The Art of Action - Michael Jai White - Episode 4

[Music] my joy why how's it going mate it's good to see the bra thanks for doing this my pleasure this is long overdue so listen Mike I'm gonna get straight into it yes can you just tell the audience what your martial arts background is okay well my martial arts background I started with I know it's a law I know it's a lot but we've got about yeah yeah for everybody but interestingly enough it it was Japanese jiu-jitsu that I started with then I showed it on kill Christian go to Taekwondo Tom sudo that I got into the weapon system cold boot Oh then totally like trained with with Eric Chen with wushu and everything so it's a bunch of different stuff let me rephrase the question is there any martial art that you haven't practiced what would you say your main martial artists it's gotta be killed that's that's that's where my heart is not because of the beauty of it but but of what it pulls out of you I always compare it to it like I always say it's like then maybe seals our martial arts because I'm when you're tested when you really want to you know if something in tests you did where you feel like no doesn't not worth it I want to quit it it really developed something from your character right yeah and that's something that like if you develop that you know walking through the the fire type of thing that helps your life so much because there's nothing that you can't overcome so that's why I love it so much because it keeps testing you and that's why I still I still test in that system because it's still hard as hell you know like a couple of October's ago I tested again my silliness video you were somewhere and you were taking your walk down which Dan was it yeah it was like a 34th man test yeah but it's like it doesn't care that I'm an actor or phidias whatever Hey actually it was rougher on me we're training like eight hours a day you only got it's like like hard military's training and you got just a little bit of time to get food and then you're you know you're running up mountains you doing all kinds of stuff but like we would finish working out and then people want to take pictures with me and I'm like the last one leaving the training area now I got less time to eat I'm trying I live me alone yeah but I you know you couldn't come across as an [ __ ] because you know you do this what country did you do this in well I did it in Canada in bands all right man dude I feel like damn this ain't worth it but I cute oh so you have like the fight like all day something like a 30 man and people are trying to knock your ass out and so let's be honest I mean I don't know martial artists and everything and you would you'd want to think that this isn't the case but I suppose a little bit you may have a little bit of a bull's-eye on your back because your last films that always Michael joy why absolutely do with him yeah so you know so I can say what was me it's rough around me and all that but that's all a part of it you know me instead of like but that's the thing that it taught me it's like cuz I wanted to make excuses several times but this ain't fair but that's life ain't fair you know me as Marilla where's my Winnebago but she's dead but that's great but that's great for me I probably benefited better than anybody because I had to be better you know and I had to not complain even though it was I was like basically by myself and I was the dancing ganda because every now and then like we were trying to eat and people wanna take pictures you know what I'm gonna what am I gonna do but guess what I pay for this so shut up Mike that's what you get I mean that's what you get for being you know the movie guy so that's that's the thing in life that's why I love it so much because hey man they teach you that life ain't fair like you roll with it you I can overcome that you don't I mean but but there's a part of me that wanted to say men miss ain't fair but then it's like shut the hell up and get it done you know so I'm better by going through it that's what that's the thing that I feel like a lot of people lost in martial arts it's physically taxing his name is physically very hard but ya know we know that that that's a mental game people yeah yeah well you know it's here isn't it and that is what sets you up for life when you can get strong here yeah so you apply that look at you me you are a martial art but how hard you have to work through your your your movies people have no idea you make it look easy this is a trip right you make it look easy but it ain't easy that's the best immunity of it but you like the fight see that you have to go through the yeah you know and I go man cuz when I saw a vengeance I'm like Shh that's my favorite Scott Adkins thing what you did on that like it's like I was like because I know the behind the scenes might not be full of done training tough but it's it's still tough no it's tough because I really think this times onset that I've had to really dig down I mean I had to do this fight with them Josh Barnett never got down three it was 120 degrees and and I changed this uh this I found a warehouse that was just abandoned it was like garbage and rat poop all over the place we changed it and made it into the gym didn't have air conditioning I dancing and even we did well hell you can't use it while you shoot in so under hot lights I'm fighting against a guy you know your C champion strike