a tough neighborhood in Chicago?

TS: I'm half Japanese and Chinese, a little Filipino, Scotch Irish, and Cheyenne Indian. Yeah, I'm a Heinz 57. [Chuckles] Unfortunately, because I looked Oriental and had slanted eyes and everybody knew that my dad was Japanese, it was very hard growing up in the neighborhood – especially right after the war.

BG: Was your family interned during World War II?

TS: Just my dad, my brother, and I, in Manzanar. I was there for two and a half years, and then they relocated most of the Japanese families to the Midwest, so they were nowhere near any oceans and couldn't send radio signals to any of the Japanese fleet. They just took everybody, anybody that looked Japanese, anybody that was part Japanese. They took my dad because his last name was Yamaguchi – definitely Japanese. Mother was Scotch Irish and Cheyenne Indian. She took a job close by so she could come and see us but was never allowed inside the camp. I think I was four or five years old.

It had a lot to do with shaping my attitude toward life. I knew I had to be able to take care of myself when I grew up. There wasn't going to be anyone else around to do it.

BG: How did you come to learn judo, karate, and aikido?

TS: My father taught me martial arts when I was about nine, right after I was raped by five guys. I was coming home from a bakery for my mom, at night. These five guys, ranging from the ages of 17 or 18 to 21, were in car, grabbed me as I went by, took me to some garage or building, and proceeded to rape me, each one taking their turn. So my dad said I would never, ever get caught like that again. The boys were caught, and the oldest one's father was wealthy enough to pay off a judge to get the boys off, and I went to reform school – because I tempted them.

Like I said, back then, feelings toward Japanese Americans and Japanese, period, were so very high. A lot of people didn't care one way or another whether I was guilty or not. I was elected to get punished for what the Japanese did in the war.

BG: Meyer learned his craft as an Army cameraman during World War II. Did he know what you went through?

TS: No, he never found out about that till after we were sitting around, having dinner after the film was done. He said, "I gotta do the story of your life one of these days."

BG: How did you start dancing?

TS: I became a dancer because nobody would let me become a singer. Nobody wanted to hear my voice, really, even though I have four octaves, and everyone said I had a great voice. Everybody preferred that I show off my figure.

I was dancing at the Follies Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Some producers and directors came in from Warner Bros. Studios. I got a card backstage after the routine, and they said they wanted me for a part in a TV show. I said, "Sure you do." [Laughs] I was very skeptical about all that. [Satana eventually appeared on Hawaiian Eye, as well as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and in films like Irma la Douce, Our Man Flint, and The Doll Squad.]

BG: From there you went to Faster, *****cat – did you end up improvising off the script?

TS: Yes, I loved the fact that Russ would let us do our own dialogue. He had dialogue from the '40s and maybe '50s, which was not what it should have been in the '60s. It didn't jibe with what was going on. Also, I told him some of the dialogue didn't fit this character, and he said, "Well, I think it does." I said, "Well, I don't, and I'm the one that has to say it." [Laughs]

Susan Bernard had her mother on the set when we first started, and her mother was a typical Hollywood mother. "My daughter's not getting enough dialogue, not getting enough film coverage." I finally told him, "If she doesn't go, I'm leaving."

I decided I'm going to have to make this little girl hate my guts, because talking to her is like talking to a blank wall. I warned everybody ahead of time. Stuart Lancaster even said, "God, this girl is like a paper bag." Had a great body, but she just had no talent when it came to acting. So I said, "The one way to get something from her was to make her deathly afraid of me." But in the process I never realized I was making Lori Williams afraid of me at the same time! Years later, she told me, "I was scared ****less," and I said, "Why? I told you what I was doing," and she said, "Yeah, but you were very convincing!"

BG: Well, you were playing yourself.

TS: I was getting rid of a lot of anger! A lot of things when I was growing up and as young girl – that anger I kept inside of me all those years – I think I finally let it loose.

BG: What other challenges did you have to deal with during Faster, *****cat?

TS: The adverse conditions – we were shooting in July through September, in the desert, and it's 120 in the shade, if you could find any. All of us got very suntanned. The worst part of it was my suntan – a total outline of my outfit. I think it cooked off the first layer of my skin. We stayed in rinky-dinky motels. I found a tarantula and had that for a pet for a while. He loved to climb into my hair.

