Rustic B. Martial arts and Parkour expert. (Interview)

Rustic Bodomov

Rustic Bodomov has over a decade of experience in martial arts with training specialization in Judo, TKD, Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, and boxing. He also has 7 years of Parkour and freerunning experience. He's been featured on camera in films, television and commercials on numerous occasions. 

How did you get your first paid gig as a stunt person? 

I moved out to Los Angeles specifically to pursue stunt work. Before I moved out, I already had a little bit of screen fighting experience (gained from making videos with my friends), and several years worth of parkour videos I used to make..so I cut together a showreel for myself in order to market myself.

Right after I moved to Los Angeles, I started training at several gymnastics gyms in the area and asking around about where the stunt people trained. After meeting a couple of working stunt people, and making some friends, I was referred to do some tumbling on a music video as a favor for a friend. My first paid stunt job came as another referral after that music video, I was asked to be the main character for this video - https://vimeo.com/40581867

If one wants to break into action movies, do you think it's easier to start out as a stunt person and then become an actor or is it better to go straight into acting?

I don't have a straight answer to this one. Both paths are difficult for their own reasons, I would recommend for the aspiring action actor and/or stuntman to decide which direction you want to go for yourself, then take it. Becoming good at acting, just like stunts, takes hard work and time to get good at. If you want to be an action actor like Jackie Chan, starting with stunts will teach you set etiquette and how a film is run, as well as educate you on how to safely perform your own stunts.. but going directly into acting will start getting you established as a "name" which can be attached to sell a movie.

How many times on average does one have to do a stunt before the director is satisfied with it?

This varies from stunt to stunt, and director to director. If a stuntman is asked to do a high fall, or a similarly large stunt or wreck, everyone will be pushing for only one take. From personal experience, I've only been asked to do a "big" stunt for a maximum of 2-3 takes.

When you get into fight choreography, the amount of takes will start to rise because you have more factors involved (such as a moving camera person, several performers, varying energy levels), and you can start seeing upwards of 5-10 takes per shot. Jackie Chan is known for doing some of his "trick" stunts over 100 times to get it just right!

At what martial arts skill level would you recommend someone to make a showreel of themselves for marketing purposes?

If you are going to be pursuing a career in the action film industry, I'd recommend getting yourself some good looking footage soon. The sooner you have something you can use to get jobs for yourself, the better. If you don't have the ability to create something that accurately reflects your skill, I'd wait until you start working with other people and get enough good footage for a 1 min video (this is a good, short, sweet length for a reel).

Important Side Note!! Martial Arts skill level is not important when it comes to screen fighting skill, and they often times aren't even in the same boat. While Martial Arts will teach you proper body control, and will definitely help you make your Martial Arts style movement look great, you still want to train with some screen fighters in order to make yourself look good on camera. I come from a Martial Arts background, and I struggled for the longest time to be able to translate my skill level to film. (Martial Arts movements tend to be small and efficient, while good-looking screen fighting movements tent to be bigger, more showy, and sometimes aren't even proper technique.

What do you find is the best way to network in the martial arts community?

Honestly, I haven't really networked much with the Martial Arts community. I have made good friends with fellow Martial Artists in the stunt world, but my main networking happens within the stunt community in Los Angeles.

There are several ways to network in the stunt community. Several times a year, different groups of people host "stunt networking" events..and there are several awesome stuntmen who have great training equipment set up in their backyards, and let people come train with them. 

Personally, my favorite way of networking (and where most of my work stems from) is to become a real friend to the people I meet. I try and leave a good first impression while remaining honest to myself. People can usually tell when you're being sincere and open minded, and it will take you far in life. :)

No one teaches Parkour in our area. What's the best way to get started with it?

I also started learning Parkour when there were no gyms or instructors around! There are plenty of online resources for learning various parkour moves safely (I learned almost everything from YouTube), and you don't need to leave the ground (aka go on roofs) to learn how to do every type of movement!