forces everywhere champion we're going full blast and I'm under these hot-ass lights and it's already 120 degrees it was the opposite in Bulgaria on undisputed - oh yeah when we were up in frat sir yes in that freezing cold studio but we're supposed to be sweaty and they're spraying cold water on us and with oh my god anyway oh that's the that's the coldest I've ever been in my life I suppose you were doing a hole in the snow and all those acting yeah but that's the thing man it's like it's worth it you know you never know when it's gonna creep up and get you because the last film I did was debt collectors and I was in Los Angeles in the valley it was August going into September and it kind of creeps up on you over there I mean obviously it's really hot but I feel like I've filmed in hotter places but before I knew it I was suffering from dehydration had to be took back to my trailer we had to stop film at the fight scene with the Lewis Mandalore and they got someone to come and put me on a drip and I had two bags of saline put into me and you know as soon as I had that in me it was back out on set look come on we've got to finish the fight but I was in a way but you know you three same thing happening I got deathly ill forget it like like just like the scene with Josh Barnett he's done he's wiped out guess what I'm the director I gotta stop what's the shipment I got so sick I had to go be rushed to the hospital they put IVs on me in my room I wouldn't I would basically be wheeled out ends go dude the fight scene man this makes you think about like putting the outtakes out of this when I had to fight Nate Nate Nate jumps yeah I was so sick that before I would just do the tape and right after the cut I just would just be out of it so when I saw the actual stuff I didn't remember shooting it because I was I was I there's a ton I'm walking down this hallway waving with what you shot I was here I was surprised I guess I mustered up the energy that you couldn't tell but there was a whole day where I couldn't I don't remember anything I was like well I have it I have this thing that I always say and it sums it up for me I always say to people it seemed like a good idea when I was 12 you know when I was watching and I said mommy I want to be an action star you see my about that but yeah it's tough man it's hard because now we do like yeah you know we can't compare yourself with Jackie Chan Chi Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen man they could shoot her make sure the fight seemed to a whole week issues a fight scene now the audience doesn't know the difference now we have to do that same like a fight scene of that length we have to do that in a matter of four hour four to six hours sometimes yeah luxury in Hong Kong China where to be honest if you're feeling a bit stiff on day three just take it easy on day three we'll pick it up on day four because we've got five seven and eight yeah there's no disclaimer we can't explain that to our audience but we have to we have to make up the difference on a very short period of time so I mean you know you I mean I was jealous man you you were telling me about you know you're shooting with Donnie and just like seven days for our and fighting it man for longer actually I wanted to go longer cuz I figured while I'm here I'm doing it it's young with pink Donnie Yen come on let's make it a good one we have to suck it up and go okay there's no excuses here we still have to yeah it just makes us better we have to do what the audience is expects on a very short and limited time period and most of the time even a director doesn't understand what the hell is going on let me ask you this then let me ask for this if you're making a movie with a director that maybe have not worked with before and you know maybe it's not a fully fledged action movie but there's some action and you're required to do it and so you start doing the action and it becomes clear to you that maybe the directors never shot an action scene before and it doesn't necessarily understand how to do it the way that you know how to do is you don't so many action films will you at that point say listen I think I need to take over here or will you be a bit more - I've had to because they don't understand the language and they don't you know most people are not going to admit that they don't that they're limited in something someplace especially if the director yeah but since you know I've never been known as an [ __ ] I always can understand somebody else's perspective now it's a point where I'm gonna pull I'm gonna use my [ __ ] card for that yeah I'm gonna have to say put my foot down mister the expectation is there that you have to deliver with the action things that we've done well I know myself like where the previous look better than the actual movie it's uh yeah and previous with people who don't know is like we will shoot it on a on a you know a camera phone or whatever just to show how the scene moves and so hopefully the director can understand and that's the way this should be shot and because we design it before these shots so a lot of directors think that you know they don't understand there's a language that we've learned of choreography in filming that the whole action world understands and and that's what you want to go by and if they're smart they will listen and go by that yeah you don't want to be honest hole onset arguing and I've