As long as you aren't threatening to them, they won't bother you either, unless they're hungry, and 9 times out of 10, they don't want to eat anything bigger than they are. The first time I found him, he was crawling up my hand, on my glove. Normally I don't care for bugs at all. But this one was big and furry – he didn't bother me that much.

In between takes, I'd try to teach some of the guys how to fall and tumble to keep from getting hurt. Of course, Ray Barlow [who plays the all-American boy who tussles to the death with Varla] didn't want to learn everything. I had to do all my scenes in slow motion so the camera could catch everything and make it look real. He was afraid I was going to hurt him, and believe me, I came to the point where I really wanted to! Not that I did – I just dislike anybody who's a wuss, and that's exactly what he was. He was afraid of everything. If I had a tarantula on me, he'd go 10 miles away.

RIP Tura, RIP. (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1077017)
http://www.grindhousedatabase.com/images/Tura_Satana_Pic001.jpg

GeneChing

02-07-2011, 06:18 PM

BG: It sounds like you aren't afraid of much.

TS: Pretty much. If it needs to be done, I get it done.

BG: It's like that moment from the film, with Barlow ...

TS: "I don't try anything – I just do it."

It doesn't hurt to try things, as long you learn from them. My father always told me, "If you're going to live life, you might as well live it the right way and learn something new every day." That's what I do.

BG: What have you learned lately?

TS: I've learned that I'm not invincible. I'm not a superwoman. I had to have a pacemaker put in last year because my heart was beating too fast. I found out I do have my limitations – but not many.
This went just a little over the max. Typical really, given the topic.

GeneChing

02-18-2011, 11:14 AM

Britney Spears: 'I'll kung-fu kick you' (http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/britney-spears/news/-ill-kung-fu-kick-you/)

Britney Spears has said that she will 'kung-fun' kick those who don't like her new video.

Writing about the 'Hold It Against Me' video which premiered early this morning, she wrote on Twitter: 'Hope you guys love it as much as I do. If you didn't I'll kung fu kick you like I did to that chick in the video.'

Speaking to MTV about the video, the promo's stylist B.Akerlund told MTV: 'We were going for a punk-rock couture look in this video, with a touch of glam.'

Here's the new vid (http://www.youtube.com/user/BritneySpearsVEVO#p/u/0/-Edv8Onsrgg) - the fight scene is amusing - very Captain Kirk. ;)

GeneChing

03-09-2011, 10:44 AM

David Letterman - Pauley Perrette Kicks Butt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlC1gdTuG4)

David Jamieson

03-09-2011, 12:48 PM

crashhelmet

03-09-2011, 02:33 PM

Christian Slater studies Shaolin Kempo...

I sparred against him testing for my green belt when the company we're not allowed to name brought some of the Shaolin Monks to Anaheim a few years ago. He was pretty good, but hammed it up like a professional wrestler.

crashhelmet

03-09-2011, 02:36 PM

David Letterman - Pauley Perrette Kicks Butt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlC1gdTuG4)

Oh the things I'd let her do to me.

Lucas

03-09-2011, 03:15 PM

Jimbo

03-09-2011, 10:24 PM

Celebrities who practice martial arts?

None. Except for maybe Kisu and he's not quite a huge celebrity. lol

But other than action stars? None. They pay lip service to it, but I seriously doubt there are ardent practitioners among the hollywood types.

James Caan was a long-time black belt under Tak Kubota, and probably still is training to some degree.

Ed O'Neill is a BJJ black belt under Rorion Gracie.

Marc Singer (V, Beastmaster) was a Hung Gar student of John Leong. Okay, he's not really a Hollywood celebrity anymore (I don't think). But still...

I can agree that most Hollywood celebrities aren't serious martial arts 'lifers', but it's a pretty broad statement to say that none of them are. Very few people of any background are MA lifers, regardless of where they are. But there may be some people who might surprise you.

Zenshiite

03-10-2011, 10:35 AM

James Caan was a long-time black belt under Tak Kubota, and probably still is training to some degree.

Ed O'Neill is a BJJ black belt under Rorion Gracie.

Marc Singer (V, Beastmaster) was a Hung Gar student of John Leong. Okay, he's not really a Hollywood celebrity anymore (I don't think). But still...

