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Thread: Celebrities studying martial arts?

  1. #151
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    Uhura 2009!

    First Anya, now Zoe? Life is good.
    Zoe 'needed a dictionary'
    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."


    oooh, another big pic.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #152
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    Quote Originally Posted by sanjuro_ronin View Post
    **** Gene, you can see the emerging pubes on that russian pic you posted !!!
    this is sick...but I was thinking the same thing
    "The true meaning of a given movement in a form is not its application, but rather the unlimited potential of the mind to provide muscular and skeletal support for that movement." Gregory Fong

  3. #153
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    Gisele Bundchen

    This made my Monday. Remember that Vogue spread?
    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.”
    Gene Ching
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  4. #154
    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.

  5. #155
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    Diamond Dave:

  6. #156
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    David Lee Roth when he was with Van Halen...
    The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire.
    ~ Mark Twain

    Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
    ~ Joe Lewis

    A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.
    ~ Author unknown

    "You don't feel lonely.Because you have a lively monkey"

    "Ninja can HURT the Spartan, but the Spartan can KILL the Ninja"

  7. #157
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    Celebrities doing martial arts

    This article is just tailor-made to be posted here.
    Celebrities Doing Martial Arts
    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.
    Gene Ching
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  8. #158
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    More of Gisele

    With this kind of endorsement, perhaps it's time to take out an ad in Vogue.
    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.
    Gene Ching
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  9. #159
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    Ok, found her sifu An ex wahlum-now-wushu/taichi guy who teaches other celebrities...
    Last edited by TaichiMantis; 03-16-2010 at 10:28 AM.
    "The true meaning of a given movement in a form is not its application, but rather the unlimited potential of the mind to provide muscular and skeletal support for that movement." Gregory Fong

  10. #160
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    Amy Winehouse!

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

    Amy gets her kicks
    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
    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.

    Gene Ching
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  11. #161

    Putin

    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.

  12. #162

    Forest Whitaker

    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.

  13. #163
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    one out of two, enoajnin

    We did Putin already. Whitaker is new.

    Now for someone completely new: Noomi Rapace. I started a separate The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo thread.

    Noomi Rapace is the ideal girl with the dragon tattoo
    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.
    Gene Ching
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  14. #164
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    Jewel Lee

    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
    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.
    Gene Ching
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  15. #165
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    which reminds me

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

    Earth Mother

    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.
    Gene Ching
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    Author of Shaolin Trips
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