been in that place before where I've had to be the [ __ ] because you know I know it for me it's my the way I've always looked it is I'm known for my action I have to make sure that that is as good as it can possibly be yes I hope it's great in the story but the action it has to be good and if you're gonna make if you're making it that the action is not looking up to my standards I have to get in there and make sure but now I've learned to have that conversation at the beginning before I get the movie you know break your heart you we've seen some of the best action guys in the world be used completely wrong okay we've seen Hollywood try to do the thing that we know Jet Li luckily had you know had the right people yeah choreographers and shooting whatever when he when he came in with um with a lethal weapon yeah they've tried to emulate this with Tony Jaa and Eko terribly like remember when they were trying to do what was it there was a you know Romeo Must I am it was few a few other things where they would shoot a downward angle on on Jet Li making him look smaller and they cut up his you don't understand his movement is amazing you've gotta cut away from that you know you don't treat him like like somebody who doesn't know how to do it it's just you got to do the Fred Astaire thing you shoot the beauty of him moving like Bruce Lee's like nobody moves like that but they took eco in Inwood mile 22 yeah they shaky-cam dinner oh my god I'm like wait a minute you got one of the best choreographers and movers on a planet or a nice guy a code because we work with him and he will do you know whatever you want but really he needs to put down and say no this is not you cut up Fred Astaire basically and you've got to cut to his feet and you cut to capped it all up know what do you got it's like they but they will never understand me and then they then they blame poor eco or Tony for the the movie not not no kind of working Brett Ratner he was he had it right because obviously Jackie Chan came over in the de Cannonball Run I did the protector disputes it the way that he would shoot it himself and right no he played the Hollywood game and okay I'll do you guys wait it's the wrong way and he didn't take off but Brett wrought with rush hour he said Jackie the fights they're yours bring your team you shoot the action that's right but everything else and that's a smart because like he knows that he can't do that that is an art form yeah that's why I did movies in China and what I would do as for learning you know what I mean I wanted to know how they you know bothered and you know you're yourself I mean Jackie is a master at this we have to learn how to kind of bridge the gap even though we have a lot less time and money to shoot the thing not get to a point where I was like there's a camera that shouldn't be there I'm like no shut that camera down yeah because someone uses it because you don't want that footage in in with the editor because an editor liked for the most part likes to edit yes those young wrangles in even when they don't really need to be there not ever you know think about it I try to explain it and I try not to talk down but when I explain just a simple edit and we think about what is the most like think about Indiana Jones right what are the most iconic moments in that whole movie is when the God brings out the Scimitar and he's got this sword a big guy yeah and in the same shot Hairston Ford turns shoots the guy and then goes on about his business right it's beautiful if you cut to a close shot of that guy getting shot it's not the same moment at all yeah you know and I try to explain necks of people like no we want to we want him to hear the guy Sam oh shoot him in the same shot and move on that's the beauty of it that's the beauty of it it was some Sergio Leone a propel me in the westerns before him they would show that the guy shoot the gun and then they would cut to the guy getting shot America you can never show the gun and the guy getting shot in the same frame because it was considered way too violent well he broke that rule because it was in Italy and he didn't know and and everyone loved it because yes very violent but it looks fantastic and it's the same principle for a fight sequence when you see me throw the punch in all its glory and you see the other guy get hit in the same and it looks like it hit him that's right do you have the shot that's what you want to know but if you explain it to somebody like the Indiana Jones thing okay you say go director hey let's listen use that shot right our editor is gonna go oh here's a close shot of a guy getting shot in a horrible editor would show the bullet wound and then the guy following in us in a separate shot instead of but but how do you convince him how do you convince him that it's not he's not right because he's gonna go whoa yeah well it's just some degree he's gonna be right right if you show him getting shot it it makes sense but it's nowhere near is not as beautiful it's not as powerful it's not a cinematic yeah we gotta be [ __ ] for our audience man I hate to be apologizing going hey guys you know sorry that you know this is not up to par you know you know you can't do that you can't put a disclaimer out so you yeah so we gotta just put our foot down because hey damn it you're hiring us you're working with us because we've proven we know what we're doing you know so yeah who's gonna