Greenside

Greenside from Zero Trooper on Vimeo.

Check out this short film I filmed in Chicago a few years ago... lots of cool action!

Living within a crumbling city rife with disease are Jackson and Acacia. Every day poses a struggle as Jackson attempts to prevent Acacia from succumbing to an illness. Unfortunately, the only cure lies deep within Greenside, a heavily fortified biodome guarded by the Zero Troopers, where the city's privileged and powerful live a safe and comfortable life...

Movie Review: "Chocolate"

No, not the foreign movie with Johnny Depp. This one comes from the director of the awesome "Ong-Bak" movies starring Tony Jaa. I checked this movie out last week on my XboxLive Netflix instant stream. The movie had a unique plot (girl with autism fights to save her sick mother), AWESOME fight scenes, and it was funny too!

I don't know who the girl is, but she did an amazing job acting and especially with all the action sequences. She fights better than most guys in action movies, you have to watch it to believe it!

I give "Chocolate" 8 ninja stars out of 10

Movie Review: "Street Fighter:Legend of Chun-Li"

I like dumb movies. Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, Tommy Boy, Wayne's World, and Napoleon Dynamite are all movies that should have won Best Picture at the Oscar's in my opinion. Throw in martial arts action and "Street Fighter:Legend of Chun-Li" should have been my all-time favorite movie.

I had heard and read reviews calling this movie a piece of crap and I refused to believe them until I saw it firsthand. I can now wholeheartedly agree with everyone else. It's like the producers knew this movie was gonna suck and didn't care. You know when you watch a movie and there are sometimes little mistakes like there is a cup on the table in one shot and in the next it magically disappears? This whole movie is like that. It's like they did this stuff on purpose. There's a scene where Chun-Li (Kristen Kreuk of Smallville fame) is playing a piano concert and it was obviously a greenscreen shot. The audience looked worse than some of the old generation crowd's in Madden Football. They didn't even move!

The entire movie seemed like it was a voiceover of Chun Li's voice. I think they may have tried to do that to cover up all the holes in the writers' plot and also to have less acting by the actors. There was this really awkwardly placed scene in the movie where Chun Li has a lesbionic moment with one of the bad girls in the movie in a dance club. Chun Li seduced this girl on the dance floor with some gyrating moves and lured her into the bathroom where she proceeded to kick the crap out of her. It was really strange, and usually that sort of thing would be one of the positives of a movie! Also, Chun Li's mom looked younger than her when she was on her deathbed! Also, the young versions of Chun Li in the flashback scenes went from full Asian, to kind of Asian, back to full Asian, then to half Asian. I can't even remember all the horrible things that made it into this movie! Not to mention Chris Klein's acting performance. I don't even remember his character's name. He was like a character from a bad 80's cop movie... but worse. The martial arts scenes were okay, nothing special though.

Simply put, this movie was more fragmented and poorly put together than this movie review I just spat out of my gullet. Wow.

Street Fighter : Legend of Chun-Li gets 2 ninja stars out of 10.

I really need to review a good movie next time....

It's not WHAT you do, it's how you DO it

In life, this phrase holds true as it does in martial arts. Who cares if you can do a triple twisting quadruple flipping dolphin spin kick??? I can make a side kick look better   ;P

Martial Arts Supply Workers = Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons?

Today I went into the local martial arts supply shop and bought a pair of escrima sticks. Can't wait to start choreographing a giant fight where everyone fights with sticks.

Anyways, this supply shop (i will leave them anonymous for their own protection) seems to be like any other martial arts supply shop I've ever been to. Now, I 've only really been to like 5 in my life including in Minnesota but bear with me. Blah blah blah I am going to cut straight to the point. ALL EMPLOYEES / OWNERS ARE OUT OF SHAPE AND DO NOT PRACTICE MARTIAL ARTS!!!! Okay, that's a bit of a generalization but that has been my experience.

I was talking to the lady about stuff and I asked: "Where do you train?" She replied with something like this: "Well, I don't train but we've all dabbled here and there in the martial arts..."

That translates into.... "I never really took classes but I've always been fascinated with ninja stars, nunchucks, and Chuck Norris."

Being an expert in martial arts is not a prerequisite in owning or working in a martial arts shop but it is helpful. Hmmmm, maybe I will get a job at a knitting factory.

