It’s more important than power. In a real fight, speed, power, flexibility, and coordination are the most important elements. In a movie fight, form, coordination, speed, and flexibility are among the most important elements. Try to watch movies by champion Kick-Boxer Don "the Dragon" Wilson, Chuck Norris, Billy Blanks, and other champion fighters turned Action Stars. You’ll notice how terrible they fight in these movies. It makes you think if they truly are champion fighters. These fighters are trained to fight, not for a movie fight. It’s a different task itself. You see, when fighters fight, they are not that concerned whether or not they have beautiful Kodak Moment kind of form. Their goal is to land a kick or punch to their opponent’s body. When they try to do the same style in the movies, they look awkward because their form is bad. I’m not trying to badmouth these people. I’m sure that some of them are great people. I cannot say the same to the other Action Stars because they have tremendously large EGOS. They think that they are perfect in every way. Jackie Chan is the biggest Action Star in the World, yet you see no trace of Big Ego. It’s all right to have these egos if one can back it up, otherwise one should shut up.

Watch the Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and other Hong Kong Action flicks, you will see nicely choreographed Action Scenes. One thing that they all have in common is the great form they execute. They look like professional fighters. It also doesn’t mean that if an actor or actress is a good cinematic fighter means that they are good real life fighters. "It’s a different cup of tea." The best combination is to have both real-life fighting skills and movie fighting skills.

Another good example of a cinematic fighter is Hong Kong Action Star and "Big Brother" to Jackie Chan Sammo Hung. Now, this guy is really fat yet he has an extensive knowledge in fight scenes. His fights are amazing to watch. The first thing you’ll say if you see him fight. Is this for real? He has done several movies with Jackie Chan such as Project A, Winners and Sinners, Wheels on Meals, and Dragons Forever.

The best tool I know to document your progress is the Video Camera. VHS video cameras are now inexpensive. In addition to the Video Camera, purchase a tripod as well. This way you can tape yourself when no one is available to videotape you.

Start taping. Execute punches and kicks in the air. It is not important to have a partner at this time. Choreograph a scene where you pretend to fight someone. You may feel stupid, but believe me you’ll be ahead of the game. In your mind, visualize that someone is trying to punch you. What would you do? You can do the pretend block and then throw the pretend counter punch. Don’t worry about speed for now. Your main focus is to acquire great form. Do a few more scenes by yourself. When you’re done, watch the tape. If it’s your first time doing it you may look silly. Don’t feel bad. Even Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee’s first filmed fights were terrible. The reason they got better is that THEY LEARNED FROM THEIR MISTAKES. If you don’t like they way you looked on tape, figure out how to make it better. Your punch may have looked awkward, so try again. This time try and feel the way you punch. You must develop your senses every time you execute a move with great form. This takes practice before you develop these senses. Watch the tape again. Does it look good to you? Practice your kicks. It is much more difficult to have great looking kicks than punches.

If you see or feel that you are having a difficult time achieving great looking punches and kicks, here are tips to improve it. STRETCH. Having flexibility will make your kicks and punches effortless. If you feel tight when you kick, you definitely need to stretch. Plus it is great for your health. Don’t try to over stretch. Doing so may cause serious injury.

As you improve your forms, speed up your execution of kicks and punches. The best way to increase your speed is to RELAX. Never TENSE when you move. Every time you tense, you make yourself slower and stiff. The only time you can tense up is right before the full extension of your kicks and punches. Take note, though, that the total time that you tense should be less than a second. About 1/8 to ¼ of a second. This only applies when you are moving very fast in choreography. In the meantime practice in

Not the kind of slow-mo when you do Tai Chi. I mean, move with intent, power behind each strikes but pulling back before the full extension. You can injure yourself if you fully extend with power unless you have something to hit like a heavy bag. Do the slow-mo between your strikes. By doing this, you can feel how each strike is delivered, thereby developing your film fight senses. When you shoot a fight scene, this will come into use.

