Filipino Cultural Influences on Star Wars

darthkatan, stompboxx---I was actually born and raised here in the States. Last time I visited PI was back in Jan '86. I'd very much like to visit Cebu/Mactan Island for the Lapu-Lapu monument as well as Makati for the Kudarat monument!

Darthkatan, that was so smooth of Mr. Imada to do that! I actually wouldn't mind a Boba Fett one! Did you ever get to meet Brandon Lee and Taky Kimura? Does Darryl Chan go to the Academy? Yeah, its funny but I cheeer as well when I see familiar stuntmen I admire: James Lew, Imada, Rhee, Chan, etc. I understand that Guro Inosanto is not in the current Jun-Fan/JKD org because of some disagreements but is still highly respected. Does Jason Scot Lee ever go to the school or ie he just with Poteet?

Jedi Ginny---it'd be great if you did the interview! Maybe "Filipinas" magazine(US) should do one as well, ya think?

 

kampilan,
Wow, lots of questions. Let's see: I never did get a chance to meet Brandon. When I was training at the Academy he had just finished Rapid Fire and was working on The Crow. We were all heartbroken the day we found out the news of the tragic accident on the set in North Carolina. The Academy office looked like a florist shop with all the flowers people around the world were sending. Very sad day...
I actually know James Lew. I still run into him now and then. Funny thing about this is that his little brother Ray and I were roomates in college. I was introduced to James when Ray got me onto the set of Big Trouble in Little China. James was the fight choreographer as well as one of the associate producers I believe on that film. Anyway it was pretty cool. I met James and another stunt guy Al Leong (Al was the knife fighter that Brandon Lee goes head to head with in Rapid Fire, he was also one of the terrorists in the original Die Hard). Probably the best thing though was to hang out with John Carpenter on the set while he explained his shots to us.
Never met Taky Kimura, although the Academy still sometimes has seminars when the original guys who trained with Sigung Bruce show up. Never met or saw Darryl Chan at the Academy.
Never saw Jason Scott Lee at the Academy. He hangs with Jerry Poteet. I saw Jason Scott Lee in one of the latest martial arts magazines, I forget which one, and the title of the article was something like "The Dragon:Ten Years Later." It pretty much showed Jason doing some basic Jun Fan stuff with Jerry.
I really haven't been keeping up with the politics in the Jun Fan/JKD World. I'm just glad Guro Dan is still out there spreading the knowledge around. No one lives forever you know.

DK

 

Off topic, but the Ewoks speak Tagalog when they meet 3-PO.

Ngayon!
Ma ganda!

 

Darthkatan---thanks for answering my questions, man! I was in Virginia when I heard about Brandon's tragic accident so I was right in the general area... He was/is my idol among many with Asian heritage, Sifu Bruce included. Great you got on the set on BTILC! It really is good to know that Mr. Inosanto is still doing seminars/lectures. I do hope there will be a documnetary on the Academy some day in the likes of TLC, Discovery or some quality docu-company using film not video.
The Jason Scott Lee mag is Inside Kung Fu I think.
Yeah, Al Leong is the guy you see all over but forget his name!

I read somewhere that the Ewok language was based on the Bisaya/Visayan dialect...I do recognize the similar rythym and my mother agrees!

 

Really? The Ewoks? Cooooolllllll.... Kakaaliw naman.

 

I posted this back at the Yahoogroup, but some of you aren't members, so I'm posting this here too. It's kinda lengthy but informative.

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I found Nick Jamilla's original feature at Echo Station. This is one of a series of articles that prompted him to write his book, "Shimmering Sword", which is about Jedi Swordfighting. I decided to save you guys thr trouble of browsing, so I put this up, instead of just a link. This was written after TPM, and waaaaay before AOTC, but I think he's nailed it right. Enjoy!

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The original article may be found at: http://www.echostation.com/features/ep2sword.htm

A New Style?
Cultural Influences on Jedi Style Sword Fighting

by N.P. Jamilla
Published 6/11/00

Where will sword fighting go in Episode II? We explore the various cultural influences that will and must have a profound influence on Jedi sword work.

When director George Lucas approves the Jedi Style for the next movie, he will be drawing from fighting and fencing traditions that are decidedly Terran. At the forefront is Stunt Coordinator Nick Gillard, who composed and directed the fight scenes for Episode I: The Phantom Menace. He's at it again in Australia reportedly looking at martial arts clubs and kendo dojos for stunt people and swordsmen and women. The choice of who gets to train and perform for the fight scenes in Episode II will have a major impact on the style movie-goers see in Lucas' next installation of the Star Wars saga.

When Gillard created the sword fight scenes in Episode I, he had to combine fighting from many fighting arts and transform them into a novel and cinematically dramatic expression of Jedi sword fighting. Not only did he squash the pre-release skepticism among professional martial artists about the quality of the sword fighting, but he also created what most viewers regard as probably the most memorable scenes from The Phantom Menace.

Breaking from the kendo-based sword fighting already established in Episodes IV, V, & VI, Gillard created a faster, more refined style which was meant to establish the competence and plausibility of Jedi swordsmen in the futuristic, pseudo-fantastic world of the Star Wars. Lucas' final approval of Ray Park to play Darth Maul would guarantee a Chinese influence which is most notably demonstrated in the flying leaps found in Chinese martial arts and the fluid twirls of the double-edged lightsaber.

