By What is your martial arts background?
I have been training a style called Balintawak Cuentada since I was 15, which I am now also an instructor. Since moving to Los Angeles I’ve trained other Arnis arts such as Serrada, Kombatan, some FCS Kali & Sayoc, and I’ve been to the Inosanto Academy for training. I also enjoy Muay Thai, Boxing, and Karate.
Can you tell us about Balintawak LA and what you teach there?
The school was established in 2019, the year after I passed my certification for my Instructorship. We heavily promote and maintain Balintawak’s excellent curriculum for use in self defense. I’ve structured the classes to be entry level for newcomers & easily translatable for advanced participants who may be coming from another system.
This style of stick fighting fully focuses within the trapping and boxing range per use of a single stick. Although training begins with the stick, it can represent many things. One can easily substitute it for another item such as a baseball bat, a pen, a flashlight, an umbrella, etc.
The system itself relies heavily on an action/reaction style structure. One side of play leads while the other side of play defends and reacts. Out of most Kali systems Balintawak seems to incite the best reflex training, due to this “follow-the-leader” style of play.
How did you discover the Balintawak Cuentada style, and what made you choose it?
After growing tired of team sports, I expressed interest in pursuing the martial arts. With some research, my father discovered that the art highlighted in the first Jason Bourne film was Kali. He asked around town and we met Jeffrey Soriano, my Balintawak instructor. I began lessons with him and in the next year, he took me to Charlotte and introduced me to GM Bobby Taboada.
What sets this style apart from Serrada, Kombatan, FCS Kali, and Sayoc?
Every system has its strengths, and every system offers unique approaches to the same principles of weapons combat. I like Balintawak’s basic defend and counter ideals, as they are direct and simplistic in nature. Yet, within its simplicity there is a depth to it. To which with proper study becomes more and more vast. You are trading more knowledge for less techniques on paper.
And if you look at our curriculum, on paper, it is very short. Because of this, I am forced to examine my structure and internal use of energy in addition to the physical mastery. If I can’t control my own body how am I expected to manipulate another’s? Other systems have often dubbed Balintawak practitioners, particularly those that have studied with GM Taboada, as “head-hunters”. We are always trying to find that power strike to the head that will shut down the fight.
I believe this philosophy is incentivized by the range. I like that our system immediately places the student in the medium to short range (or trapping and boxing range). Due to the space being compressed, the fight happens much quicker as there is less distance to travel. Therefore quick reaction time is a mandatory skill that we develop almost immediately.
What was your experience like training at the Inosanto Academy?
I always enjoy learning something new or foreign. It keeps me humble & it maintains a student mindset. Plus, I get to relax and just enjoy following along. I spend a lot of energy as a teacher, and so the break from leadership is welcomed. The Academy is a beehive of knowledge and it can be confusing at times. Though brief and sporadic, my training there yielded some amazing insight into a diverse world of martial arts. Thankfully most of Guro Dan’s instructors are obviously well equipped and knowledgeable.
Have you seen The Hunted (2003) with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro? What are your thoughts on the knife fighting in that film
I truly enjoyed that film, and that fight. It was ahead of its time. I believe both actors trained Sayoc Kali in preparation for their roles. It provided a guide for choreographers such as myself to find a balance between performance and what was technically sound. The great thing about that fight is the visual legibility of the moves without compromising the visceral overtones of the characters emotions. The typical audience member could equally appreciate the narrative and the technique, making it easy to follow.
What motivated you to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the stunt industry?
My dad showed me the first Jason Bourne film as a kid which utilized Kali (designed by Jeff Imada from the Inosanto Academy). My mother showed me the Matrix around the same time. Between the two films I fell in love with action on screen. My interests soon turned from pursuing the military to filmmaking and stunt performance.
Can you share how you landed your first job in film?
Two long years was spent doing odd jobs just to get by. I signed up doing background in hopes to get three vouchers so I could become union eligible. I was also a gaffer and worked on grip and electric crews just to get exposure to how a film set operated. I finally got tired of waiting for vouchers and I tafted myself with a friend to become eligible. My first job was for Norman Howell on an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
You worked on X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), what was it like working on a big-budget production for the first time?
We were called to do additional photography previz for reshoots of the film. So unfortunately, I was not part of the on location portion of that movie. But that was the second time I got to work for Garrett Warren, who eventually had me on as his stunt coordinator for his directorial debut in 2025.
