As a Filipino Martial Arts instructor, it's always pleasing to see more and more of the art being utilized in the action choreography of movies. The moves are efficient, brutal and flow nicely. Movies like the Blade series, Die Hard 4, Out For Justice, The Hunted and the Bourne series have all included some FMA fighting techniques.
A few fight choreographers in Hollywood are students at the Inosanto Academy in Monterey, CA. The owner, Guro Dan Inosanto, was the best friend of Bruce Lee and starred in his movie, The Chinese Connection. Students of Dan, like Jeff Imada and Damon Caro, have shared their expertise in the arena of fight choreography for a number of movies.
In the Bourne Ultimatum, Damon Caro was the fight choreographer and did a pretty good job. I saw a lot of moves that we use in the FMA and especially the use of improvised weapons. I saw a lot of counters to counters that were efficient, fluid and damn sneaky. The improvised weapon in Bourne Ultimatum was a towel and book, in Bourne Identity - a pen, and in Bourne Supremacy - a rolled up newspaper. Although we train primarily with sticks or blades, the movements can be translated to everyday objects lying around and empty hands. Damon Caro's work can also been seen in the fights scenes of Fight Club, 300 and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Jeff Imada also had a hand in fight stunts for Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy and also did a great job creating the dynamic action sequences.
From what I've heard from contacts at the Inosanto Academy, Matt Damon really worked hard to make the moves effortless and exacting - like he's been studying the art for years. He really brings the Bourne character to life and I'm happy to say, presents the Filipino Martial Arts perfectly in the Bourne series.
The Bourne Ultimatum - Bourne And Desh Fight
Posted Aug 02, 2007In the new chapter of this espionage series, Bourne will hunt down his past in order to find a future.
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