Where will sword fighting go in Episode II? Several rumors as well as statements made by George Lucas himself, producer Rick McCallum, and, most recently, by Hayden Christensen's tae kwon do instructor, have indicated cultural influences that will and must have a profound influence on Jedi sword work.

Most actors have little or no training in sword work or martial arts, and when they do, they usually take roles that best demonstrate the cultural history of their art. Jackie Chan and Jet Li create films that include Chinese cultural themes, Chuck Norris's films were thematically related to Japan and Okinawa, while Jean-Claude Van Damme films reflect international kick boxing. These martial artist actors reflect the culture of their art, while untrained actors, especially in traditional cutlass and broadsword films, learn choreographic routines, not martial arts -- which require years of training and a life-long pursuit.

With Hayden Christensen chosen to be the new Anakin, fans will be able to see glimpses of the perfect candidate for the role of a young Jedi in training. A recent article in the Ottawa Sun with 1992 Olympic silver medallist Sayed Najem gives some background of the martial arts crash course Christensen has taken to prepare himself before heading to Australia when shooting begins this summer. According to Rick McCallum, Christensen will be sent to what a Chicago Sun-Times reporter calls "Jedi boot camp."

One other rumor that compliments information on training for the upcoming film is talk about Makiya Yamaguchi, a student of Shorinji Kempo, a Japanese martial art that is both

 

Yes, lenghty but very informative, Jedi Ginny! I also caught that article on the OS I think... I got to get a copy of "Shimmering Swords"! So, did Yoda really have an FMA influence on screen? The philo yes indeed that size matters not. Too bad many Westerners would not understand: they got too much Chinese, Japanese, and Korean stereo-types in their "closed, ignorant minds" and would just get a headache with Thai and Filipino stuff added into the mix!
Real glad that Lucasfilm understands! Mabuhay Eskrima!

 

OMG! Good read ba yung "Shimmering Sword"?

And did you guys catch the new issue of Star Wars Insider? I finally was able to get one yesterday, and I really wanted that issue because of the Lightsaber Combat article. Very informative too. Seems there are 7 forms of lightsaber combat, and the article points out which Jedi uses which forms. Dooku is form II, Anakin is form V (even as Vader), Yoda and Qui-Gon are form IV, Mace is form VII, I think. Very cool issue.

 

JediGinny---wow you so lucky you got Insider already?! I'm not a subscriber and only get it at the newstand(bookstores) but its not out here in the States yet until this week?! Been an Aayla Secura fan since her comic book appearance in SW#19 and got to meet Ms. Amy Allen and Jan Duursema so its great that Aayla/Allen got selected for the cover! Wow.

Looking forward to getting my copies(plural) and the Lightsaber Form articles.

 

Aside from the Lightsaber Fighting articles, the ones about the Jedi Council were pretty good too. Plus the ones on the new Widevision Cards. There's a sample there too.

Wow! You met Amy and Jan! Very cool. Was this at C2 or at another con?

p.s. You didn't answer my question, if "Shimmering Sword" was a good book?

 

Hi Jedi Ginny---sorry but I don't have a copy of the book yet. I heard about it on theforce.net's news page. The author didn't seem to have any training in Filipino bladed weapons but is well-trained in Japanese and Western swordsmanship.

Met Amy Allen and Jan Duursema at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Two very nice women. Didn't get to meet Jan's husband, artist Tom Mandrake though.

Saw Mark Hamill walking around filming his indy film and almost bumped into him at the Dark Horse Booth! Met original Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch, who has spent some time in Makati teaching English. Saw David Prowse and Peter Mayhew but I didn't bother to chat with them. I loved Virginia Hey(Farscape, Mad Max 2)! Saw Todd McFarlane opening up his boxes of sports action figures (no Tom Brady yet!) right next to me as I was waiting for my friend .I missed Whilce Portacio whom I really wanted to catch at Wildstorm Booth. Don't know if Pat Lee(Canadian Pinoy) was at the DreamWave Booth. Lots of other celebs but oh, I did manage to get a photo WITH Joe Quesada as he just snuck onto the very small Marvel table! Sorry, didnt mean to make long mile posts like this!

 

Did I read that right? A feared bounty hunter teaching English in Makati??

 

Yup, it true StompboXX. He was asking about my last name and what ethnicity I was. He only had nice things to say about the PI while he was there. He started the whole chatter and I just wanted my signed photo and picture taken with him.

What I should have asked was what he thought about the braids Boba Fett wore. W've always been told in the EU that it was wookie braids. Ever since TPM, we got to see padawan braids and I found out that most warrior classes in the real world collect scalps. Most kamplian hilts had hair from slain enemies or beasts. I think it cool if Boba's braids were indeed from padawans!

 

Where did he teach? International School in Makati? Curious.

 

Kampilan - Wow! It would be really cool to be able to attend the con. Am already making plans for C3 this early. LOL. Interesting info about the braids too, thanks.

So where did Boba Fett teach English?

 

cal_silverstar: Off topic, but the Ewoks speak Tagalog when they meet 3-PO.

On the OT ROTJ, what I heard the Ewoks say after they met 3PO was "Ngayon, sabi n'ya puno daw 'to."

An ewok also said right after they got blasted by an AT-ST to his dead partner was "Patay..."

 

Great observation hat_tr1ck! I should watch ROTJ again. I do remember some Tagalog accents and some Visayan thrown in but I do no speak or write either fluently!

I don't recall Mr. Bulloch mentioning the name of the institution...he may have but I don't remember.