I can agree that most Hollywood celebrities aren't serious martial arts 'lifers', but it's a pretty broad statement to say that none of them are. Very few people of any background are MA lifers, regardless of where they are. But there may be some people who might surprise you.

Hey, Marc Singer will be returning to the world of V... in the new TV series. He's still Hollywood... to some degree I guess.

GeneChing

03-14-2011, 09:58 AM

First Look: The Gretas Return to Chuck (http://www.tvguide.com/News/Look-Gretas-Return-1030673.aspx)
Mar 14, 2011 11:29 AM ET
by Natalie Abrams
http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/Content/110307/News/7_sun/110313chuck1.jpg

The Gretas of Chuck are no more.

In Monday's episode, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Chuck (Zachary Levi) will find out that the side mission Casey (Adam Baldwin) has been working on involves him joining a new team. And his co-workers are not called Greta anymore.

Yvonne Strahovski on her Chuck engagement: What Moonlighting curse?

Former pro wrestling star Stacy Keibler and Old Spice guy Isaiah Mustafa return to the Chuck-verse as sleuths who have become Intersects like Chuck. If this promo isn't proof enough, someone else now knows kung fu!

"I'm doing a little bit of kung fu and I went through gun training, so I'm doing a lot more physical stuff," Keibler tells TVGuide.com. "In this episode, you're going to get a little bit of back story as to what we were actually doing as the Gretas and see who we really are."

Her character, now known as Capt. Victoria, is actually partners with fellow former Greta, Capt. Rick (Mustafa). As you might guess, Chuck will take a kick out of the "Rick and Vic" moniker. In the episode, "You see them earning their stripes," Mustafa says. "You see how they become the new duo."

So who are these agents? They belong to Bentley (Robin Givens), whom we briefly met a few episodes back when she approached Casey to quit being the backup man and finally step into the spotlight.

NBC announces season-finale dates

Bentley happens to have a friendly rivalry with the Team Intersect boss, Gen. Beckman (Bonita Friedericy). "Bentley definitely respects that Beckman's good at what she does, but she also thinks that she's good at what she does, so she enjoys that sparring," Givens says. "She really has something in mind that she wants, so she's willing to go around Beckman to get it."

"She's a no-nonsense gal who really is coming in to shake things up a little bit," Givens continues. "I don't really think she has any mercy with [Casey, Chuck and Sarah] in terms of the relationships that have already been established."

As for Chuck, Givens says her character will "push him emotionally. She's going to challenge him. How good are you at what you do? She challenges both [Chuck and Sarah] and says, 'Look, my guys can be better than your guys.'"

"Sarah gets very offended and doesn't take it very well," Strahovski says of Casey's new team. "She's just so used to having Casey and Chuck at her side that for Casey to be doing anything that she has no idea about is a betrayal almost. They try and resolve things."

Chuck airs Mondays at 8/7c on NBC.

Stacy Keibler deserves a pic here, yes? Yes! If for no other reason but to clear our minimum text requirements for a post (quotes don't count)
http://www.wallpaperbase.com/wallpapers/celebs/stacykeibler/stacy_keibler_36.jpg

@David Jamieson - seriously? I'm not sure everyone here on the forum are ardent practitioners. They just pay lip service too. What is the criteria for an ardent practitioner? Oh! I know! An ardent practitioner is subscribed to Kung Fu Tai Chi!. (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html) Seriously, if Stacy here was chatting you up about kung fu, would you deny her because she wasn't ardent?

wenshu

03-15-2011, 07:42 AM

James Caan was a long-time black belt under Tak Kubota, and probably still is training to some degree.

Ed O'Neill is a BJJ black belt under Rorion Gracie.

Marc Singer (V, Beastmaster) was a Hung Gar student of John Leong. Okay, he's not really a Hollywood celebrity anymore (I don't think). But still...

I can agree that most Hollywood celebrities aren't serious martial arts 'lifers', but it's a pretty broad statement to say that none of them are. Very few people of any background are MA lifers, regardless of where they are. But there may be some people who might surprise you.

Robert Downey Jr. is pretty serious about The Chun.

David Mamet is a dedicated jiu jitsu practitioner (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1012804/). Probably wouldn't qualify as a celebrity, but he's a pretty famous writer.

I heard Lindsay Lohan does cardio kickboxing.

