Kenpo & Multiple Attackers in The Perfect Weapon (with Jeff Speakman)

Рет қаралды 11,662

Күн бұрын

How is Kenpo used against multiple attackers? In the 1991 film, The Perfect Weapon, starring Jeff Speakman, we see him going up against multiple opponents in various scenes. Today we're going to break down the "wallet" scene and the "Croc Pit" scene and explore how Ed Parker's American Kenpo is really represented in The Perfect Weapon.
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Пікірлер: 66

@wm7102 7 ай бұрын

I know a 6th degree black belt in Ed Parker Kenpo & one of his lower belts severely injured / easily defended against multiple guys that attacked him (3 to the best of my recollection). 'Nuff said... Great videos, Thanks.

@matthewmaxcy1574 6 ай бұрын

It was me....and no I'm not joking was it Master Leo Michaude? I was a purple belt and was attacked by 3 attackers one of them was 6'4" 256 pounds and yes it ended badly for all 3 and the lead attacker the big guy was hospitalized, the fight lasted less than 2 minutes all 3 were layed out ,I was arrested the next day and the police had thought I used a bat against them ,but it happened at a low end bad area bar/bowling alley I had attended with family n friends that evening after a funeral of a family member ,and I was attacked outside,after a lengthy court battle and private investigators i paid for i had to pay restitution of 8 grand for deformities left to the offenders but I got off easy as they were seeking 6 yrs prison time and the offenders had life long deformities and damage, I made that areas local news and papers for over a yr solid on this court case, but I was given a 2 yrs probation and to go back home as it took place in another state ,the judge gave me break as the others had numerous records and I had a clean one. I was extremely lucky. kempo is no joke but it saved my life that night and left others with life long regrets ... I was 25 and I weighed 154 pounds at that time ..

@Quantum3691 6 ай бұрын

@@matthewmaxcy1574Holy smokes, Matthew!! Did they find you somewhat culpable for fighting? I mean, if you were defending yourself and you have that right, why would they impose a penalty of 8 grand and jail time? I'm guessing the judge and attorneys inquired if you were capable of walking away if you had the opportunity and avoiding a fight altogether. All in all, great to know you're ok and that Kenpo came through for you, man.

@Baumschubser1234 6 ай бұрын

@@matthewmaxcy1574 wtf?! You actually have to pay for a self defense? I mean your life was on the risk and you weren´t using any weapons (even if, it would be totally okay) and you still got some "blame" for the outcome? Was the judge part of the gang?!

@davidfausel9029 7 ай бұрын

My admiration and respect for Mr Speakman continues to grow, each and every time you have him on. Bravo and great video.

@monitor4728 Ай бұрын

The Perfect Weapon is still one of my favourite martial arts movies 💯🔥🔥🔥🔥👊🏻👌🏼

@straycat1674 7 ай бұрын

Even now I enjoy this movie. I don’t know why Jeff Speakman didn’t become a bigger star.

@ArtofOneDojo 7 ай бұрын

He had a 4 picture deal with Paramount when they were making the Perfect Weapon, but one of the studio heads passed away and with new heads coming in contracts fell through the cracks. He ended up getting shuffled to smaller studios where he made something like 15 more movies but none of them reached the Perfect Weapon status. Definitely good to watch if you want to see more Kenpo used in film.

@jarrodclark2004 6 ай бұрын

@@ArtofOneDojo I love Jeff Speakman. By The Way, Can you do a Tang Soo Do origin video?

@da90sReAlvloc Ай бұрын

@@ArtofOneDojo Jeff speakman was supposed to be the star of speed

@ArtofOneDojo Ай бұрын

@@da90sReAlvloc Yup, we talked about that in our episode where we're talking about "Perfect Weapon 2".

@keithmutch8369 6 ай бұрын

This movie got me back into the dojo (took a long break from Fred V’s Kempo in the 80s). Great interview!

@cowlico 7 ай бұрын

I saw this movie as a Marine on Okinawa when it first hit, I was already impressed with Kenpo and this solidified it for me!

@mizukarate 7 ай бұрын

I agree with Mr.S .......it is always better to stay on your feet. My primary training is in stand up martial arts like Goju-Ryu but I wrestled in HS. I have used my wrestling in self-defense however I would say your better to stand if you can. The ground causes many issues and no avenue of escape.

@ThePatience404 7 ай бұрын

Master speakman also started in goju-ryu

@GothamKnight84661 7 ай бұрын

Always great to watch an interview of Jeff Speakman, keep up the good work...

@ThePatience404 7 ай бұрын

Loved this movie. The explanation of not going to the ground is spot on, and I love that as much as master speakman has loved involving ju jutsu into the system, he hasn't gone overboard with it but instead mentioning that it should be done with your surroundings in mind. Though respect for master parker included I don't think I would take a dive into glass with my face and jugular out of respect, would you?

@ArtofOneDojo 7 ай бұрын

But's it's only prop glass, so as long as any cuts come from the makeup department, I'm all game. :P

@loyaljones8814 7 ай бұрын

I love this movie,own it on dvd. You jeff speakman has a black belt in GOJU-RYU.