Dragonball Evolution Review

So ummm I just watched "Dragonball: Evolution" Starring Justin Chatwin, Chow Yun Fat, Jamie Chung, and Emmy Rossum.

I have never been into the anime that the movie was based on, I

just wanted to watch it because it seemed to have at least some cool action scenes in it. I was wrong, and I wasted a few hours of my life watching this. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it wasn't good... at all.

The movie is another prime example of a big problem in Hollywood. Studio execs must not trust that an Asian actor can carry a movie. So what do they do? They hire a Caucasian actor to portray a character that is clearly Asian:

This happens way too much. They should have hired that Mike Moh guy. haha.

Anyways, you can watch this movie if you're totally bored or if you've got something to distract you while you watch it.

Daily Dojo gives "Dragonball:Evolution" 3 ninja stars out of 10

Honorary Ninja

This is moments before Brett Favre chopped Aaron Rodgers in the neck.

Brett Favre deserves to be an honorary Ninja for his dismantling of the Packers yesterday. There is nothing honorable about stabbing a former team in the back, but it's the Packers!!! So.. I am rewarding him with the honorable title of Football Ninja.

Best Martial Arts Video Games

I am a video game geek. I am also a ninja. Hence, I happen to love it when video games involve martial arts. All 'action' games involve some sorts of martial arts moves, but for this list I will only refer to games with a martial arts theme. Some of these games were a big reason why I started martial arts, some of these games inspired me to learn new moves, and some of the moves in these games that once seemed impossible to me, are now moves in my ninja arsenal. Okay, on to the games in chronological order:

"Kung Fu" for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) AKA "old school N

intendo"

This game was the first game I fell in love with. This classic side-scrolling beat-em

-up game has it all. Kicks, chops, and AWESOME kung-fu sound effects. The evil villain Mr. X has captured your girlfriend and you must fight off a bunch of dudes that attack you with... hugs. I never even beat this game but as a kid I had a ton of fun playing the first two l

evels then dying everytime I got to the guy that throws knives. Who throws knives, Honestly!?

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game" for the NES

The turtles were my number one reason why I started taekwondo. This game was one of the reasons why I loved the turtles. This game is awesome. You can choose to be any of the turtles, and better yet it gave you the chance to take down the evil Shredder. Not only that, but April O'Neill is in the game. Hot.

"Ninja Gaiden" series for NES and later Xbox 360 and PS3

This series revolves around Ryu Hayabusa, the ultimate ninja. This guy flips, slashes, kicks, kills, and takes names. All without being seen or heard. Originally on the NES, this game had awesome cut-scenes, a cool upgrade system, and was insanely difficult. Needless to say I never beat this game either. In 2004 they rebooted the series on the 360 and made it a full 3-d action game. AWESOME.

"Killer Instinct" for the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64

This was my favorite fighting game. It was one of the first game that used "3d" graphics in a 2-d fighting game. I still quote the game frequently when I yell out : "C-c-c-c-combo!!!!" as I pummel multiple foes with my ninja moves.

The "Street Fighter" series for all consoles

Chun-Li was one of my early childhood crushes. Basically all of the characters

are awesome and the special moves in the game have been pioneered what we now call "Xtreme Martial Arts." I had always wanted to do Guile's flash kick, and now that I can it's not as cool as I thought it would be but oh well it's still pretty cool. Oh yeah, and this game series inspired two horrendous Hollywood movies. Awesome.

The "Mortal Kombat" series for all consoles

"FINISH HIM!" Enough said.

The "Tekken" series for Playstations 1, 2, and 3

This is my favorite fighting series. One of the first games to make the move into the 3-D, Tekken is a deep fighting game that is fun and easy to pick up and play. I will forever hate Eddy Gordo for all of his cheap (but cool) Capoeira moves, but my favorite fighting character out of all games is Hwaorang when I believe he was introduced in Tekken 3 for the PS2. He was the first full-on Korean Taekwondo fighter in a fighting game and boy could he kick his face off! I mimicked my sparring style so closely to his that I would frequently lose matches because I would try to do some ridiculous "Hwaorang"-like move. It was worth it though.

Well there you have it. There are many other great games like Soul Caliber, and Virtua Fighter, but I simply didn't play those games much. If you're a martial artist and like games, try these games out!

Martial Arts Expertise does NOT transfer to All Sports....