GeneChing

03-21-2011, 09:25 AM

I suppose this could have gone on the Sucker Punch (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57945) thread, but there's will be more ttt there soon enough. ;)

Abbie Cornish talks up 'Limitless,' 'Sucker Punch' (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/20/PKE71I6MUL.DTL)
Michael Ordoña, Special to The Chronicle
03/20/11

If you don't know Abbie Cornish's work yet, you should ... and will. The 27-year-old star of "Bright Star," "Stop-Loss" and the arresting "Candy" (with Heath Ledger) can now be seen in theaters with Bradley Cooper in "Limitless," in which a new drug can afford users access to 100 percent of their brains. She also stars in Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch" - as Sweet Pea, one of a group of institutionalized women who discover they are warriors. "Sucker Punch" opens March 25.

Q: Was the nature of intelligence something you addressed in preparing for "Limitless"?

A: Particularly, there were discussions of what it would feel like to use 100 percent of your brain. It's hard to imagine, you know? They say we only use, like, 10 percent of our brains. So it's not like we use 50 and you just have to times it by two; we have to times it by 10.

Q: Did you have to confront that in a practical way, because your character takes the drug?

A: I imagined if you could have all your senses working at optimum form, how would that feel? Everything just heightened. I guess it's almost animalistic in a way, the way certain animals can use their senses as we can't - a dog's sense of smell, for instance. Also the idea of instinct, the sixth sense, being able to predict an outcome. I tapped into that.

Q: What is your "Sucker Punch" character like, and what is the film about?

A: Sweet Pea is the older sister of Rocket (played by Jena Malone) ... she's in there as her protector, her mother, her nurturer. She's very strong, but in the beginning of the film she's playing by the book, and that book is not one you can trust. Of course, the film is entertaining; it's girls kicking butt and all that sort of stuff, but there are a lot of existential ideas explored. What is fate? Do we have a hand in our own destiny? Who is it that sets us free? All these things are explored in the film. What it is to be a girl, to be a woman.

Q: Your combat was particularly convincing.

A: I've always loved it. My mum was Australian national karate champion. She won the full-contact championship when I was about 9. When she went into the final, she was up against a younger black belt; she was a brown belt. I remember being incredibly scared - this is my mother! It was the most amazing thing ever. I'll never, ever forget it. My mum fought so hard, round after round, and she won. She was so fierce and amazing and strong. So I would go with her and train a little bit. I've dabbled in mixed martial arts; a little bit of ninjutsu and taekwondo and karate and kickboxing and that sort of thing, so I was ready to go, day one.

Q: When this is published, your fan base is going to expand alarmingly in a new direction.

A: (laughs) I loved training with these guys. There was a moment where I actually felt like this could be my life. I bounced out of bed every single morning. I would do anything to do it again. Even with all the swords and guns and stuff, and being a vegetarian - I love people and animals so much, I never thought I'd be excited or interested in guns, but when you're using them and not harming anyone, it's amazing. So yeah, I loved making that movie. {sbox}

Limitless (PG-13) opened this weekend at Bay Area theaters.

To see a trailer, go to www.iamrogue. com/limitless.

Sucker Punch (PG-13) opens March 25 at Bay Area theaters.

To see a trailer, go to suckerpunch movie.warnerbros.com.
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/photosizer/upload/AbbieCornish041510.jpg

@Jimbo & - wenshu: we've listed some of them here already
Ed O'Neill (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=927668#post927668)
Robert Downey Jr. (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=926569#post926569)
Lohan is unconfirmed beyond this (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1030110#post1030110).

GeneChing

03-28-2011, 04:07 PM

Fri, 18 March 2011 at 1:30 am
Saoirse Ronan: 'I Like Freaks' (http://justjaredjr.buzznet.com/2011/03/18/saoirse-ronan-i-like-freaks/)

http://cdn.buzznet.com/media/jjr/headlines/2011/03/saoirse-ronan-hanna-int.jpg
Saoirse Ronan stars as the title character in the upcoming thriller Hanna.

The 16-year-old Irish actress and recently sat down with FilmStage to chat about picking out the strong characters, martial arts training and working alongside Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett. Check it:

On her martial arts training: “[I liked] wing chun, which we used a lot because Hanna would be fighting people bigger and stronger than she is, and would have to use their strength against them. But Jeff [Eric Bana] would also put Hanna’s own spin on the styles.”

