Big thanks to Francis Pineda of Jhoon Ree Tae Kwon Do in Arlington, Virginia for finding this in his VHS drawer. I believe this was the first 540 kick I ever through on the East Coast. The watermark is dated June 2, 1990 and it was a demo in either Washington D.C. or Boston.
OG spotlight: Dick Wei
You may not know Mr. Wei by name, but if you’re a fan of Hong Kong cinema (especially Sammo Hung films), you certainly recognize him as a martial artist, stuntman, and actor who was THE Hong Kong martial arts villain of the eighties.
I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Wei on my first film Long zai Tian ya (“Dragon Fight) starring Jet Li and Stephen Chow.
We shot Dragon Fight in Northern California 1988. Jet had recruited me into the business just a few months prior after seeing me at the Compete National Karate Championships in Irvine California.
It was my first stunt job and the first time I had even stepped onto a set. I hadn’t known anyone in the business at that point and wasn’t even aware that I was supposed to bring my own “stunt pads” to set, so I ended up stuffing my waistband with t-shirts and towels for a hillside fall I did.
My first filmed fight scene as a "thug" was with Dick Wei on Long zai Tian ya ("Dragon Fight) starring Jet Li and Stephen Chow.
I clearly remember my fight scene with Mr. Wei - we started one of the shots with me throwing a spinning back kick to his chest. I was so excited to be there that I kept throwing my kick on “roll cameras” … as opposed to the obvious “action” cue.
I kept thumping Mr. Wei in the chest with pretty hard back kicks, but he never lost his temper - he just kept repeating to me “wait until action.”
The entire crew got a good laugh out of it and Mr. Wei was kind enough to offer a new rookie lots of helpful advice throughout the rest of that shoot. The world may know him as a villain, but I will always remember him as giving and kind mentor.
Here’s a nice compilation pf his work I found on youtube…
You know, I have no idea why I never caught this movie when it was first released in the states in 2002. But after recently watching clips on youtube, this film is going on the top of my to-dvd list.
Yesterday I posted on my Facebook page that I was shocked to hear that a few teens I had spoken to had absolutely no idea who Bruce Lee was. It got me thinking about all our great OGs that have paved the way for us and that will hopefully not go overlooked by the following generations.
For our “Know your OGs Category”, let’s start today with Buster Keaton. Along with Douglass Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd, Mr. Keaton was a genius of physical comedy who did his own stunts….in a time before the special effects, camera tricks, and sophisticated wirework that we have today. His cameramen were told to keep rolling until he yelled “cut” or was killed.
Buster Keaton (1895-1966) was one of the best known and most respected of the silent film comedians. Dubbed “The Great Stone Face” for his stoic demeanor, he wrote, directed and produced many of his films in the 1920s and 1930s. An innovator behind the camera as well as in front of it, Keaton was lauded for his sometimes dangerous brand of physical comedy and impeccable comic timing.
Here’s a continuation of the Oscar blog I posted a few days ago. Check out the latest tricking reel from Jeremy, Anis, and Daniel…
I have to admit, his form on Jump Spin Hook Kick is actually pretty good!
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Congratulations to my boy Victor Lopez of Team Tempest for placing 2nd Place at the Barlclay Freerunning World Championships in London earlier this year! Victor, Rich King, and the rest of Team Tempest are the best in the world at what they do.
Grandmaster Ark Yuey Wong (January 11, 1900 - January 11, 1987)
I had the great pleasure of meeting Grandmaster Ark Yuey Wong as a grade schooler when my father was doing research on an article he was writing on the Chinese-American experience. I remember attentively sitting on his weathered hardwood floor listening to his early stories of kung fu battles in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Historically renowned for his expertise in the legendary Shaolin Five Animal Kung Fu System (Tiger, Dragon, Leopard, Snake, Crane), Grandmaster Wong is considered to be the Father of American Kung Fu.
I got choked up when on my first television project (Nasty Boys), I realized that our location was at Grandmaster Wong’s Chinatown studio. He had already passed by then and I had not returned since meeting him there as a child. It was a magical day for me and I couldn’t have asked for a better venue to shoot in.
I hope I still have the Inside Kung Fu magazine cover that he signed for me as a boy…have to seriously check my parent’s basement for that one.
BIO. Grandmaster Ark Wong was born in the large village of Toysun Tien Sum Chienin Canton, China in the year 1900. His family was moderately wealthy and early in his childhood he was exposed to the ancient fighting arts.
Wong’s great grandfather was attacked by a younger jealous brother in order to weaken the older man and obtain his wealth. Upon recovering from the attack, the old man decreed that all his male descendants must learn Kung Fu beginning at the seven years of age which is when they started school. It was at the age that Ark Wong began his training.
Wong’s first Shifu was the well-respected master, Lam Ark Fun. Master Lam was rather old at this time but still highly revered as a great teacher of the art. At the age of twelve, Ark Wong was taught the art of Chinese Herbal Medicine by Master Lama and Wong would employ this skill extensively later in life.
Ark Wong studied Mawk Gar Kung Fu under another well-respected master, Ho Ark Yeng. Wong’s great grandfather had hired both Master Lam and Master Ho to teach the Wong family exclusively.
In his late teens, Ark Wong went to school in Canton. It was during this time that he met Pung, the chief monk of the Canton area. He studied under this master for a year and a half. Previously, all of Wong’s training was of the external aspects of Kung Fu. It was from Pung that he began to learn the internal aspects.
Civil unrest occurred in Canton and Wong went back to his village, Lin Chuan Yuan in Putien County and he opened a Kung Fu school for his family and the younger children of the area. One New Years, as was the custom for New Years, all the Kung Fu schools gathered to put on the “Lion Dancing” demonstrations. On the basis of these demonstrations by the different schools the masters were chosen. Only the best demonstrators would receive the title “Master.” At the remarkably young age of nineteen, Wong Ark Yuey was made Master.
In 1921 Wong came to the United States and opened up a school in San Francisco and later in Oakland. This was the birth of Ng Ga Kin and Ng Ying Ga in the United States.
I’ll be featuring stunt reels from different stuntmen on this blog not only to showcase their talents, but to also give aspiring stuntmen an idea of demo reels that work. First up is Yoshio Iizuka.
Yoshio is veteran who is considered to be one of the best acrobatic and reactionary fighters in the business. You may also recognize Yoshio from the first and second Tonight Show episodes I did with Conan. He’s definitely on my short list of “no question about it” go-to guys for stunts and safety.
After relocating from Japan as one of the countries top stuntmen, Yoshio got his break in the States by working on the Power Rangers series in the late nineties. He has since gone to work as a key stunt player in A-List Hollywood features. Among many others, Yoshio is a samurai expert who was an integral part of Tom Cruise’s fight team in The Last Samurai. He is currently the acrobatic double for Jay Chou (“Kato” ) in the new Green Hornet film currently being shot. But for me personally, I’m most impressed with his doubling of “Fat Bastard” in Austin Powers.
If you’d like to submit a professional stunt reel (all levels welcomed) to be showcased on this blog, please send a link for consideration directly to the contact page of my main site. www.stevenhomartialarts.com
