Korean Fighting Art Featured in Sin City
by Sara Fogan

AUSTIN, TX—Loads of martial arts action is going down in the fictitious metropolis of Sin City. It seems that a police officer (Bruce Willis) with a bad heart comes close to finding one as he tries to protect a stripper (Jessica Alba) from a drifter who’s set on avenging the death of his lover. Meanwhile, another man must protect Rosario Dawson’s “Old Towne Girls,” a troupe that includes Devon Aoki (2 Fast 2 Furious), from a crooked cop, played by Benicio Del Toro. Got all that?

Comic-book icon Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, the man behind Once Upon a Time in Mexico, co-wrote and co-directed the feature, which is based on three of Miller’s graphic novels. When the time came to hire a martial arts expert to choreograph the action that such a movie demands, they naturally sought out an expert in reality-based fighting. The man they found was Wonik Yi, creator of tukong.

Yi says tukong, which translates roughly as “special combat,” is based on an old Korean self-defense system. While serving in the South Korean special forces, his commander reportedly asked him to streamline its fighting art, tukong mu sool, and create a more modern style. The result, called simply “tukong,” is composed of numerous elements, including an ancient art from Dae Yeon Sa Buddhist temple, ki training, physical conditioning, forms, acupressure, acupuncture, tai chi, and traditional and modern weaponry.

The ninth-degree black belt emphasizes that tukong is more than just a physical or mental martial art; it’s a way for the practitioner to live his life. “One must learn to choose the right principle to apply to each situation for maximum effectiveness,” he says.

That quality is reflected in the fight scenes of Sin City, he says. While some characters rely on street tactics, Aoki uses classical moves that revolve around throwing stars and a pair of swords. “The premise of the film called for street fighting against a traditional combat-weapon style,” Yi says. “Aoki’s character uses her swords to do rough, street-style fighting, and [she] kills with lightning speed.”

Indeed, Aoki’s character exhibits a trademark technique, which Yi calls “eagle-motion twin swords.” He drew on his own experience as a writer and director to develop the unique fighting method, taking into account the actress’s physique and the qualities of the woman she portrays.

Aoki had only two weeks to master the combat scenes, Yi says, so it’s fortunate she was a quick study. “By her second lesson, she was no longer at the basic level,” he says. “She immediately moved to advanced training.”

Yi says Aoki and Miller, whom he also trained, performed so well that once the filming ceased, he awarded them an honorary black belt from the World Tukong Martial Arts Federation.

Sin City was just released on DVD. Its ensemble cast also features Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile), Josh Hartnett and Jaime King (Pearl Harbor), and Brittany Murphy (Just Married). For more information about the film, visit http://www.sincity.com. For more information about tukong, visit http://masteryi.com.

Gene LeBell a Ninth-Degree
Times Two
SHERMAN OAKS, CA—On March 4, 2005, martial arts legend Gene LeBell received two honorary promotions: a ninth-degree black belt in judo and the same rank in karate. The judo certificate has associated rank from Japan’s famous Kodokan headquarters. Jon Bluming, Chairman of International Organization Honbu Kyukushin Budo Kai, notarized both degrees, and Honorary President Kenji Kurosaki co-signed the karate certificate.

The always-modest LeBell tends to downplay things even when they’re important, said his wife, Midge, who broke the news to Black Belt. However, the master grappler did concede that the judo award is especially important to him.
“A legitimate degree like this, you can’t buy,” he said.

Meet Caitlin Dechelle, XMA’s Newest Teen Titan
by Sara Fogan
MIAMI—Fourteen-year-old Caitlin Dechelle may be one of the youngest members of Mike Chaturantabut’s Xtreme Martial Arts Performance Team and Team Revolution, but don’t let her age fool you. She already has black belts in three disciplines: a second degree in taekwondo from the American Taekwondo Association, a first degree in Chinese kenpo and another first degree in goju-ryu karate. To top that off, she’s an expert in fan, staff, nunchaku, kama and sword.

Obviously, the Florida teen is at the top of her game. She owns 16 world titles in forms, weapons and sparring. In 2004 she won the American Warrior Cup in forms, making her the second girl in the American Karate Association’s 40-year history to win that title. Those are just a few of the goals she’s accomplished since she was taken under the wing of Chaturantabut, Black Belt’s 1997 Co-Competitor of the Year.