On liking ‘freaks’: “I want all the roles that I play to hold challenges. With lots of action and a layered character, Hanna had them for me. It’s unlike any other drama that I’ve done. Here is a teenager who has been raised in a forest and has gotten all her education from her father; she’s never even met anyone else before. We meet her as she goes out on her own, and when she does she is fascinated by everyone and everything she comes across. My favorite quality of hers is that she is non-judgmental; she shows an open mind to, and a fascination with, everything. She’s a bit of a freak. But, I like that; I like freaks.”

On working with Cate and Eric: “[Cate] is someone I look up to. I admire her work ethic and her professionalism. Sharing a scene with her, she gives you so much – yet manages to be so contained and not give away too much when she doesn’t need to. Eric is a terrific actor and is lovely to be around. He is like a ray of light on the set. He’s hilarious, and would keep me smiling on the coldest days in Finland.”
See our Hanna thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60077)for more.

doug maverick

03-28-2011, 04:59 PM

Robert Downey Jr. is pretty serious about The Chun.

David Mamet is a dedicated jiu jitsu practitioner (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1012804/). Probably wouldn't qualify as a celebrity, but he's a pretty famous writer.

I heard Lindsay Lohan does cardio kickboxing.

ofcourse mamet qualifies as a celeb...he is david ****ing mamet.

GeneChing

06-02-2011, 09:41 AM

I know, sort of random, but it came up on the newsfeed today...

Artist spotlight: DJ Kimberly S (http://www.outandaboutnewspaper.com/article/4751)
by O&AN Staff Reports
Jun 1, 2011
By Ellen Angelico

http://www.outandaboutnewspaper.com/images/upload/image/KimberlyS.jpg
DJ Kimberly S tours the world spinning records at some of the hottest parties from Brazil to Beijing and everywhere in between. A woman of diverse interests, she’s also a black belt.

"I recently opened my very own martial arts studio in Hollywood called Kick! Martial Arts," she says. "We specialize in a blended style of Taekwondo that encompasses Hapkido and Kuksoolwon as well. We also have an extremely popular Kickboxing program. It's been my dream and I'm loving every minute of it!"

So how does this fit in with being an in-demand, world famous DJ?

"I'm still DJing full steam ahead, and just recently played in Bangkok, Thailand for Song Kran, which is the Thai New Year," says Kimberly. "It was an absolutely amazing party! As soon as I returned home, I had to fly up to Vancouver for a gig at Celebrities."

Obviously, Kimberly is a very busy lady. She’s worked on numerous records, including three compilations for Centaur Music, the disc Rapture on Frank Abraham’s AM label, and her own compilation CD called Music to Wear for Andrew Christian’s men’s clothing line. She’s appeared on television on the WB hit show Charmed, as well as in national photo spreads for the John Paul Mitchell Systems hair care line. The secret to her success? She says it’s all about setting goals: "It’s the best way to get what you want out of life - and it really works!"

Kimberly started her now vast music career out humbly as a buyer for retail music chains. It was in this capacity that she met a local DJ and cut him a deal on new singles in exchange for mixing lessons. She practiced and hustled (in the same club for eight years!) and word eventually spread of her prowess. While headlining at Girlbar in L.A., Kimberly met Jeffrey Sanker, who recruited her for "Factory Saturdays," the most popular night at L.A.’s largest gay disco.

Her career has continued to grow since, but not without some resistance.

“I often felt that there were some people that didn’t take me seriously because I was a woman," Kimberly says. "I definitely felt that I had to prove myself as a woman who could hold her own against the male DJs."

Arguably, she has more than proved herself, playing at some of the largest parties in the United States. She’s played at Miami’s Winter Party, Chicago’s Fireball, Orlando’s One Mighty Party, and Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Additionally, from 2004 to last year she’s headlined international tours in the Philippines, Taipei, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico.

At the heart of this crazy schedule is a deep appreciate for music.

"I am a lover of house music in its purest form," Kimberly explains. "House and Dance integrates all different genres into its flow, and as a result, it enables people to feel an array of different emotions: joy, love, nostalgia, inhibition, passion… I want my sets to serve it all to my fans on the dance floor."

GeneChing

11-01-2011, 09:19 AM

Does this count? At least it made the headline.

