Steven Ho's Blog - Deconstructing Fighting and Stunts for your enjoyment

Not sure about his decision to use the kid in 0:42…but this is pretty cool, historic footage from the thirties.

Sugar Shane Mosely (46-6, 39 knockouts) will be in full training mode soon at his Big Bear gym. But he dropped by Westside Boxing Club yesterday to train while he was in LA doing press junkets for his upcoming fight against 29-year-old Sergio Mora (22-1-1, six KOs), a former WBC junior middleweight king at the Staples Center. As always, the Hall of Famer is as gracious out of the ring as he is savvy and tough in the ring. He took the time to sign pictures for the local kids and even donned a body pad and mitts to work with his son.

Westside Boxing Club | 4500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 | T: 323 947-1306

This is a pic of the neck portion of the Donatello costume I wore in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. I only have this and the actual head left and unfortunately it’s all beginning to crumble rather quickly (especially the bottom portion of the neck piece). The costume is made of foam latex - so it is what it is. But rather than let that part of it turn into dust, I thought it would be more fitting to cut off a small portion and offer it to a TMNT fan (through Facebook page competition).

The original plan was to award two winners: one winner according to the most “like” votes they received on their entree….and then determine the second winner based subjectively on which other entree I liked the most.

But in the spirit of the Turtles and teamwork, I’m going to give EVERYONE who entered the competition by yesterday’s deadline a small piece of that neck (I even snuck in a few people who didn’t enter, but posted TMNT content).

They’ll just be small pieces, but enough to pull Donnie’s DNA from and claim a part of history. Congratulations to everyone below and thanks for taking the time to put in your submissions and contribute to the page.

WINNERS:
Igor Filjušin
Michele Ivey
Erica Foster
Timothy Lee
Steven Robert Murphy
Jeremy Wimmer
Cate Sippel
Christopher Mejia
Elaine Englund
Anna Hernstrom
Aurora Dizon
Daniel Mizrahi
Jay Bale
Waldo Winston
Matt Skaggs

Given his friendship with Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, I’m pretty convinced that if Master Bruce Lee were alive today he would’ve most likely been sitting court side next to Jack at the Lakeshow this Thursday. I’ve been into all these music mash ups that have been floating around lately, and was I inspired to make Bruce-Kobe mash up art to commemorate #5!

The urumi (Malayalam: ഉറുമി) or Surul Pattai (Tamil) or Aara (Hindi) is a long sword made of flexible steel, sharp enough to cut into flesh, but flexible enough to be rolled into a tight coil. It was used and still can be found in Kerala, Rajasthan and Punjab, and is one of the weapons learned by practitioners of the martial art of Kalaripayattu, Varma Kalai, Kuttu Varisai and Sikh martial arts Gatka. It was most popular in the North Malabar Coast of Kerala state, India, and is often mentioned in the ballads of the region.

The flexible sword is called Urumi in the Northern System of Kalaripayattu and Chuttuval in the Southern System. The word Chuttuval is derived from the Malayalam words Chuttu (coil/spin) and Vaal (sword) and means Coiled Sword, a very apt description of the way the sword is maneuvered by the swordsman. Since the sword is flexible, and worn curled around the waist or bundled into the belt, it has to be straightened out, which is generated by turning it around the wielder’s body mostly in a vertical plane. Urumi is still practiced in all kalaris.

The sword is a flexible band of steel three-quarters to one inch in width, and long enough to reach from the fingertip of one hand to the finger tip of the other hand when the hands are held outstretched, (usually about four or five and a half feet). It has a small handle with a cover. Often there are Urumis with multiple belts on a single handle, which makes it more dangerous to the opponents and wielders alike. In modern times it is often made from used Band-saw blade.

Agility and skill are more important to a mastery of the weapon than strength or aggression. Twirling and controlling the urumi is a difficult and dangerous art, and is therefore taught only to the best pupils of the Kalari and Gatka. Incorrect use can result in the flexible sword wounding its wielder, and great concentration is required during use, even by experts.

The Urumi is most useful to a warrior when he is alone and has to fight multiple opponents. The Urumi can be worn like a waist belt and therefore can be carried inconspicuously and without great inconvenience. Since women often wore belts, the Urumi was a convenient weapon for them to carry, worn around the waist. Unniarcha, one of the heroines of the ballads of the Northern Malabar coast, was said to have been adept at wielding the Urumi. It was also a good weapon for duels since thrusting with the point of the sword was not permitted in duels in South India.