The first time Chaturantabut saw Caitlin compete, he sensed she had a special martial arts talent. He kept an eye on her progress on the circuit for a few years, then in 2003 the retired champion approached her at a North American Sport Karate Association event and invited her to join his XMA team.

Chaturantabut’s instincts about Caitlin’s potential have proved spot-on. According to her father, Pete Dechelle, the girl is the only competitor to do what he calls the “Xtreme sword,” incorporating extensive acrobatics into a weapons routine. She also regularly performs in XMA team demos, including 2004’s Martial Arts Industry Association Super Show in Las Vegas and the SENI Super Show in Birmingham, England. She’s also done XMA team seminars in Britain and on the NASKA circuit.

Not only is the teenager an enthusiastic and talented performer, but she’s also dedicated to perfecting her craft. She works out with Chaturantabut two hours to three hours a day, six days a week. Martial arts training has had a positive influence on every aspect of her life, she says.

“It’s helped her relationship skills and her public speaking,” Pete Dechelle says. “She has no fear of demonstrations [or] being in public. It’s made her come out and meet a lot of people that she would never have met, and she’s [gained] experiences traveling and learning how to do things on her own.”

Caitlin maintains a straight-A average at school and participates in school sports. “Martial arts is great for discipline,” she says. “It helps me a lot.”

Three companies sponsor Caitlin’s competition career. XMA Performance Team and Paul Mitchell Hair Care Products pay for travel and hotel bills; and Telemedia Miami pitches in to cover her miscellaneous travel expenses, she says.

The companies will continue to support her competitions “until either I quit or something happens,” she says. “All I have to do is just be winning and promoting who I’m sponsored by.”

“I don’t think the sponsors care that [she] wins,” Pete Dechelle says. “I think they’re looking for good kids to represent what a good kid should be, what a hard worker she is.”  For more information about Caitlin, visit http://www.caitlindechelle.com.

LeBell, Chivichyan on Cover of Stunt Directory
HOLLYWOOD—Black Belt Hall of Fame members Gene LeBell and Gokor Chivichyan are featured on the cover of Stunt Players Directory 2005. It’s the quintessential source for stunt performers that includes résumés and contact information for its 1,900 members.

Kickboxing Scholarship Established at Neglia’s School
SYOSSET, NY—Ed Daniels, a successful businessman based here, recently set up a one-year scholarship to enable a worthy student with a strong interest in the martial arts to attend Louis Neglia’s Martial Arts Karate Academy in Brooklyn, New York.
Daniels, 54, began training under the former world champion kickboxer three years ago. Watching his daughter, Lindsay, studying the martial arts further opened his eyes to the benefits of training and motivated him to establish the fund as a way of giving back to the sport.
To apply, send an e-mail to Kitchenprotektor@aol.com. Your message should explain why you want to study the martial arts and why you need financial support. Include your phone number and address.

Martial Artist Advocates Environmental Self-Defense
SACRAMENTO, CA—For Tom Callos, a martial arts teacher with 25 years of experience, self-defense means more than knowing how to protect yourself in an altercation. He believes taking care of Mother Earth is the ultimate form of self-defense and personal protection. Consequently, he’s now forming a national group of concerned martial arts instructors interested in taking steps to teach self-defense from an environmental perspective.
“I’ve practiced a million blocks, counterattacks, disarms and throws, and I’ve taught thousands of people the technical art of physical self-defense,” Callos says. “The irony is that people are more likely to be hurt by things they do to the environment than by any bully or assailant.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized that asthma, cancer, respiratory diseases, waterborne diseases, birth defects, developmental defects and learning disorders may result from exposure to environmental contaminants. Callos agrees, He’s already been joined by 66 black-belt instructors from around the world—participants in his advanced instructor-training program, called The Ultimate Black Belt Test—and they’ve pledged to begin teaching their students how to protect themselves by protecting the environment.
The first step in the group’s campaign is to walk the walk. Each instructor will perform an environmental cleanup project this year as part of his next rank test. “We will start with little steps,” Callos says. “We’re going to add some environmentally friendly tasks students can perform as they earn their belt ranks—like conserving water, recycling and using fewer chemicals at home.”
He predicts that teaching environmental self-defense will have a significant impact on the way the martial arts are taught around the world. “Who better to educate the public, and especially children, about things that might hurt them than a self-defense teacher?” he asks. “There are few, if any, martial arts schools that make environmental self-defense education a part of their curriculum, but I hope this program will change that.”
For more information, call (530) 903-0286 or send e-mail to Tom@tomcallos.com.