My younger brothers in law are really into skateboarding. So much that they had a mini half-pipe built in their yard. They make going up and down that thing look so dang easy so one night I said: "pshhhh, that looks easy I can do it".

Lo and behold, here's the result(sorry for dark video):

Here's what it did to my back:

Needless to say it hurt a little, but that didn't stop me from accomplishing my goal of "Dropping in" as the skaters would say.

"VICTORY!"

Dancing with Martial Arts Stars??

For all fans of the martial arts: you now have a legitimate reason to tune into ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” without feeling ashamed. Why, you ask? Two of America’s very own martial arts stars are contestants! Chuck Liddell of UFC fame, and Mark Dacascos, who is currently best known for his role as the “Head Master” on Iron Chef, have already performed their first dance and thankfully have survived the first week of elimination.

I think it’s great that Chuck and Mark are doing the show. I know that there are many people that think it was a bad idea (especially for Chuck) because of the possible embarrassment and threat to their machismo, but I think it takes a lot of guts to go out on national TV and dance around in tight outfits.

Many UFC fans believe that Chuck Liddell has already fought his last fight in the octagon, and if that is true I believe that he has made the right decision. In his last few fights it seemed as if he has lost his intimidation factor and edge. He will go down as one of the legends of mixed martial arts, but his time is done and I am happy to see that he has found a new gig so quickly!

Chuck’s first dance on the show was the foxtrot. I am no dance expert but he looked a little uncomfortable out there. In all fairness, he did much better than most were expecting but he was pretty stiff and I actually thought his footwork would be better. On the bright side, I’m sure he will learn quickly and he has a shot at doing well because is truly a likable guy and has a huge fan base in the martial arts world. He just has to hope that all the tough martial arts guys across America will call in and vote for him!

I had the pleasure of working with Mark Dacascos and he is the true definition of a martial artist. Humble, gracious, and a hard worker. Not only that, but the guy can still move like he’s twenty years old. In my opinion, he is one of the most underappreciated martial arts action stars of American cinema. Some of his notable movies on his extensive resume are: “Brotherhood of the Wolf” and one of my favorites growing up “Only the Strong.” It’s a shame that the vast majority of America has no idea that this guy is an action star. Most will see him as “that guy from Iron Chef.”

Mark’s debut dance was one of the most memorable as he did the cha-cha to the song: “Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting.” He successfully integrated some great martial arts moves in with his dance without overdoing it. In addition to that, the guy can really dance too! If anyone has ever seen his movie “Drive”, this came as no surprise to you as he had a full song and dance towards the end of that film. Unfortunately, no matter how well he dances Mark has an uphill climb at winning the competition only because he is not as famous as some of the others. Hopefully America will get to know him and vote for him!

Regardless of what the purists may say about martial artists dancing around like “sissies”, I’ll bet that when the show is over Chuck and Mark will look back at the experience and say that it was just as hard (if not harder) than their work as martial artists. Kudos to them for stepping outside of their comfort level and giving more exposure to the martial arts world.

How Old is Too Old to Fight?

With the recent news of NFL great Herschel Walker making the jump to mixed martial arts (MMA), I got to thinking... How old is too old to fight? First off, let me say that I applaud Herschel Walker for doing what he wants to do. Walker is 47 years old and has been a long-time student of the martial arts and even holds a 5th degree in Taekwondo.

It seems as if Walker's motives are not financially related, and it does not seem to be a publicity stunt either. He just wants to experience another chapter in his life outside of football. Who knows, maybe Brett Favre will someday find something to do other than football (Yeah, right!!!) Other professional athletes that have turned to MMA **Cough** Jose Canseco **Cough** have resorted to fighting simply to earn a paycheck or to get some publicity and in most cases they ended up embarrassing themselves. I truly hope Walker does well or at least does not get embarrassed. The guy may be almost half a century old, but look at Randy Couture. The guy is 46 and is in the best shape of his life. Not only that, but has been UFC champion defeating men half his age on a regular basis.

Herschel Walker has been a star at the highest level of football, was an olympian as a bobsledder, and is now embarking on a MMA career. The guy is a renaissance man, and is super cool just for the fact that he is the closest thing we've had to recreating the movie "Cool Runnings." Almost all of the press I am reading is suggesting that Herschel is too old, out of his league, and will only succeed in making a fool of himself. I think it's a shame that these journalists are hating on Herschel for following through with something he is passionate about. We should all be so lucky to be disciplined and talented enough to be able to pursue a career in MMA.

