- Who doesn't want to make a karate film?
Riley was looking for female department heads,
and I just happened to be a World Champion Martial artist
so, it just kinda fit what Riley was looking for.
My godfather is actually Danny Pesina,
who is the co-creator for "Mortal Kombat."
He's Johnny Cage.
So, I think having that in my life and knowing that it's
something that I actually could do.
When I was growing up,
there was no division between boys and girls competing.
So I didn't have that separation.
I didn't know that there was a difference.
Made me not know that I was less than, or not equal to,
or that I could adapt and find my own unique style
that made me different than everybody else.
I, at a young age, knew that I moved differently than boys.
And so I utilized that to my advantage.
So, I started incorporating contortion and gymnastics
into my routines, and that's how I started winning
and beating boys.
So, that's also what I implemented into Imogen's character.
Riley wanted Imogen to have Jujitsu foundation
that's basically her secret weapon
to one-up against the guys.
And it's also what she's teaching the kids.
Which, to me, it was cool because, by default,
she was forced to teach the kids' class.
But the kids also had a strong female mentor.
So, she's teaching them a rear naked choke,
and then she uses that in her fight with Thomas.
Thomas is played by Steve Terada, which is a World
Champion Martial artist pioneer of martial arts tricking.
She uses Jujitsu to take him to the ground,
and I'm not gonna spoil it, but she kicks ass (laughs).
That fight is my favorite thing.
We're also so pre-conditioned that it's a social norm
when people treat you a certain way,
when there is a toxic masculinity thing going on
that when someone belittles you,
the fact that I'm 33 and people treat me like I'm 12.
Ego, I think is the main core of what toxic masculinity is.
Whether it's toxic masculinity as a female or a male.
Knowing what's that like, it made me fight harder to get
to where I am so that I could be kind to people
and treat people the way that I wanted to be treated.
So, that's why I fought so hard to be to where I am today.
Past 10 years I've been studying
an art form called MovieFu.
It's how to make action sell on camera.
Because real fighting doesn't sell, it's a dance.
If you think about it as playing a piano,
Jack and Jill are happy.
Jack and Jill are excited.
Jack and Jill are sad.
You can play the same note, but it's how you play it.
Jesse, he's only supposed to be a yellow belt.
- You may wanna start on those reports,
that pile is getting awfully high.
- So, his punch is like his punch and his note.
But then it's like, "Have you been kidnapped for 15 years?
"You're gonna come out and you're gonna punch the same note,
"but it's gonna be totally different."
It's the emotional intention behind that one punch.
It's storytelling through movement.
I wanted it to never feel like it was a stunt double.
I wanted it to be Jesse doing a jump front kick.
I wanted it to be Imy on camera.
I wanted it to be Alessandro.
When you have a stunt double
and you know it's a stunt double,
it takes you out of the film.
So, I never wanted the audience to ever be taken
out of the film.
The imperfections is what makes art interesting.
People are so like, "This is a perfect fight scene."
But I'm like, "I don't believe you."
So, I'm already taken out of the film.
They're human beings performing this,
and that realism is what's interesting.
To be compared to "Fight Club," I'm like, "Yes."
Life is not one note, and you're always gonna be evolving
and adapting in the art.
The "Art of Self-Defense" is survival, and life is survival.
Like, it's been a struggle.
It's been really, really hard.
The hardest work you're ever gonna do is finding out
who you are and trusting yourself.
And then once you find out who you are and trust yourself,
then everything else is just kinda like,
"Come at me!"
I'm just getting started