Sir Isaac Newton is best known for his theories regarding gravity and laws of motion on earth (we all know the apple story by now). In short, Newton theorizes that all matter is self-contained and that the only way to change matter is by force or collision; heating, freezing it, burning it, dropping it, hitting it.

But what Newton and many scientists do not account for is the “energy” of our world that is generated by essentially everything around us (our thoughts, feelings, plants, animals, etc…). In simple, commercial terms….think of the Na’vi (blue people) in “Avatar”.

If you’re an athlete or have been in a position where only your sheer willpower was the only way out of a jam, then I’m sure you have experience in the power of human intention. Be it “chi power” or just an “adrenaline rush”, I believe we all the power to do things that could not be explained by Sir Isaac Newton.

In 1985 Harvard Benson went against the typical scientific grain and conducted self-heating/energy tests with a group of Tibeten monks. Here is what he found…

Performed by: Herbert Benson - Cardiologist at Harvard Medical School

Experiment Details: In 1985, a group of Tibetan monks were put into a room with temperatures approaching freezing, while a fellow monk
draped them in cold, wet sheets. These severe conditions would normally send the body into shock, the core temperature plummeting,
and result in a loss of consciousness and vital signs after only a 12 degree drop in body temperature.

Instead of trembling from the cold, the monks began to sweat, causing steam to rise from the sheets. In an hour they were dry, and two other
ice-cold, wet sheets were placed on the monks, one after another - both were quickly dried by the heat generated by the monks.

Results: Herbert Benson and his team of scientists found that these monks had raised their temperatures by up to 17°F and lowered their
metabolism by more than 60%.

They had done all of this with the power of their thoughts and intentions.

Source: H. Benson et al., “Body temperature changes during the practice of g tum-mo (heat) yoga,” Nature
1982; 295: 234-6; H. Benson, “Body temperature changes during the practice of g tum-mo yoga (Matters
Arising),” Nature, 1982; 298: 402.

I had the pleasure of doing all the stunt sequences for Donatello in TMNT 2 & 3.

My pal Ernie Reyes, jr. did the stunts for the original film and Lief Tildon was the actor turtle in all three installments. The legendary Rick Lyon (from Sesame Street fame) was the puppeteer responsible for the mechanics of the “animatronic turtle” and Corey Feldman came in during post production to record Donatello’s voiceovers. So, there was a lot to Donnie.

Unfortunately I do not have my entire suit — it was hanging at the now defunct Planet Hollywood in Bevelry Hills at one point, but I have no idea where it is now…maybe Arnold gave it to one of his kids?

But I do have the head and a neck/shoulder/upper chest piece — sorry not for sale or lend — my future kids would kill me if I lost it before they were born.

The suits were made of foam latex, so they weren’t made to last forever. At some point it will either completely crumble to dust…leaving me the decision to restore it, permanently encapsulate it in acrylic, or preserve what’s left of it in it’s original state by air locking it. I’m leaning towards keeping it “worn” and zen.

At the moment, there are pieces of the neck/shoulder/upper chest that are severely crumbling. Instead of sweeping them up and trashing them, I thought a TMNT fan might really appreciate it for their collection. There’s not going to be much (similar to the very small pieces of the Berlin Wall that were once available) . Just about an inch of the costume really - but I can tell you it’s coming from the actual costume that I used in The Secret of the Ooze. I’m happy to authenticate it with a certificate and autographed a TMNT behind the scenes photo for a fan.

OFFICIAL RULES:

Here’s how it’s going down:

1. No fee to enter.

2. On my Facebook Page, post a PHOTO, a VIDEO, or ARTWORK created by you that pays homage to Donatello and/or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 - The Secret of the Ooze.

3. Winner #1: The entree that has the most “like” votes at the end of the competition period wins the “Piece of Donnie” package.

4. Winner #2: The entree that I subjectively choose to be my favorite entry also wins a “Piece of Donnie” package.

5. Contest ends and winners will be determined on July 1, 2010 at 5pm Pacific Time.

ENTER FACEBOOK CONTEST HERE

This may not be the most impressive fight footage, but remember it was taken in 1934 and homeboy manged to pull of a spinning heal kick (although it didn’t land).

Savate, or French Boxing, was developed in the late 1700’s and it said to have developed on French ships sailing the Indian Ocean and South China seas, where they learned kicking techniques from Asian cultures.

Savate was first recognized in Marseille, an important port in the south of France where sailors of many countries came together. Savate made use of the boots of the time known as Savate to attack an opponent’s legs and body.

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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.