What if he fails miserably? A fifth degree black belt in Taekwondo is great, but that training alone will not be nearly enough to keep you standing in the caged ring. I am a fourth degree black belt in taekwondo myself, and I know I have no business getting into MMA. One punch to the grill and I would probably die on the spot. That's why Herschel is undergoing a 12 week intensive training camp with some of the best in the biz. He has been training in MMA for a long time, and this training camp is sure to help, but we can't be sure of what is to come until his first fight is in the books. If he's pit against true MMA fighters, I predict his MMA career won't last long. If that's the case, I still think Walker is a winner for trying. Isn't that what martial arts is all about? It's about testing your own limits, pushing yourself to become stronger both physically and mentally. In the honor of the martial arts spirit, let's all root for Herschel!

How to Choose a Martial Arts School

When I was 12 years old I decided I wanted to be the next big action star in the footsteps of Jackie Chan. As it turns out, being Asian would not be enough to fulfill that goal. I needed to learn how to kick some butt. After much persuasion, my Mom enrolled me at the martial arts school that we always walked by when we went to the grocery store. Thankfully, it was a great school with quality instructors. Over two decades later I have become a champion, an instructor, and I am still passionate about the martial arts.

Not everyone is so lucky when choosing a martial arts school. Throughout the years I have heard many horror stories of people that have lost their interest of the martial arts thanks to a lousy teacher or school. What a shame. When taught properly, martial arts will change your life for the better. When taught poorly, martial arts will lead to an embarrassing/frightening memory, an injury, or worse. My Mom chose my martial arts school based on convenience and location. For most Mom’s, convenience is the number one factor in determining a martial arts school for their child. I often wonder: “What if my Mom chose the Karate school down the road?” Who knows who I’d be, what I’d be doing, and what I would have accomplished? I’m just glad things worked out the way they did.

Today is a much different time than it was twenty years ago when Momma Moh brought me to my first Taekwondo class. With all of the online resource we have today, narrowing down a list of possible martial arts schools for yourself or for your children is pretty easy to do. Let me take you through a few of the steps you should take before you choose your training grounds.

It’s All About Style

There are many different styles of martial arts. Some are similar, some are not. Determining why you want to learn (or want your child to learn) is crucial to choosing a style that will fit your wants and needs. Today, Taekwondo is the most popular for families and kids thanks to its sheer number of schools, heavy emphasis on kicks, and ease of basic techniques. For adults, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is growing in popularity due to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). However, this is not to say that these styles are the best for everyone. I suggest you do your own research as to what is available in your area and what each style has to offer. Otherwise, this article will never end!

Try a Class!

Most schools have a special introductory special where you can try a class for free or try a few weeks or a month at a low-price. Take advantage of this! The best way to find out if a school is right for you, is to experience it first hand.

Things to Look For:

- A school that is accredited by a governing body as many martial arts schools are unregulated. For Taekwondo schools, the big ones are (ATA, ITF, WTF)

- Instructors that are courteous, professional, and have proper experience. All of these things can be found out by watching or taking a class from them. The hard-nosed tough guy instructor is now a thing of the past. There are many instructors currently teaching that have no business teaching others. They should have an instructor certification or some kind of credential. Also, just because they’re a “Champion” doesn’t make them a good instructor. Also, there are many great instructors that aren’t great practicioners.

- A clean school with appropriate flooring. If the place smells, get out of there. Hygiene is very important as there are hundreds of kids and adults using the same facility as you are every day. Also, most full-time martial arts schools have foam or rubber mats nowadays.

- Are their black belts any good? If not, their instructors most likely are not very good. Now that doesn’t mean every black belt has to be amazing, but a black belt has technically “mastered” at least basic technique.

- Hidden fees. Lots of schools hit you up with these. Ask outright: “What are the additional costs involved?” Also, be wary of signing long-term contracts with a lot of money up-front unless you’ve been taking class for a while.

Hopefully these things help you in choosing a martial arts school. If it helps, I started with the American Taekwondo Association (www.ataonline) and am still a proud and loyal member. But like any other organization, there are some schools that are better than others and I recommend that you follow all the afforementioned guidelines before committing. My number one piece of advice remains: take a class! Do your initial research and then let your gut feeling decide whether or not this is a place you could potentially earn the rank of the highly esteemed: Black Belt.