My advice is, don't be afraid, get out there and start moving around and have fun! If you'd like a starting point, check out how to do a parkour roll 

What kind of diet do you have to keep up your strength and stamina?

I don't follow any set diet plan, but I do try and keep my food intake clean. This means that on a good week, I will stay away from any bread, fried or processed food. I don't drink soda. I try to eat as many green vegetables as I can, along with a good source of protein (chicken, beans, etc). Greek Yoghurt and Chick Peas are amazing too... I might be getting too particular here, but my basic nutritional philosophy is to stay away from anything processed, deep fried, or carbonated. It just feels so good to eat clean!

What projects are you currently working on that can we can look forward to in the future?

I'm currently helping produce my first feature film, called "Boone: The Bounty Hunter", which stars my friend John Hennigan (aka, WWE's Johnny Nitro).

Also, I just doubled one of the main actors on "SMOSH: The Movie" which comes out later this year/early next, and I'm waiting on a couple of VFX-heavy projects I starred in last year to be finished. My side project for the time being is my youtube channel.

Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?

You've probably heard this before, but it's true.. only you can do anything you set your mind to! I've learned time and again that the secret for creating success in anything you set out to do is to do it with a positive attitude and to really invest in yourself with hard work. What would the future, successful you be doing right now? Training? Writing? Filming? Be the person you see yourself being in the future, today! 

Thank you very much for your time, and for asking such great questions guys! :)

Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate Expert - William Christopher Ford.

William Christoher Ford is a 5th degree blackbelt in Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 by the Masters Hall of Fame. He's been featured in over a dozen films and is often cast in theatric work. He also played a supporting role in Karate Kid III.

How did failing your first black belt test affect you? Do you believe having the possibility of failure on your promotion test is a good thing? Why?

First of all, "Failing" is simply not getting the result you wanted or expected at the time. "Failing" was one of my best teachers. I learned that I was not prepared… my stances were weak, my stamina insufficient, my visual and mental focus all over the place. ..so I took the lessons of that experience and trained harder and worked on my shortcomings. I started running and doing rope work, practiced my kata more seriously, and prepared myself mentally. When I took the test again, several months later, I was better prepared and I passed. I learned the value of working hard for and earning what I wanted, goal setting, persistence, humility, and the dangers of being overconfident. These are invaluable lessons that I might not have learned had I not "failed".

Can you tell us about your most memorable moment in your martial arts career.

My most memorable moment in my martial arts career was opening Kaizen Dojo. It is joyful beyond measure to be able to share my experiences with my students and to be able to positively impact their lives empowering  them with self-protection skills, helping them to build their confidence and self-esteem, teaching them self-control and how to respect others and themselves. I love what I do and it is an honor and privilege for me to be able to do it as my primary career.

Name 3 characteristics that help someone become successful in martial arts.

Persistance, Desire, An open mind. And here is a 4th: Be a beginner every day.

What makes Kobayashi Ryu unique from the other 3 major schools of Shorin Ryu Karate?

The styles are similar, in my opinion, but the kata curriculum varies with each style and school. Sometimes the kata used are the same with slight differences and sometimes altogether different kata are used across the styles and dojos. 

Now, the way that I was taught Kobayashi Ryu is different than many other dojos, in that both Sensei Richard Rabago and Master Tadashi Yamashita emphasized lower stances, in order to strengthen the legs and hips, though not as low as say, Japanese Shotokan. But definitely lower than what you'll typically find in most Okinawan Karate. Probably closer to Shito Ryu. Also we do not use a deep back stance (kokutsu dachi). We use cat stance (neko ashi dachi), front stance (both lower and higher), horse stance, and sumo stance (shiko dachi) in our kata. 

In regards to what I teach at Kaizen Dojo… I teach traditional Shorin Ryu as a base but with a more modern approach. I am very open-minded and believe all styles have many great things to offer. I really like Western Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and Filipino Arnis too. Concepts from these arts are brought into our curriculum. Wrestling, Pencak Silat, Kung Foo San Soo, Wing Chun, Hung Gar, Aikido, Judo, all have great value in their own way. 