In 2020, you worked on Boss Level as a fight choreographer and coordinator, what was it like collaborating with Frank Grillo?
I grew a lot on that show. I had master Simon Rhee come on as my assistant fight coordinator and he taught me a lot of things. Frank Torres was the stunt coordinator and he was also very helpful. Brian Simpson was our lead rigger, so he and I ended up working very close together and I learned a lot more wire rigging from him.
The show was an action version of Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. At first, the script was a little overwhelming because on paper it appeared to have 70+ fights. But once we were able to finalize the choreography of each fight scene with the director Joe Carnahan, then tweaking each vignette to relay a new recycled day for Frank Grillo’s character, actually wasn’t that bad.
Working with Frank Grillo was an insightful experience for me. Learning how to train an actor and juggle schedules was a brand new skill that I was learning. As the previz changed or was updated, so did the material that we had to teach Frank Grillo. And Frank’s availability would change drastically week to week and I remember wishing we had more time to rehearse with them before principal photography began. Of course Frank Grillo is very fit and athletic and he was able to learn a lot of the sequences on the day.
My highlights, of course from that film were meeting Michelle Yeoh and Mel Gibson. I remember being at the stages and walking out to take my smoke break and Mel caught me going out and asked if it was OK if he shared a smoke with me outside. I of course said yes.
While we were outside, he explained that his assistant was helping him quit smoking so he wanted to do it discreetly so as not to get caught. He then proceeded to tell me about the passion of the Christ part 2, and described the whole opening scene to me. I was starstruck and intrigued. It was a very surreal moment for me.
You served as an assistant fight coordinator on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), what was your experience working on a Marvel production?
This was in the second year of the worldwide pandemic. I remember having to get a Covid test twice a week and we were required to wear masks to work at the studios, although none of us did. The Action team had its own space and it was just the five or six of us every day for several months.
Aaron Toney our fight coordinator, tasked me with actor training and shooting previz. I had a fairly elaborate training schedule for the team of Dora Milaji, who are all very talented ladies, and also very sweet. They worked hard together and operated smoothly just like the elite team of warriors they were soon to portray on screen.
I had a great team of doubles for the lead characters, and they stepped up and were able to lighten my load by training their actors while me and Micah Karns and Dominic Smith would work on choreography. Aaron gave me point on the Harvard bridge fight. I was very pleased to see that most of that fight made it to the final version of the film.
I remember being at the Tyler Perry Studios on a Saturday working out some fight concepts with Micah and Dominic and we were thirsty for some Coca-Cola. I decided to walk to the offices across the way and found myself digging through the production assistant’s fridge, looking for a couple of cans.
The place was empty, except for one guy that walked up to me and asked if he could assist me. I told him my errand and he offered to take me to the big boy offices upstairs and search for the Coke. On our walk there he asked what show I was on. I told them Black Panther he said “oh me too”, and asked what position or department I was in. I told him I was in the stunt department. I then also asked him what his position on the show was, in which he answered “I’m directing it”.
I fumbled my words as I realized I was speaking with Ryan Coogler. He was kind enough to defend me and mentioned that the hat and mask that we were required to wear probably didn’t help recognition. Ryan was very fun to work with continuing on. I’ll always remember this comedic mishap.
You worked on the Road House remake, can you share any interesting moments from the set? What are your thoughts on the film overall?
Steve Brown had hired me on as part of the core team where I was tasked to train the local stuntmen and help choreograph some of the bar fight scenes in the movie. It was intimidating meeting Connor McGregor at first. But he is nothing like his alter ego, the one that trash-talked on social media and gallivanted around with his chest puffed up.
In fact, he was quiet, still robust in personality, but very inquisitive and wanted to learn. He even had an acting coach with him on set. He had plenty of control and was cautious not to hurt the stuntmen.
Although during one rehearsal, we had padded up a golf club in order for him to swing it to make contact on my body. Because the club was padded we told him to swing hard, but somehow the pad slipped off during the swing. He struck my body with the club full force, leaving a very large welted bruise on me that lasted a week. I was unharmed, and in fact, I was very proud of the purple bruise that I had received from one of the greatest fighters of our time. I am glad that I am used to stick strikes, otherwise I’m sure he would’ve broken a rib or two.
This is my fourth or fifth time working for Garrett Warren, who was working very closely with the director Doug Lyman to create an innovative way of safely capturing full contact hits to make the fights in the film feel even more realistic and gritty. I always admire Garrett for pushing the limits of what we can do as action designers in finding new means to fulfill a vision.