blame me or you he's gonna be us you know yeah they'll always blame the guy whose face is on the front cover exactly it's useful for everything wrong with the movie did you see that Michael Jai White film bro lots of standards yeah the reason why the Hong Kong films have worked for so long is there's two directors real it's two directors there is the director and then there's the action director when the action is happening the regular director goes to hell home you know and that's why they work of us a smart director does none anyway yeah raishin sir yeah you know paying people now people don't realized that human pain even though he's getting credited to be one of the best directors it'll realize he was the action director in those movies that became famous I got Hidden Dragon directed by angly Oh winning director incredible brilliant director yes Dolph said in in an interview he tried to tell master Yuen woo-ping he thought something should be done differently for whatever reason and then he realized that he was wrong and when it comes to action you know young with pen he was the man and amazing the action is in that film no people floating on bamboo trees of course but yeah so I'm gonna play you a video next now I found a little surprise well it's not surprise to you it was a surprise to me but tell me about this Mike that's me and mills that on Stewart that's gotta be 90 92 92 is like one of the first things I did when I came to LA that's a Google Stewart Stewart I didn't either that's a good man is he's like a Disney heartthrob that's his dad Nils I think I were through them in debt collectors I think it was the guy behind the bar yeah he's a stunt coordinator and it's a good friend but what's going on here Mike just how can you just take in it yeah did you forget you had enough punch him for for five seconds I took this job because I needed rent money look at this I barely spoke in this damn thing this is like of course the see movies basically we've all made the same anything yeah listen when I was a kid I used to watch all the nineties low-budget martial arts action movies I used to love them as a kid even the bad ones do you know me know I love you so there's always a place for this stuff but that I think I can say was shockingly bad yeah are you dead there or not no you just getting back up yeah I'm so that I'm supposed to have been like playing possum until until they start you know betting you know all the pots full of fluff that's ballistic I had not seen that before and I know that you did so you did the Toxic Avenger was that ballistic because you you look a lot smaller there you're still built but you didn't have the muscle mass that you had obviously later on in life so was that before toxic avenger or aura oh that's that's after that toxic avenger was in the late eighties here is toxic avenger the first thing I've ever done now these are some good nunchuck skills I've gotta say let me tell you I was supposed to be a an extra on that movie I turned out just because the opening of my mouth and making suggestions I ended up choreographing all the fight scenes prep practically I did like I was I played the Headless dancer I actually doubled toxic avenger a few times oh yeah I think I was like freaking 19 in this thing well you look bigger here they need then in the ballistic which is what confused me you must yeah that's a lot of weight really when I came to LA I was really trying my whole thing was focusing on acting work so I'm going out to play you know contents of whatever not the biggest pressing accounting I'm spending play regular roles so oh yeah yeah I always tried to trim down even to this day whenever I work is is I go lighter you know wasn't women it's the same for me of course yeah except for when we first well what I mean is when I bulked up obviously to play Boyka and the reason I wanted to bulk up as much as I possibly could was because of you you know people seeing me as that carrot so that was the first time most people saw me and right now fans they're disappointed when they they see me not like that but of course they don't just want to play Boyka i want to play other roles I want to absolutely you you bulk up you know you know the focus that you added I'm why I watch you just change all of a sudden like you know have you you funny cuz I know see when one trick that we have is like we we we pump up before oh yeah before you know the camera rolls put the few times where you you'd be doing push-ups in the ring and then I start doing push-ups you like Mike don't do this closer to your side exactly what was great was when when I got there and the whole agreement was listen I'm trying to get as as big as I can yeah wanted to look the same height the same weight as much as was possible I mean that was the goal and yeah you was shrinking down in weight as the mood yeah literally getting tighter and tighter and tighter yeah yeah I was trimming down while you were bulking up yeah and so we would meet in the middle but the thing is basically what we did was the rocky Apollo Creed thing because that's almost the same ratio Sylvester Stallone in home come with us yeah Carl Weathers yeah Carl Weathers was way bigger like height wise in yeah with wise they did certain things where if you the first time you see them they seem close fitting the same size the illusion is there yes and that's what we did we were you and I met up and