I believe kata is a template and the techniques can be applied in a myriad of different ways. But kata must have a combative application and these applications must be practiced in a variety of situations with an ever increasing level of resistance from your training partners… that is critical. Without that, you have a pretty , little dance. There must always be a combative attitude and application. But more important than any "style",  is situational awareness, verbal de-escalation, diffusing the situation if possible, and Run Foo ("RUN, FOO!") if you can escape.

What are the clues that a student should look for that reveal the fact that a martial arts school is genuinely interested in sharing their martial arts knowledge for the love of it or just interested in the money?

Watch the instructor teach. Does his teaching style resonate with you? Look at the quality of the students. Ask a ton of questions.  See if he pressures you to commit right away. Talk to the other parents. Check the school out on YELP. Remember high tuition does not necessarily mean that the school is only about the money. If they are offering a high quality program with tremendous value, than it might be worth the investment, however, I would be wary of long-term contracts that you can't cancel easily, hidden fees, price gouging on testing fees and equipment and if all the students are testing every month regardless of skill and you see 7 year old black belts running around the school, run the other way!

Critics state Karate styles have no defense techniques against ground fighting. Is this true? If so, how do you offset this with your school’s training?

I have no emotional attachment to any one style. One must use whatever is effective and appropriate to the situation. BJJ is taught at our school by Jocelyn Chang, a black belt who has studied BJJ for 19 years. Guro Marc Lawrence teaches Filipino Arnis at Kaizen Dojo. They are both very complementary to karate (old style Okinawan karate or modern sport karate). But there is no one style that is the be all and end all. A martial artist should be open-minded, well rounded, and adaptable. That's why I admire and respect fighters like Lyota Machida, Georges St. Pierre, and Jon Jones. They have been able to utilize their karate, muay thai, and boxing skills effectively against their opponents as well as their grappling skills.

What advice would you give a 15 year old on how to pursue his goal to act in a martial arts movie?

Study the martial arts and action films you like. Why do you like them? What makes them work in regards to story, acting, action, soundtrack, editing. Listen to the filmmakers' commentaries on how the film was made. Analyze the fights. Look at the angles and how they were shot.

Get a camera and start putting your own fights together. Learn the difference between a real fight or sparring and a fight meant for a film and yet again, a fight meant for a stage production. All are different. Often times moves that work in a real fight can't be read by the camera which means your audience isn't getting it or they are seeing all the "misses" in the fights because they are shot poorly.

Learn to edit.

Take a few acting classes. You eventually want to get into a class that teaches acting for film and television meaning they use a camera to record your performance in  class so you can get feedback. This can be a very painful process but you will learn very quickly the difference between what works for the stage and what works for film and television. If you should ever come to Los Angeles, I have a few great teachers that I could recommend. Hone your craft and keep honing it.

Get involved with student films and indie films to gain experience and to network. This can be invaluable. Most of these don't have the budget to pay their actors but you will learn a LOT! And usually, you get CCM (copy, credit, meal). Ask to get a copy of the completed project but also of your scenes. You won't always be successful in getting a copy but it's always worth asking for. Now, many of these folks own their own equipment or have access to people who do and they are often looking to shoot something while they are in between projects. These are the people you want to become friends with. They might be interested in shooting an action short (or a feature!)

Build your network and keep building it.  You can find out about various projects that are being cast through actor submission websites like Nowcasting.com ( great for student films and indies), Castingnetworks.com and Actorsaccess.com.

Nurture your  relationships with stunt people, martial artists, actors, filmmakers, casting, cinematographers, sound people, editors. Network.

You may want to eventually consider self -producing at some point. Not easy but worth considering.

You eventually may find yourself a big fish in a little pond. Don't be afraid to become eventually a smaller fish in a bigger pond if

you want to move up.

Stay humble. Stay balanced.