Garrett had come up with a four element pass that would then later be blended together digitally as one. The first pass had side A deliver their hit into a boxing mitt or pad, full force. The second pass had side B receive a contact hit with a padded glove or pad to capture a real reaction. The third pass was a slow motion pass in which side A with gently make contact with side B. The fourth pass was at full speed, using the traditional Hollywood stack. These four takes would then be conjoined as one.
Garrett had me camera operate the previz for the opening fight scenes. It was very challenging to keep each pass consistent in composition, as it was important to be able to match each pass for the best blend.
You worked as a stunt performer on the Batman: Arkham Shadow video game, how does that experience differ from working on films?
I truly enjoy Mocap work, or motion capture work. As a fledgling performer, it taught me how to slow down my movement and be more in touch with my whole body in order for digital capture to be successful.
The fun part about motion capture is that you could play up to a dozen different characters in one day that you wouldn’t typically be able to play. For instance, I did movement for one of the villains in the video game in which this character is supposed to be older and heavyset. They placed a weight around my waist in order for me to be able to walk more realistically, as if I was larger in the stomach area.
I played both Batman and the villain for this particular video game and also logged and captured some basic tactical movement for the creator’s archives. The POV portion was difficult at first as I had to adapt and modify certain movements in order for punches and kicks to be legible.
I recently saw you in Mexicali and really enjoyed your fight with Bren Foster, it felt a bit short to fully showcase your skills. How did you land that role?
I met Bren Foster many years ago. I briefly worked with him on the last ship, playing a guerilla soldier in the jungle that he shoots. We have trained together at the stunt gym Joining All Movement several times over the years. He seemed impressed with my stickfighting and knifefighting abilities and we’ve kept in touch since.
We have done one or two proof of concepts with Vlad Rimburg, where I have much more extensive fight scenes with him. Unfortunately, these fights probably won’t make it to the public. I have also worked for Luke LaFontaine, the director of Mexicali several times back when he was stunt coordinating shows.
Between the two, they had both thought of me when they had decided to include a machete fight, in which they both called to ask if I was interested in the role. I immediately said yes as Bren is always fun to work with and I trusted Luke’s vision for the fight. Me and Bren choreographed the fight on the spot and shot it out the same day.
You’ve worked on over 60 projects, which one stands out to you the most?
They all have unique or special memories for me. Half of my career was spent in a stunt gym designing previz. The other half spent on location doubling, coordinating and taking part in some aspect of the design process on core teams. Each experience has a fun story, a near mishap, some regrets, and lots of laughter with good teams of people.
At the end of the day, I try to be a better performer or a better leader than the show before. I’m thankful for all the people that have been kind to me, have given me opportunities and chances, and have overlooked my mistakes, believing that I was smart enough to overcome, persevere and improve.
What advice would you give to the new generation looking to break into the stunt industry?
Don’t pretend to know it all. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you make a mistake own up to it. Be confident in what you have to offer, but not arrogant. Arrogance closes the doors to growth. Train multiple aspects of the action design world, which includes camera, editing, sound, and of course, being able to teach.
When you’re choreographing you’re probably going to have to teach it to someone. Either another stunt person or an actor. So be good with people and be very good with communication. Study filmmaking, not just action movies.
Expand your film knowledge beyond that which is required of an action piece. At the end of the day you’re a storyteller, and in order to tell a good story you must understand the basics of filmmaking. I see so many fights online with no intent in the performance and therefore no purpose from the character. I see weird compositions and odd edits. Quite often the editing and camera work highlight the choreography but not the emotional journey of the character. And that is poor filmmaking. Choreography is secondary. The narrative is primary.
What are your top three favorite martial arts films of all time?
Jet Li’s Fearless & Fist of Legend. Anything 1980-90’s Sammo Hung.
What are your two favorite fight scenes in film history?
The alley fight with Donnie Yen vs. Wu Jing in Killzone. Sammo Hung vs Lau Kar-Leung in Pedicab Driver. And as a bonus – any fight from Fist of Legend.
Which three recent action movies would you recommend watching?
I haven’t watched anything recently. I’m not even sure what is out right now! If it is Korean, I’d probably check it out. I love the focus on raw emotion in their action cinema, and the messiness in their performances. HK films have lost their bite. I’ll always advocate watching a solid western or a contemporary western.
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