we had you slightly taller everybody was convinced yeah but you had the jacket on some people are still convinced yeah oh the funny thing was when I came to England to that big martial art convention and they were like oh film was great I'm standing right next to you you like that movie right okay I said you just gave the camera to point them and you're like no like no that's him because yours you're so night and day because you're such a pleasant non-threatening person in person I'm an Emma you know man shiny and sultry but that's a bother ya absolutely yeah but then you you you you inhabit this character that people are thinking is damn you generate the lengths we went to I had shoes with about this much on the on the bottom of my foot to give my height we would Dutch the camera sometimes so that I have look level in the ring because obviously we didn't have I didn't have shoes on sometimes well in the ring we didn't have food some bit and then sometimes I'll be on a box and we you gain and you stayed lean that is the picture that we used we run profile and your square like you open up the camera that picture made us look there on the same size because there's my profile you only see the side of my you know side of me and but you see you turn toward you know kind of full frame toward camera and it just is such a great shot because we look similar in size because anything it's amazing that we were at full valve to be honest and then why we're moving people already have it in their head that we're the same size so your light was that initial first time when I was even solar than in yes yeah wow this guy's big yeah and then so to be that size moving around the way you do it was otherworldly you know people like who the hell is that good you know now let me ask you something you're honestly now honestly when you knew that I was gonna play Yuri Boyka which was written in the script as this you know sort of Yvonne Drago B character what did you think when that when Isaac said okay we're gonna get Scott's play this guy was because other cuz Dolph had already they were trying to negotiate it for Dolph yeah and I was all for it I see no really great no I was all for it are you kidding me I was so for you doing it that's that's where I was let everybody know anything about me at the time right a courtesy me instead Oh Isaac showed me the the military thing that you guys a child yeah come on man I saw all of that so the way I said the way this guy moves if we can you know make you because I knew that there's a way what we could shoot it and you couldn't tell the size this and that's the best thing the town the move and and personally there was something that really that was on my heart early on you know when I did the movie with John Claude universe's told you you Universal Soldier - yeah my heart was broken a bit I did a lot that was drunk Claudette cut out I done I was happy because I had done the first like wood that I've seen you pure 7:20 on camera just not yeah just a pure just jerk just from front stance we would BAM right and you know he ended up leaving the other kick and a few other things in but it was a fight man I was like wait a minute man you win at the end of this movie it makes you look better and so I just remember that kind of thing happening I was like would never do that to me anyone else I'm gonna I'm gonna support I remember how that was to me and when I said that's why I was like oh you know the duck under that you know the Guyver kick absolutely I do everything that I wanted to do there was never any any yes but you know I but you know what my fight was with Isaac bowties and everybody you know what my father was they wanted me to be a martial artist in the movie Ryan and I'm like no no I fought hard but I said no I I want to play a boxer who has to be humbled and learn a little bit of MMA to overcome this fighter yeah if being around doing something similar as a larger cuff where's my where's my Arc as a character but so I want to you to be absolutely dominant in that because of the storyteller this sequence here I mean this this little sequence now and I'm on the receiving end but here's one of my favorite ever sequences this is great you've got to be precise with those punches yeah and I had like blood in my mouth and I was letting bits of blood out at different times and then Oh trying to get my gum shield to come out at the right time you know that doesn't happen very often man that was that that sequence I had and I was practicing that sequence before we even shot the movie I know I'd seen something where actual boxer uppercuts the guy he falls and he scooted his feet out and laughs yeah so I have those ideas even before we even started shooting this was the film for me where I blew up you know wouldn't know about my success but after that film came out I started to see people really appreciate him what what I did in that and believing that that guy was a real guy and me not looking like Boyka at all was a little bit odd but you know that's such a blessing because brah if you look like the character all the time you'd be you'd be branded with it for me is it it is a bit frustrating because yes I'm very proud that as an actor I succeed that increasing a character completely different from myself right and that character was very engaging and all the rest of it but on the flip side and you know still to this day people are almost upset