Have a plan, a plan B, and a plan C.

Never give up.

Have fun!

For more details about William Christopher Ford, visit his professional webite and his dojo's website.

Interview with Mackensi Emory - Karate and XMA Expert

karate

Mackensi Emory is winner of 38 world championship titles. She has been shown on ESPN2 multiple times. She also maintains a straight A's at the same time. 

BKO Kung Fu: How do you find time to practice martial arts so much and still maintain an "A" average in school? Most of my friends have a hard enough time just doing one of them?

Mackensi: My schooling has always been very important to me.  My parents and coaches have always stressed school before sports.  If my grades started to suffer then I knew I would need to give up my extra activities and devote more time to my studies.

I grew up from an early age with a busy schedule.  At one point, I was taking gymnastics, dance, piano and karate; as well as going to public school.  I learned to use every minute of spare time wisely.  I would work on my homework while in the car on the way to gymnastics or karate.  I learned time management and how to be very well organized.

  

Not to say this didn't have its challenges.  I had to make some tough choices along the way.  At one point, I was doing competitive gymnastics (thru level 8), competitive sport karate, and competitive dance all at the same time.  My gymnastics practices were requiring between 20 - 25 hours per week alone.  It was clear that there were not enough hours in the day to do everything.  I had to chose just one competitive sport since all three required so much time on their own.  Both my parents work full time jobs so home schooling was out of the question.  I ultimately chose to continue my passion for martial arts, competitive sport karate and tricking.

The most difficult part of balancing my sport karate competitions with school is the time missed due to travel.  Most competitions take place on Friday and Saturday and are on the east coast.  I live in California so this means that I miss at least two days of school when I travel to compete.  In high school, making up for lost time often requires much more work than would be required if I would have been at school on those days.  Some teachers are understanding but others don't understand or support what I do so they treat it like I am on a vacation.  If sport karate were a school sport then it would be much easier as my absences would be excused.  Overall, it takes a lot of effort to balance my sport with school and maintain high grades.

   

BKO: What inspires you to continue winning world championship titles after you have won 38?

Mackensi: I currently hold 38 World Championship titles from different circuits across a number of different divisions (Creative Forms, Extreme Forms, Musical Forms, Traditional Forms, Creative Weapons, Extreme Weapons, Musical Weapons, Traditional Weapons, Team Demonstration and Team Synchronized Forms).  But I don't compete because of the titles or the trophies.  That is not what motivates or inspires me.  I compete against the best competition I can find to help push myself to be the best I can possibly be.  It is those other competitors who really inspire me to keep competing and pushing my own limits.  There are always areas to improve and competition helps me accomplish those goals.  The World Championship titles are just a nice byproduct :)

BKO: What is the trick took you the longest to learn? What changed mentally during the process of learning it?

Mackensi: At the end of 2010, at the age of 14, I became the first female to ever land a double corkscrew.  It took me almost two years to learn the trick and land it consistently.  Because I worked on landing it for so long that meant I had to learn not to become too discouraged and give up along the way.  I had to break down my attempts and look for the smaller improvements and use those as victories and accomplishments in order to keep driving me forward to my ultimate goal.  

BKO: What does it take to make the National Blackbelt League Hall of Fame at the age of 12? (besides hard work and dedication)

Mackensi: The National Blackbelt League (NBL) Hall of Fame is an award is based on being the competitor with the most number of points in a given NBL conference.  I received the award in 2008 and also won 4 NBL Supergrands World Championship titles that same year.

BKO: You have had to deal with some injuries along the way. Can you tell our readers about them and how you were able to progress during that time frame despite them?

Mackensi: I have been pretty lucky as far as serious injuries go.  I have broken my wrist (gymnastics injury), broken my 5th metatarsal bone in my foot, pulled muscles, bruised bones and have had many different bumps and bruises along the way.  It is all part of the sport and I have learned to deal with a certain level of aches and pains.  I train through most of it and adapt my training to deal with any specific injury.  For example, when I broke the bone in my foot, I still practiced and even competed.  I adjusted my practices and focused on what I could do, which is still quite a lot.  I feel it is important to keep the same training schedule as before the injury even if the training itself is modified.   Skipping practices is a habit I don't want to create. 