@jordanwright5289 4 ай бұрын

As a 10 year old I i took Kenpo at a small Dojo in Utah. Jeff came in on parents day to speak to us kids, spar and present belts. I got to spar with him and he put the stripes on my yellow belt. I'll never forget it.

@timothyhannahan4135 7 ай бұрын

Mr Speakman and I hang out in Amsterdam back in 1999, he actually saw me knock a guy out at the Ed Parker international tournament n Denmark! Great times!

@JEDiTV 7 ай бұрын

Thanks for another interview with Mr. Speakman. I’m curious why his career as an action movie star didn’t take off like some other stars of that era. I always enjoyed his performances (even if plots, directing and editing weren’t great in a lot of those 80’s/90’s period Martial Arts flicks).

@ArtofOneDojo 7 ай бұрын

His multipicture deal with Paramount fell through the cracks and he got pushed off to smaller independent distributors.

@JEDiTV 7 ай бұрын

⁠ Thanks for that answer ⁠ @@ArtofOneDojo. I’ll be watchin’ for the next two parts from this series. It’s been great so far.

@jarrodclark2004 6 ай бұрын

@@ArtofOneDojoPat E. Johnson passed away. Can you do a Tang Soo Do video, please?

@garykrasinski820 7 ай бұрын

This is a great series. Thank you!

@littlegiantrobo6523 7 ай бұрын

Such a pleasant interview to listen to. That, I always love listening to the stories of how movies are made. Lastly, I just peaked over at your store for the first time ever, and wow! Stellar work! I'll be buying this holiday season for sure!

@steviek1980 6 ай бұрын

I’ve rewatched this movie the most out of all martial arts movies.

@monitor4728 Ай бұрын

Yes I’ve watched it multiple times it’s a brilliant martial arts movie 💯🔥👊🏻👌🏼

@loyaljones8814 7 ай бұрын

I'm glad to see Jeff is doing good, I know he has had health issues in his life. He received a black belt from Lou Angel's in Missouri. One of my black belt buddies has a picture with Jeff back in the day.

@baruaja7070 5 ай бұрын

Respect Jeff Speakman !

@williamw1332 7 ай бұрын

Love the interview Dan Sensei! 🙏🙏😁 I loved that movie when it came out! Still do too. It’s one for the personal library 😁 a sign of that particular time. It’s amazing to see how far Martial Arts cinema editing and choreography have come…and how boundaries continue to be broadened. Love your work Dan! 🙏😁👍🥋

@Scorch1028 7 ай бұрын

I liked the Reelz TV version of The Perfect Weapon, which had several extended scenes. These scenes were very necessary for the audience to make sense of what they were seeing from scene-to-scene.

@HwaRang1970 7 ай бұрын

This is such great stuff! Thank you so much! Please keep it coming! I could listen to both of you all day!

@ArtofOneDojo 7 ай бұрын

I appreciate that! We have a few interviews with Mr. Speakman, always a fun conversation. We have two more of these Perfect Weapon breakdowns coming :)

@Gieszkanne 6 ай бұрын

Have you ever thought of making an Interview with Bruce Juchnik? I know its another style but I think Kenpo and Kosho Ryu Kempo exchange would be very interesting!

@jasonmeinhardt4631 7 ай бұрын

Even though that movie was a bit cheesy it's still in my top 5 Martial art movies of all time.

@lyndonbritt3728 7 ай бұрын

What made it "cheesy"? Just asking for your opinion, I'd really like to know...

@timkittle5418 7 ай бұрын

Cannot get enough of this movie. It may be my favorite martial arts themed film. Jeff Speakman's technical skills were magnificent.

@MaxMordecai-qg5rd 7 ай бұрын

A remake of perfect weapon would be amazing maybe you should try acting it would fit thanks

@justinquaid2610 4 ай бұрын

The only Ed Parker movie with Ed Parker in it that I've seen is called Kill The Golden Goose. In it Ed Parker is just a cold blooded hitman.

@pathfinder7614 15 күн бұрын

Oh how I wish I could train under Master Speakman. For that matter I would love to train under Mr. Dan as well.

@insanitypepper1740 6 ай бұрын

The wallet fight is still one of the best moments of martial arts film.. a perfectly brutal mini-story that condenses all action cinema into a single, seconds-long depiction of swift and righteous street justice. The briefcase scene from Collateral is another good example.

@ArtofOneDojo 6 ай бұрын

Oh man, Collateral was a great film.

@energizerdavehk4418 5 ай бұрын

We needd Jeff actions. Dont need your multiple blah blah blah u old crank.

@wayneeden98 4 ай бұрын

Good choreography is everything

@paulthompson8642 7 ай бұрын

Never gets old

@advancingsecurity 7 ай бұрын

I'm going to have to see this movie again 😁

@user-bo4yc3zt4m Ай бұрын

He distracted them, and knew the distance of each threat angle, i guess 😁

@belkyshaddad9849 5 ай бұрын

THIS IS THE REASON U SHOULD LEARN ( MARTIAL ARTS ) !!!! .( TO DEFEND YOUR SELF ) 😎🙏👍!!!.) THE PERFEK WEAPON ) 👍....