when they see the real me because boy he left such an impression on them right yeah i man I think you should just be buoyed from real life why do you got your hair like that come on shaver sighs I forget the goatee stuff mayor you know well think about if you always look like Boyka and then you're trying to play that another character maybe I should have just always played Boyka well you you have a character that all you got to do is put and what what comes with it is a whole lot of you know a lot of uh fan base with it but I was never in this for the fame or anything like that I was in it because I have a genuine love for it and I had to do it without you know in my soul it was however Benjamin that character I want to see that character again period but that was a badass character you know I said when I'm done that's the one I'm done but you feel like a character actor in many ways yeah because I have had success almost when I get away from myself I've seen that the most success right so it's a strange thing really cuz you know obviously we know that this big movie stars out there that are famous and people want to see them be them you know yeah yeah it's it's it's it's an interesting several sided coin because I run into that myself to some degree if you lined up everything I've done right which is weird to know that I've done mortality than anything else it's kind of strange because the fact is if you do something exciting like kick people in the face that people people want to define you by that but you have to keep breaking your own mold the problem with that is that people are used to pitching holy you almost everybody in Hollywood benefits from being pigeon-holed because they own that little part that little prime real estate but there but it kind of makes them have a shelf life what we can do we can go into Greek adieu comedies we could do dramas we you know we're you know you've you've made your living as an actor as well I make my living doing things that completely has nothing to do with actions as well so people you know like say I'm you know doing like you know why did I get married my task is to make people forget I'm the guy that kicks people in the head sometimes and so I have a certain window of opportunity to make you forget that and therefore I'm doing you know this is world over here that knows me in this world over here that knows so the benefit is that we get to stay in the month we get to stay on the on the cruise a lot longer than people that you go okay that's just what he is not to not to say anything disparaging against these people but like you know a lot of the action guys you don't see them any other thing you know I mean you know you're in zero dark thirty you don't see that we started with ah yeah I don't know come I don't know exactly what your first work was whether it was a martial arts thing or whether it was straight honor for me my very first film was a Hong Kong martial arts film and my very next job was a British soap opera right you know so from the very GetGo I was doing both sides of you know especially yeah so that's what we're gonna continue hopefully like for me I always want to fuse those things together and you know my my goal is even when the action stuff I wanted to feel closer to reality than anything else that's personally like where I try to try to go to fuse those worlds and who who better to do it then somebody who's in those different worlds that's why I'm doing a lot more directing producing acting and writing [Applause] let's have a look at this they're mine cuz obviously I think this is second film you directed you directed never bad bad - and I've got down three which is this one mm-hmm and I love what you do here the way you show how it the traditional karate techniques are gonna work on in this MMA setting and it was a great way director really to show how you're going to implement the techniques and that's a nice little move there yeah again this is something that I could see way before the movie was was done I mean I wrote the movie as well you know Road directed acted in so there are certain techniques that because I'm a you know train with MMA guys and and a fight so I pulled out certain techniques that you're gonna see in MMA fights all the time that are part of Boone Kai of traditional forms Boone Kai means the practical applications so since this movie I've seen several people do this kind of on YouTube pull out actual things that you see in MMA that relate to to contests so as a ambassador for traditional martial arts and if I had anything as the the art form and application I wanted to fuse these worlds together these days people always in this combative thing of how different we are in drawing sides where I'm trying to say look how how how similar we are if we if you look at the similarities and in respect just respect where people are coming from you can even gain a lot so yeah people who you traditional or losers that work yeah it frickin works literally there's a frequent work in fighting but it works in life man you know as we as we're showing when you have discipline listen that's the cornerstone of anything any success is discipline and so yeah just but everybody always wants to look at the negative right away or there doesn't look I mean yeah I practice kung fu' yeah you can't use that in a fight but guess what if I can make my body do that yeah if I can make my body do what