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| Stefan Morawietz |
Stefan Morawietz is a Wushu Expert from Germany and was on the National Wushu Team. He has spent many years doing movies and TV shows in Shanghai and Hong Kong. He has done very well for himself in this field and is a well-known star in the Eastern market. He also played a role in our favorite film IP Man 2.
BKO Kung Fu: What does it take to qualify for a national Wushu team? Is it as tough as making the Olympics? What's the tryouts like?
Stefan: When I was competing, you had to be National Champion in at least one of the so-called Wushu standard disciplines. In my case, these were Nanquan (Southern Fist), Qiangshu (spear), and Jianshu (straight sword). Apart from these, I used to be a multiple gold medalist in the traditional forms, as well… with Zuiquan (Drunken Style) probably being my favorite.
I started out in the mid-eighties, when the international level was still somewhat low… meaning, it was much easier back than to make it into the National Team than it is today.
Moreover, although we had difficult elements like aerials and butterfly twists at the time, the technical bar has risen considerably since and the sport has become even more acrobatic.
Is it tough? You bet. The sacrifices you have to make, the time, the hard cash and the amount of energy you need to pour into a sport as demanding and complex as Wushu are immense. But, since Wushu is far from being a popular sport with the crowds, this can be a fairly thankless task. Without really loving this sport, you’re bound to feel like fighting a lost cause at times. But, I’m not complaining. Wushu has enriched my life in many ways, and if I had to do it all again, I wouldn’t hesitate one second.
BKO Kung Fu: Tell us about Wushu training in China.
Stefan: For a foreigner, there are various possibilities of joining Wushu classes in China. There’s the tiny backyard clubs, the legions of private teachers, the official university classes, open training groups in public parks, the big schools and academies like the ones at the Shaolin- or the Wudang monasteries, etc.
It pretty much depends on your goals, your budget, your connections, and last but not least your language skills. Having said that, quality is definitely not always price-related.
Thanks to some good "guangxi", I had the privilege to train with the pro teams of Zhejiang and Hebei for several months, which was a hell of an experience. There were 8 hours of training minimum each day. A typical training day went like this: 6.00 am - running, 7:00 am - breakfast, 8.00 am - training (mostly basics, jumps, and kicks), 12:00 am - lunch, 2:00 pm - training (e.g. bare-handed routines, weapons), 6:00 pm - dinner. Day in, day out.
BKO Kung Fu: What tends to be the hardest thing for people to grasp when they learn Wushu? How do you suggest they overcome these hurdles?
Stefan: Tough question. There is no one-fits-all answer to this. One of the big problems of modern Wushu seems to be that it has a bit of an identity crisis. A lot of people, even in China, are not sure how to pin down Wushu anymore… sport, combat, self-defense, art form, philosophy? Everybody has a different approach and focus.
If you dig the new Olympic version, you need to understand this, apart from passion and discipline, it takes a good deal of the right genetics to make it to the top. It’s become a competitive sport, after all. A lot of young athletes have talent in spades, but lack the necessary willpower. On the other hand, many have tremendous willpower, but aren’t blessed with the right genetics. In both cases, on an international level, you have less chance of success than a snowball in hell.
Another important thing is finding a good instructor. A word of advice from me in this regard: a top champion is not necessarily a top teacher. But how will you be able to tell? In my case, I learned more from one teacher in an hour than I had learned from another one in years. You know it when you see it.
BKO Kung Fu: How did you land your very first role in film? What did you do that lead up to the audition?
Stefan: That was pretty much by accident. Li Yanlong, my coach at the time, had a good rapport to Lan Haihan, a long-standing member of Sammo Hung’s stunt team and a well-known action director in China. One day, they needed some German-speaking actors with fighting skills for a Mainland Chinese TV production. They rang my coach up and asked him if he knew anyone fit for the job. So, I hopped on a plane to Shanghai, auditioned, got the part, and ended up staying in China for more than six years.
BKO Kung Fu: What's the difference in becoming a stunt actor in East Asia vs the United States.
Stefan: The main difference is, of course, in China you’re a foreigner. And this is just why you get hired. They need your face. So, when it comes to stunt work, we’re talking mainly fighting roles, plain and simple… the typical foreign devil stuff. This means that basically all the Caucasian action actors in Asia are martial artists or pro Wrestlers.
For all the other types of stunt work, they prefer Asian stuntmen. They’re not only much cheaper, they don’t give a damn about safety and insurance, either… plus, there’s an inexhaustible supply of young guys trying to become the next Jackie Chan. There’s a saying in the movie industry: you pick up a stone in China, and there’s a thousand Chinese stuntmen underneath.
As a stuntman in the United States or Europe, you’re mainly a stunt double, and nobody is ever going to see your face. Normally, over here you need to be a member of a well-established stunt team to get jobs, whereas in China a Caucasian stunt actor is pretty much a lone wolf with a local agent.
BKO Kung Fu: Tell us what it was like to be on the set of IP Man 2. This is our favorite movie.
Stefan: It was pretty cool, as you can imagine. Sure, there were some problems… long working hours, low pay, that kind of thing. There was some deadline pressure, too, and sometimes the atmosphere on the set got pretty heated. But meeting Donnie and Sammo in the flesh made up for it all, no question. Donnie is a pro to the core, keeps to himself, mostly. Sammo is a super-nice guy, very funny, sociable and considerate. He was recovering from heart surgery at the time of shooting, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell. A real tough nut.
Great experience, all in all.
BKO Kung Fu: What is has been your greatest accomplishment in life? Why?
Stefan: I sincerely hope I haven’t accomplished my greatest purpose yet. That would be a bit of a downer. The best is yet to come, as they say.
BKO Kung Fu: Have you ever been star struck? Tell us about one instance?
Stefan: I’m not an easy one to impress. I learned pretty fast that actors or "stars“ are just people, too. Some are nice, some are not so nice… and quite a few of them take themselves way too seriously.
But to be honest, there has been one incident when I was really blown away by an actress… and that was on the set of Ultraviolet, when Milla Jovovich said "Hi!" and flashed her mesmerizing smile at me. She’s a real beauty, and no matter what other people say, I found her extremely friendly and down-to-earth.
BKO Kung Fu: What's your favorite quote?
Stefan: I don’t have a favorite, really. Lots of smart people have said lots of smart things. There is a line from Arthur Schopenhauer I like a lot, though. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an official English translation of it. It goes somewhat like this: "While using quotes may account for your claim to erudition, it will certainly deprive you of your claim to originality."
BKO Kung Fu: Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?
Stefan: I’d like to thank all of you guys for still showing an interest in my movie and stunt work. But this stage of my life is drawing to a close, I’m afraid. I’m turning 50 this year, meaning it will get much quieter in this department for me from now on. I’m about to conquer new frontiers, though, and I’m looking forward to meeting those new challenges. Stay tuned!
Thank you Stefan for taking the time to answer our questions. We look forward to watching these new frontiers being conquered.
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