If you think you’re confident with your form, you’re ready for the one on one fight. Your partner need not be an expert in martial arts if his purpose is to be the fall guy. He must learn how to receive blows. His reaction to your strikes is very, very important. You could deliver the most perfect kick in your life, but if your partner reacts like a lug, people watching will not be SOLD. Decide what kind of fight you want to compose. Do you want the straight punch ‘em up or the more circular Kung-fu style? Once you decide, choreograph a fight sequence. If you are having a difficult time coming up with one, you can watch Martial Arts movie and borrow their fight scene. It’s only for practice. Once you become proficient, you can make your own style. Here’s a helpful tip: If your VCR have a Slow motion or the Jog Shuttle / frame by frame feature, use it when you watch fight scenes. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn about shooting fight scenes with this learning technique. In fact, it’s a must if you want to make great fight scenes. My favorite movies to watch in this manner are Jackie Chan’s 1998 film Who Am I?, Drunken Master 2, Police Story, Wheels on Meals, & the Miracle.

When you start choreographing your one on one fight, start with the slo-mo. Both of you must know the choreography to prevent someone from getting hurt when you speed up the process. When you are confident that you "got it" you can speed up your movements. Remember, when you are moving very fast, it becomes more difficult to perform the steps.

It may seem trivial, but reaction to a strike is a major key to sell the fight. Reaction seems simple, but not too many people can do it well. One of the best reactors is Jackie Chan and his Stunt Team. Jackie personally trains them. Try and shoot some reaction scenes and watch the results. Now watch Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master 2 or Police Story. Timing is essential to reaction. Turning your head sideways when someone gives you a hook punch is not justification for a reaction. You must snap your neck sideways. It is very risky to injure yourself, that is why you should take it slow at first. To pull it off safely, you apply the same techniques when you throw a punch, relax when you do it, and tighten your neck before you reach maximum stretch. Practice, practice, practice. After you do it several times, you may get dizzy or a headache. This happens because when you jerk your head around, blood rushes around your head. No pain, no gain. Take Caution! Stretch your neck before doing this.

To react from a punch to the stomach, jerk your chest area forward as your stomach and lower back move to the opposite direction. You may also slightly lift one of your legs at the same time. So, you basically have several movements taking place at once. Coordination is the key that comes to play. The best example I can give you is to pretend you are a Rag Doll when doing reaction.

Watching the hero fight bad guys with amazing speed is exhilarating to watch. Of course, most Hong Kong Action movies are "sped up". Technically when they shoot the fights they "under-crank" the camera. Film is normally shot at 24 frames per second. When under-cranked, the camera shoots at less than 24 fps. If a scene is shot at 22 fps then played at the normal speed of 24 fps, it appears that movement is faster than normal. Jackie Chan has been under-cranking his fights for years. Bruce Lee never did. In fact, when he made Enter the Dragon, they had to shoot his fights over 24 fps otherwise audience would not see his punches.

Speed fighting without under-cranking takes a lot of practice. I shot all my fight scenes at normal speed. Many people who saw my fights usually ask me if I "speed up" my fights. I always say no. I’ve been training in movie fights for 10 years...in addition to my martial arts training which equals to 15 years. It took a lot of hard work for me to get the speed. Many people practice speeds but could not get the results. I always put it this way: You can train all your life, but if you train the wrong way you will never get it right. I have witnessed many practitioners of the Martial Arts train for years, but they trained the wrong way. It was the same for myself when I worked out with weights when I was 16 years old. I worked out for 2 years, but I did it the wrong way. So I wondered why I did not see great results.

When you punch or kick, your goal is to get from point A to point C without going through point B. It’s almost as if your strike did not travel the gap between you and your target. How do you get this fast? First, you have to relax. Never tense up. Rather than for me to explain a whole book, pick up a copy of Bruce Lee’s fighting manuals. His Jeet Kune Do is very helpful for you to develop speed. Use your waist as a catapult for your punches. Use your hips to help your kicks travel the fastest ways possible. Practice! There is no other way. Play video games to improve eye-hand coordination. Your mind must also be set in a specific way. You must think and even see in your mind’s eye that your strikes are travelling very fast. See in your mind that you are moving very fast as you execute the moves. Warm up your body joints before doing any super fast routine. Don’t forget to videotape your efforts.