my mind tells it to if I have that ability well if I apply that to fighting how am I not a better fight when when I can tell my I can tell myself to okay if I'm gonna kick you in your left eyebrow I can do it because of this mind muscle connection that I got through doing kung fu' do doing these things where I can move the center of my body which has all my power so yeah that lose that little element that you learn in in Wing Chun that when you apply it to actual fighting you're a better fighter instead of just discarding the whole thing this is it and people get into martial arts for different reasons you got people that get into it because they want a fight and whatever and you get people they're going because they want to get fit they want to do something that they enjoy to do and they don't want to go jogging because they're bored I want to do some martial arts because it helps them to keep getting through the door the gym and then he go you know you got your triggers and you got your gymnastics side of it and you got you know I respect all of it it is like if there's anything that about martial arts is about respect it's about humility is but you know that's in there just like we did rain thing it should see if you oh it drives me crazy as a martial artist I know it's not because I can beat up people who the hell is interrupting my car don't mind one of the fights that I know that you you really appreciate is Bruce Lee's wave the dragon fight with Chuck Norris and mr. Bruce Lee why do you why do you like that fight so much what is it about that yeah I always say the way of the Dragon with Lee versus Norris is the best fight scene ever I think the best fight scenes tell a story in the fight yeah well there's so much honor that goes between those two people that is it just amps up the whole martial artist quotient the fact that you know Bruce Lee you know has to adapt something's not working now he gets on his toes and he's lighter faster then Chuck Norris casted that because now he's going okay this guy's getting me because he's lighter you know and he tries it but he's not as good at it yeah and then he's defeated but besides that look I don't want to go on I'm gonna go out on my shield Bruce Lee's like I don't want to do this man but as another you know honorable martial art as if you know you want to go out like that you know I'm conflicted but you know here you go I'm honoring you that being that that is the most narrative that I've ever seen in the fight on top of they picked probably the greatest spot to do it oh yeah conditionally you know the at that place that's the site of battle you know for the world like how do you beat that that Dex just it it just raised everything to such a level that it's like that that's it's hard to when you look at the whole scope of that fight it's number one on my listen nothing could could touch it well I love about Bruce Lee and you do this yourself in many of your fight scenes and but not a lot of people do this but what's great about Bruce is that he will tell the story during the fight of how he's gonna outsmart his opponent you know you can see him fainting or showing a move a couple of times and then you know Chuck Norris thinks he's gonna do the move again and he does something else and you can see him outsmart his opponent in many of his points and that's something that you put into your fight sequences as well it's funny because to me is the easiest way to work it just like just like with Adam if somebody responds a certain way that's going to inform my response to his room that person's response right I want to respond honestly so there's some times with choreographers they just think choreography first they're not thinking about character I feel like one of written some of the greatest fights are because of character Ali versus Frazier there are two characters and so if not for the characters it's not nearly as as interesting with our our fight and in undisputed those are two characters I had to show in my character being humbled learning and in with your character you want you altima want to be the best fighter and so there is a certain respect that that that you know we have for even even though they were on opposing sides that makes it far more interesting and so you know us behaving true to the character makes the fight come alive yeah can I just say though there's a bit in that fight yeah you properly kick him in the face right no it looks like you cut him right in the spending you do a back kick right yeah yeah it really looked like I kicked him in the face no yes no you wouldn't you would have known if I thought it was his double anyway no I never I never kicked him good here's a that's that's the business were in we're trying my legs are really long and I had to come from a punch and so I cheated my cuz you know I would just pull my hip in to make sure I'm not so I always have to kind of do this because I'm not I'm a little whipped my legs are really long yeah and so remember get out of the way of them on accident matter Michael Jai White thanks so much me thanks bro

Channel: Scott Adkins

Views: 529,057

Rating: 4.9647803 out of 5

Keywords: scott adkins, art of action, michael jai white, action filmmaking, action movie, martial arts, screen fighting, undisputed 2, boyka, blood & bone

Id: i5er9o3j58c

Length: 48min 33sec (2913 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 14 2020