Martial Arts Interview: Anna Kristina Ranoso

kristina Ranoso

Martial Arts Interview: Anna Ranoso

Anna Ranoso is an accomplished martial artist with backgrounds in Taekwondo, Wushu, Muay Thai, and XMA. She also has a growing career in music and movie stunt work. 

When did you start your martial arts career? How did it come about?

My career in martial arts first started in 2009, a few months after I had moved to California. I originally came to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music, but after performing martial arts in live shows for a few corporate events, I was hooked!

While performing with the martial arts troupe, I was training at open gyms & met a few stunt people who helped me get into TV & film. There were also people who had seen the work I had done through my troupe that contacted me and helped make the transition.

Anna Kristina Ranoso Action Reel

What are some of the differences between film combat and regular combat?

In film combat, movements are large and for the camera. For film, you must consider camera angles, aesthetics & safety.

In regular combat, movements use economy of motion & less telegraphing.

But the biggest difference is that in real combat, the goal is to win, whether it be to defend yourself or overcome another person. In film combat the goal is make things look good as safely as possible.

Have you ever used martial arts in a real life situation? If so, tell us about it.

Martial arts is not just movement. Martial arts is a spirit one embodies. I use martial arts every day in striving to live in the most authentic way possible.

Tell us about XMA and your involvement with it..

I studied XMA for a year and I very much enjoyed the teaching, movement & culture that goes along with it. It is about doing your best and being your best at all times. XMA continues to progress and push the envelope with new, cutting edge movements. Competitors keep advancing their forms, getting better, & growing in their art.

What's your favorite thing about being a stunt actress?

Everything! I love it all!

Tell use about your band. Where we can we listen to your music?

I am currently in between bands but my old music can be found on itunes and my YouTube channel  www.youtube.com/krisranoso . I am working on new music projects that will be released next year. For updates, you can visit my website at www.annakristinaranoso.com

How do you make time to do all these activities?

There is always time for what you love.

Can  you share with us your future goals and what we can expect from you next. 

In the past year I have been training in different forms of movement that I plan on sharing very soon! I did some stunt acting in the movie Black Sky which should be in theaters this or next year.

Up next for me is to continue in stunts, martial arts, & music. I plan on putting out more media and hopefully being involved in more film & TV projects!

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

Train hard, be consistent, live passionately, love with your whole heart, believe in yourself and believe in others. Don't be afraid to be you. Be good to yourself and be good to others. Happy training!

Anna, thank you for interviewing with our site. We had a lot of fun watching your YouTube videos and can't wait to see you in Dark Sky.

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

Chloe Bruce Interview - Champion Martial Artist

Chloe Bruce is a world champion Martial Artist from England and has performed stunts in huge movies; such as, World War Z and Pirates of the Caribbean 4. She's even been Motion Captured to provide input to popular video games. How cool is that?   

Brandon: Chloe, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for BKO Kung Fu. 

Brandon: What's one of your favorite things about being a stunt actor?

Chloe: One of my favourite things about performing in movies and doubling as an actress is that every experience is completely different. Everyday you are facing challenges, over coming fears, and it's an incredible feeling. On top of that, it has to be when you see the movie in cinema, and you see all your hard work pay off. I always dreamed of that since I was young and now what once was my dream has become my reality :) 

Brandon: Which stunt(s) performed in a major movie has given you the most recognition in the stunt world? How does someone spot you? 

Chloe: Well I normally get used in movies for my fight skill, so I would like to think that people recognise the way I fight, or my kicks come out. But I have one film coming out next year whereby I'm sure many people will recognise me! :) 

Chloe Bruce 2010 Showreel

Brandon: Can you tell us what it takes to become a black belt 4th Dan in Tang Soo Do?

Chloe: A black belt 4th Dan... Well it takes a lot of hard work. Years of dedication and passion! 

I have trained for over 20 years now and I received my 4th Dan in 2008 it was an incredible moment in my life.

Brandon: How has your flexibility helped your progress in martial arts?

Chloe: I think flexibility is very important within martial arts. Although without having the strength also, it isn't as beneficial. A combination of the two is deadly. Being flexible can only enhance your kicks, and help you to gain maximum control and precision over your kicks. 

Brandon: What are some of the differences in Tang Soo Do and Xtreme martial arts?

Chloe: Tang Soo Do is a traditional Korean martial art. It has a syllabus that you study, whereby you go through the ranks from white belt to black. This usually takes on average around 3/4 years. 

Extreme Martial arts, (XMA) on the other hand, is a complete freestyle sport. You take the elements of your traditional background, mix it up with some gymnastics, tricking, powerful kick and hand combos and there you have a beautiful art. The benefit of XMA is that you can totally express yourself however you want. When competing in XMA whether it be with weapons or open hand, you usually perform to music. So it gives you complete control over choreography, music choice, etc to make it your own. 

Brandon: What are some difficulties you had to over come while training in martial arts.

Chloe: I haven't had any major set backs within my training. However I am only human, so sometimes things do get hard, or I find it hard to get motivated. But at the end of the day it's not only my career, it's my passion, and hobby also. I'm such a competitive person. So, if I don't train for a few days I feel guilty, and get straight back on it again. Sometimes it's nice to take a break and I come back feeling stronger. 

Brandon: What was it like performing along side your sister at the MF championships?

Chloe: It was good fun performing alongside my sister at the MF championships. We haven't performed as much together this last year or so, as we have been really busy with our individual careers, so it's always a pleasure to perform with Grace. She is the best doubles partner over ever had. We can read each other so well, so it's so easy to perform with Grace. 

Thank you for taking time out to tell us a little about yourself. We wish you well on your future endevors and look forward to following your career at the Chloe Bruce website.

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