@mizukarate 7 ай бұрын

Mr. Dan can you make a video about other Kempo movies or movies with Kempo people in them?

@ArtofOneDojo 7 ай бұрын

I'm thinking about it, I don't think there are many, if any, outside of Mr. Speakman. He has something like 15 other movies that may be worth reviewing. I'm seeing how well these Perfect Weapon episodes are received.

@mizukarate 7 ай бұрын

@@ArtofOneDojo I have seen some of his other movies.

@ThePatience404 7 ай бұрын

@ArtofOneDojo street knight is probably his other good movie

@ArtofOneDojo 7 ай бұрын

@@ThePatience404 I would agree. I haven't seen that one since maybe 1994, and it's been many years since watching any of the others. I see a Kenpo movie binge in my near future :)

@Joe_Goofball 6 ай бұрын

Excellent fight scenes of Thai style in a cheesy movie called Ong Bak, starring Tony Jaa...

@dblanco77 7 ай бұрын

Why is Kenpo shown as "Korean" in the movie? Also, in the gym scene, you can tell the foot switch when the bad guy grabs Mr Speakman's foot right before 5 swords. It goes from left foot to right foot and vicecersa. #can'tunseeitnow

@ArtofOneDojo 7 ай бұрын

It's not shown as Korean at all in the film. American Kenpo has a primarily Chinese background. Mr. Speakman's instructor in the film is Master Lo. The Koreans are the villains, it's the Korean mafia. Kenpo is not at all portrayed as Korean in this movie.

@1683clifton 6 ай бұрын

I'd give a kidney to ask wether they woukd even consider allowing a 5.0 fighter anywhere near current mma, would Dana white allow his "talent" to be taking a chance of ending their career with a real bone break or real life-changing injury that 5.0 could plausibly inflict?

@assoverteakettle 7 ай бұрын

The Perfect Weapon was released in 1991 and Jeff Speakman cites a long standing criticism of American made martial arts movies which has only been recently addressed and that is the sometimes overediting of action scenes. Butchering is a more appropriate word. This isn't just in action movies but apparently John Travolta insisted that director John Badham use wide shots and tracking dolly shots for his solo dance scene in Saturday Night Fever and to keep edits and close ups to a minimum to keep the dance action going and give it a sense of flow and continuity. One of the worst examples of editing a fight scene was probably Lethal Weapon IV co-starring Jet Li where his climactic fight scene with Mel Gibson's Riggs character was wasted with far too much of the editor trying to leave their signature with horrible extreme close-ups, shaky cam, and jump cuts. It's argued that American filmmaking is far too academic and clinical, when it attempts to shoot action scenes sometimes following trends (e.g. the shaky cam in early 2000's) and lacks creativeness and originality. Far too much film and time being used up for storyboarding, one set up after another: master shot, wide, single on the hero, single on the antagonist, reverse on the hero, reverse on the antagonist, "the two shot", etc. Compare this to Asian filmmaking where artistry and creativity sometimes makes up for the sometimes lack of big budgets and access to special effects (which has changed in the last 20 years due to the advancement of CGI). If you watch classic Japanese samurai movies, by the likes of Akira Kurosawa, or even the more exploitative Lone Wolf and Cub series, so much care is done using imagery using primarily wide shots and tracking shots. Similarly the classic 90's kung fu movies out of Hong Kong by the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, where they often kept scenes wide to showcase the athleticism and death defyinig stunts. Another issue is because of the cost of shooting in Hollywood that they traditionally do not dedicate the time (shooting days) necessary to cover all the action well and so they end up having to cobble things together in the editing room as Jeff Speakman said. Around Y2K it was absolutely laughable how Hollywood was importing Asian action stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li only to have their talents wasted by the butchering job of Hollywood editors. My apologies to all the editors out there but, wow, stop getting splice happy, please! But things have slowly changed as a lot of the Marvel and DC superhero movies have put a greater emphasis on treating action as its own art form in film making. Now, I have to go listen to The Power by Snap! and do an improvised kata.

@ArtofOneDojo 7 ай бұрын

Interesting points, but I think you're thinking of Lethal Weapon 1 with Riggs' fight with Gary Busey. That fight was nothing but close ups and choppy editing and is a terrible edit. Lethal Weapon 4 showed much clearer moves with Jet Li. I personally hate the close up quick cut style of editing. We watch martial arts movies to see the martial arts. The same complaint applies to Batman Begins, all the fights are quick up close flashes. The irony of what you said about bringing in the Asian stars to give wider shot performances, the reverse was true in Mortal Kombat (1995). Pat Johnson choreographed most of the fights and most of those are clear and in wide shots. The Scorpion and Reptile fights however were choreographed by Robin Shou, and while very awesome fights, those have VERY rapid cutting and flashes. His fights were more "Americanized" then the American choreography. I don't mind cutting and editing, as long as they're not hiding or excluding context and moves. We want to see the fury of the fight, not motion blurs. That's one of the best things about the John Wick fight scenes...we see EVERYTHING.