Kung fu star Susan Boyle? (http://www.list.co.uk/article/38436-kung-fu-star-susan-boyle/)
Source: bang showbiz
Date: 1 November 2011

Susan Boyle practices her kung fu moves in a store in China while wearing a red-patterned kimono in new TV documentary, 'Susan Boyle: An Unlikely Superstar'.

Susan Boyle practices her kung fu moves in a store in China in a new TV documentary.

The Scottish singing sensation is seen running around the shop wearing a red-patterned kimono while performing wild chops and punching her arms out, in scenes from 'Susan Boyle: An Unlikely Superstar'.

Filmed during her trip to the Far East ahead of the final of 'China's Got Talent' - which she performed at - the scenes saw stunned staff look on in amazement as she attempted to perform martial arts at the Shanghai shop.

And it seems Susan - who shot to worldwide fame when she auditioned for 'Britain's Got Talent' in 2009, which she eventually finished second in - wanted to make the most of shopping in China as she rarely visits them when she's in London.

The 50-year-old star - who is worth an estimated £7 million - said: "I only go shopping in M&S when I come to London. It's handiest for clothes, isn't it?"

Susan also revealed in the documentary - which will air on ITV1 on Friday (04.11.11) at 9pm - she doesn't expect her career to last forever.

She said: "Everybody has a sell-by date. When that comes, they'll let you know. Until then I'm just going to enjoy it."

GeneChing

11-07-2011, 04:44 PM

Not really.

Mark Zuckerberg And Larry Page Fight On Fortune's Awesome Martial Arts Cover (http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-and-larry-page-fight-on-fortunes-awesome-martial-arts-cover-2011-11)
Noah Davis | Nov. 4, 2011, 2:57 PM

http://static7.businessinsider.com/image/4eb434feecad045d6d000004/fortune-mark-zuckerberg-larry-page.png

GeneChing

12-09-2011, 10:25 AM

You gotta follow the link for this. J-Lo doing Capoeira! I only copies a few of the pix....

Now that’s belly dancing! Jennifer Lopez exposes taut midriff as she cartwheels through Brazilian routine (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2071779/Jennifer-Lopez-exposes-taut-midriff-cartwheels-Brazilian-routine.html?ito=feeds-newsxml)
By Leah Simpson
Last updated at 11:38 AM on 9th December 2011

She may be a 42-year-old mother-of-two but this Latino queen can move like the rest of them.

Jennifer Lopez wowed the crowds on the beaches of Montevideo today as she took part in a martial arts dance routine on Ingleses beach - and showed off her impressively toned stomach.

Estranged husband Marc Anthony might want to look away as the mother of his twins Max and Emmie got up close and personal with a group of topless men on the Uruguay shore.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/08/article-0-0F1B8F3F00000578-177_634x717.jpg
Dancing queen: Jennifer Lopez shows off her impressive cartwheeling skills as she films scenes for her Latin reality show in Uruguay today

Jennifer ditched the high heel shoes but managed to move in tight jeans to perform a cartwheel as part of a Capoeira routine.

The star rolled her red top up to reveal her taut tummy as she got involved with the Brazilian combination of dance and fight performers at Playa de los Ingleses (Englishmen's Beach).

Despite going through a separation Lopez - who is now dating her back-up dancer Casper Smart - was all smiles as she got on with casting for her TV reality show Q' Viva: The Chosen.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/08/article-0-0F1B87BB00000578-837_634x645.jpg
New tricks: Lopez was learning the Brazilian performance art Capoeira, a mixture of fight, dance and music

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/08/article-0-0F1B874600000578-182_634x672.jpg
Take that: Jennifer had boundless energy as she performed a series of manoeuvres on the beach in Playa de los Ingleses

Take that: Jennifer had boundless energy as she performed a series of manoeuvres on the beach in Playa de los Ingleses

The olive-skinned beauty arrived on set with a snakeskin clutch and oversized sunglasses which she kept on throughout.

The single mother wasn’t too shy about getting touchy feely with the muscular men in grass skirts either.

She left onlookers gasping in amazement as she pulled off high kicks in the sweltering sun.

The scoop back in her crop top helped to keep her cool on the latest stop on the South American Tour for her talent show.

The active shots come immediately after it was claimed her ex-partner refused to film scenes for her new project due to clashing over taking their children on holiday with her back up dancer flame Casper.

They apparently had a massive row in Morocco which has now caused tension between the pair.