Ninja Movie Review: "Ninja Cheerleaders"

The only reason why I saw this movie is because I was bored and it was listed in the free movies section of my OnDemand. Oh, and the fact that it's called :"NINJA CHEERLEADERS!" How could this be bad!??

This is only a partial review as I only got through about 20 minutes of the film. I want those 20 minutes back. Horrible fight scenes, horrible plot, and horrible acting. George Takei plays a ninja master/pimp. Seriously. It was weird.

Who knows, maybe the movie got good after I turned it off. More than likely, it got worse. Don't waste your time with this one.

It gets 1 ninja star out of 10.

Ninja Warior Vid

Here's a quick video that a buddy of mine made:

American Ninja Warrior

G4TV has this show called "Ninja Warrior". Some of you may have heard of this show. It's based on Japan's uber-popular gameshow that is similar to what "Wipeout" is except it's actually geared towards real atheletes. Well, this past weekend G4 had an open try-out for "American Ninja Warrior" for a chance to be one of 10 Americans to fly to japan to compete on Ninja Warrior.

A few of my friends had been training for this event and I did not plan on trying out until the last second. To make a long story short, I got to run the course!!

It was... AWESOME!!! The course was comprised of:

1. The 5 angled steps over water

2. Rope Swing to platform

3. Cylinder Run

4. Mini-tramp to Spider Wall

5. Pipe Slider

6. Warped Wall

About 85% of all the contestents fell into the water on the rope swing. My goal was to make it past the rope swing. I BARELY made it! haha. The cylinder run was easy and so was the spider wall. My lack of training for the Pipe Slider (you hang onto a pipe and have to use your arms to slide the pipe down 3 drops) was what led to my demise. I was so close to taking on the warped wall! Next time Ninja Warrior comes around I will have worked on my grip strength so I can ring the bell at the top of the wall!

I enjoyed the experience and am glad I had the opportunity to run the course! There were a bunch of people that showed up at 5am and didn't get a chance!

UFC Aftermath

Wow. So uh... I was way off on my predictions. 1 out of 5 ain't too bad is it?? yeah it is..

Anyways, it was a great show and the Couture vs. Nogeuira fight was spectacular.

UFC 102 Predictions

Hey y'all. UFC 102 is 2nite!

Here are my quick thoughts and predictions:

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Winner: Leben. He's certifiably insane. This is like Leben's 100000000'th chance to take his game to the next level. He's gotta capitialize at least once, right!?? Plus, he's insane/crazy/loco. He will win by either knockout or by biting Rosholt's head off.

Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Winner: Vera... Only because I didn't wanna have to try to spell the other guy's name out again.

Nate "The Great" Marquart vs. Demian Maia

Winner: Maia by submission. Marquart is big and ripped but I think Maia will beat him with a rear naked choke or because Marquart will be dq'd for roiding out in the cage.

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

Winner: Jardine. He looks like a cross between santa and satan. He's always underestimated because he moves like a 94 year old with severe arthritis. I haven't been wowed by Silve the times I've seen him. Jardine by boot to the head.

Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira

Battle of the grizzled vets.

Winner: Couture by decision. Have you seen Couture's ears??? Any guy with cauliflour ears like that has GOT to be tough.

Matt vs. Mike... the rematch!

Brandon Soohoo (the little general from "Tropic Thunder" and Young Snake Eyes in "GI Joe") interviews Matt Mullins and Mike Moh. Random martial arts ninjary ensues...

World Premiere: "Dojo Drama"

So this is what happens when I am tired of playing the "bad guy". I write a story that makes me the "hero" :)

I posted this in it's early stages a while back but now it's polished and ready for the big time. This is a little project I put together with some friends for fun and your enjoyment!!

Check it out:

Coming soon....

Hey DojoDweebs!!

Sorry for the infrequent posts as of late... been pretty busy but I have some great news. This week Dailydojo.com will be premiering TWO, count them, TWO new Vids. The Final Cut of "Dojo Drama" and an interview I did with Matt Mullins, one of the leads on "Kamen Rider"! Be on the lookout! To whet your appetite, check out the fight scene that aired a few weeks ago.... Matt may have gotten the better of me that time, but this is FAR from over!!