BKO: What has been your biggest rewards from your training?

Mackensi: My biggest rewards from my training are my physical and mental strength, overall fitness level, learning how to set goals and achieve them and confidence in my abilities.  I feel these will serve me well into my future no matter where that takes me.

BKO: Tell us something about yourself most people don't know.

Mackensi: Aside from martial arts tricks I could already do from practicing gymnastics (flash kick...), the 540 kick was the first trick I learned.  It took me a few days to learn it and I was 8 years old.  Also, I eat carrots at every tournament before I compete.  

BKO: What are you looking to accomplish after you finish school?

Mackensi: After I finish high school, I plan on going to college.   I would also like to move to LA while I am still young and continue to pursue entertainment opportunities.  I also plan to continue tricking, competing, traveling  and teaching seminars.

To find out more about Mackensi Emory visit, http://www.mackensiemory.com

Interview with Guy Mezger

We are excited to bring you an email interview with Guy Mezger, winner of UFC 13 Light Heavyweight Tournament. He’s volunteered some of his precious time to answer some questions from my son Brandon. 

 Guy Mezger Highlights

Brandon: You have a background in Karate, Kickboxing and Boxing. Which of these did you find the most helpful in UFC fighting and why?

Guy: Actually my background was in wrestling first.  I wrestled as a kid thru college and started karate when I was 14.  I basically did karate & wrestling until I turned pro at age 20.  Wrestling is by far one of the main disciplines of MMA. You are not going to go far without wrestling training. Then I would say for me, boxing / kickboxing was the next important.  It’s kind of hard to say because I also trained & competed in Judo along w/ kickboxing.  Later I trained catch wrestling and Braziilain jujitsu. (I trained with some of the great catch wrestlers of Japan.)

Brandon: Who was the toughest opponent you ever beat? What was your strategy to defeat them? 

Guy: Beating the legendary Masa Funakai was my best win. My strategy for beating him was to out- smart him and out work him.  I, also, kept the fight standing; thanks to my superior wrestling ability. I also beat him up pretty badly with kicks and punches.  

Brandon: What is the difference between people training for the UFC vs. main stream martial arts classes?

Guy: Intensity level of pro fighters is the main difference and usually the UFC/pro fighters have more skills 

Brandon:  What was your training schedule like when you were preparing for a fight?

Guy: It was tough.  8:00 boxing/kickboxing training…12:00 or 1:00 was grappling…6:00 strength & conditioning 

Brandon: You run a very successful MMA school in Dallas called Guy Mezger's Combat Sport Club. What makes your school different than everyone else’s?

Guy: I have brought together the very best trainers from various displines.  My coaches are not just a judo coach or a kickboxing coach etc., they are the best judo coach or the best kickboxing coach.  I do my best to create an atmosphere of unity, intensity and leadership by example at all levels regardless if you are a pro or beginner.  

Brandon: Can you tell us who your number one mentor has been in your MMA career? What are 3 things you learned from him?

Guy: Billye Jack Jackson (my coach for over 15 yrs), 1) He taught me that good character was more important than winning (& all real winners had good character); 2) Hard work is not a talking point but any action point.  You are either willing to train like the champ or you are not.  The results speak for themselves. 3) Be grateful for the blessings you receive.

Brandon:  What was your mindset before your very first fight? How did you overcome any nervousness?

Guy:  For my first fight I was a wreck mentally & I am not sure if I ever really overcame being nervous.  I just went out there and took care of business.  I became more relaxed with each fight.  

Thank you for conduction this question and answer session with us Guy. You made a terrific impression on us by your quick response time and willingness to help with Brandon’s goals. We wish you good fortune with your future endeavors. 

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