I found the article. Details magazine, April 2012 edition. No doubt he's done the spinning hook kick over and over and over again too. At several points the article brings out Statham's drive for realism. "You cannot fake adrenaline," is one quote. He wants to do all the fighting and all the stunts himself. So, it would totally fit his personality to get actual m.a. training from someone like Bas Rutten. Hey, John Cusack is a long-time student of Benny The Jet, right?
statham ma backdround He does have MA background. Wing Chin, kickboxing, and karate to the extent I do not know. I do know in majority of his movies he does virtually all of his own stunts.
He is the real deal I think someone said this earlier no amount of fight choreography will make you look as realistic as he does in his scenes.
Prior to Transporter and so, he had no formal training or at least did some film stunt training. He knew what direction he was going and obviously took classes. Look. A lot of people tend to confuse "training to fight" with "fight choreography". Just because you are a top level martial artist DOES NOT equate to being a top level stunt man / Actor. Yes, there is a crossover and yes you need some appeal. But in the end, the most important is....can you act. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and the rest of the Yuen Clan are all trained Actors. People tend to forget that. Go ahead. Google it. Most prominently you will see "Beijing Opera School". Which is why they can act, choreograph and most importantly - blend it all perfectly. Essentially its a mix of theatre, stunt work, MA and circus performance. The movie business is an exclusively an entertainment industry. Martial art movies are the least accurate when it comes to fighting. (Yes, including the Bourne movies). Why are fight scenes "unrealistic"? Its because they are designed to be entertaining. Some pull it off..others do not. Emotional dialogue scenes, like fight scenes are down to the teamwork of the performers, actors and the rest of the crew. If people want pure realistic fight scenes, look out the window and wait for fights to start. No one ever complains how unrealistic Rocky is...
I'm sure I read somewhere his parents were circus performers and that's how he got into acrobatics and gymnastics.
He's in the UK. Savate is the main form of kickboxing there, right? I know the guy playing in the series is clearly using Savate.
blindside, yes, I know this but England is close to France and there are Savate schools all over the UK. It's pretty common in the UK. In fact, I have a friend who is a Savate Blackbelt and instructor in London. Oh, and remember the location for The Transporter. I believe in the series it goes back and forth between France and Montreal. The transporters police friend is French and the mechanic is German. I think the woman who gives him his assignments is French also.
A black belt in savate? Interesting! They must have changed their ranking system recently. And no, savate is not common in the UK. I don't think it is even common in France. Edit: (From wiki but seems correct and in line with other sites) The ranking of savate: Boxe Française is divided into three roads that a savateur can choose to take. Technical road: blue glove, green glove, red glove, white glove, yellow glove, silver glove I, silver glove II and silver glove III (violet glove for those less than 17 years of age) Competition road: bronze glove, silver glove I, silver glove II, silver glove III, silver glove IV and silver glove V Teaching ranks: initiateur, aide-moniteur, moniteur and professeur
Ok, shoot me. I said black belt. He never did but I know he had achieved a higher level. Also, I know it is very common in the UK. Maybe not as common as TKD but it's probably one of the two most popular forms of kickboxing in Europe and it is the official martial art of France. There is also a second form of Savate that has more grappling and lower kicks. I forget that specific name but that form or style of Savate is very rare as Boxer Francais is the most popular in France. Anyway, I'm just speculating. The role of the Transporter would have placed him in France so he definitely would have studied Savate for the role just like the current guy playing in the tv series.
I think you'll find Muay Thai out-strips savate by a hefty number. I've never heard of one in my area, whereas there are about ten Muay Thai clubs I can think of. The only reason I know any savate techniques is because it's mixed with Jun Fan kickboxing and STX.
Savate in my experience is not at all common in the UK, clubs are comparatively few and far between, and 'pound for pound' I'd even go as far as to say that it is the least prevalent of all martial arts offered. Agreed! (Source: Great British Savate Federation) http://www.savate.org.uk/?q=boxe_gradings Kind Regards, Travess
Unbelievable! I'm sorry but stop spouting such nonsense. Do you live in the UK or Europe? Have you spent a lot of time in these places? I spent about 20 years looking for savate in the UK, Czech Rep, Finland and Sweden, it isn't common at all. There is the odd gym in major cities, we have one club in the whole country, it is not common. One of the two most popular form? Are you seriously telling me that the number of people doing savate comes close to muay thai and kickboxing? It's not even close to MT and KB in numbers of participants. It isn't, just take my word for it....and I am sure most people on this forum will agree with me and not just 'cause I am ace. The savate you are refering to is probably La Savate Défense, which is a modern "self defence" system. There is actually four types of savate (again. wiki): La Savate-Boxe Française (1980–present): the technical abilities of both savate's major kicking arsenal and English boxing were merged into a definitive sport of combat. La Savate Défense (1994–present): was first presented by Professeur Piere Chainge then produced into Self-Defense by Eric Quequet in 2000. After the French Federation dismantled Prof. Change and placed Michel Laroux in charge of the formations. It is based on La Boxe Française Savate, La Savate of the late 19th century, La Lutte Parisienne and the discipline* of La canne de Combat (stick) *includes also Le Bâton Français (staff), Le Couteau (knife), Le Poignard (dagger), La Chaise (chair) and Le Manteau (overcoat). Re-constructed historical savate: some savate has been re-constructed from old textbooks, such as those written in the late 19th or early 20th century. As such, this form of savate would be considered a historical European martial art. Re-construction of these older systems may or may not be performed by practitioners familiar with the modern sport and is not at present likely to be particularly widespread. La savate forme (2008): Cardio-kickboxing form of La Boxe Française-Savate . Perhaps you should learn a little about this stuff before you start posting your opinions as facts on internet forums. The martial arts world is full of enough rubbish as it is.
I'm actually speaking of Defens Dans La Rue. I'm not sure how old it is. Regardless, Savate is the national martial art of France. Oh, and yes, I spent the first ten years of my life in the UK and have been back and forth many times since then. I'm guessing you didn't look very far because I have no problem finding places to study Savate in the UK.
