Robert Downey Jr
Eric Oram – The Sifu Behind Robert Downey Jr.’s Return To The Top
The sequel to Sherlock Holmes of 2009 and called ‘A Game of Shadows’ is scheduled to hit movie theaters this December 16 and from what I have seen in the trailer, it should be another good one for us martial arts enthusiasts to watch and enjoy.
Like I said, I have only seen the trailer and of course the fight scenes got my attention.
And as we all know, these and other high-quality fight scenes take a lot of hard work, great choreography, stuntpeople etc.
I counted over 50 (fifty) stunt performers plus stunt coordinators, choreographers and consultants who contributed to Sherlock Holmes 2009 and around 40 (forty) in the sequel scheduled in 2 weeks.
Not surprisingly, I am always trying to find out who are the real movers and shakers behind the scenes.
And my search results in reference to Sherlock Holmes will hopefully find your stamp of approval in exclamations such as “I had no idea!” or “Now, that’s really interesting!” or even “That explains it all!”.
First off, the director getting a lot of highly-served credit is Guy Ritchie, who just so happens to be a martial artist himself. He is trained in Shotokan karate, Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. So, the director, meaning the guy with an eye for the big picture and a clear vision of the final product, has a knack for some high-quality fight scenes. Even though, Sherlock Holmes isn’t really considered an actual action/martial arts movie.
And then there’s the lead actor, Robert Downey Jr. and I think we can all agree he is and has been back on top of his game the last couple of years.
It’s no secret that he was pretty much washed up and his film career was going down the drain …. fast.
He had numerous run-ins with the law and his drug problems were out of control.
And if there was any hope to his personal and professional life, he needed to get cleaned up …. fast.
Many posts ago, I wrote about Robert Downey Jr. and the fact that he has been training in Wing Chun kung fu which has obviously been helping him in so many extraordinary ways, both personally and professionally.
But the connection that I didn’t make was who was behind it all and this is where it get’s really interesting. At least for me, maybe even for you, too.
An absolute world authority on Wing Chun kung fu with roots in Las Vegas and owner of a very impressive academy in West Los Angeles, Sifu Eric Oram originally even trained under Grandmaster William Cheung, who way back in the day actually taught Bruce Lee a thing or two about Wing Chun in his very early years.
Sifu Eric is in high demand for top-quality teaching with law enforcement and military units such as Delta Force, Navy Seals, Marines, FBU Hostage Rescue Units, just to name a few.
And then there’s Robert Downey Jr. who supposedly now ensures that there’s a stipulation in every film contract that he signs guaranteeing that Sifu Eric Oram, with whom he of course he really close friends, is on set as his consultant and trainer.
Here are several clips you might enjoy:
And last, not not least:
Congratulations To Fellow Martial Artist, Robert Downey Jr.!
Fellow Martial Artist, Robert Downey Jr. won a Golden Globe Award 2010 for the best comic actor for Sherlock Holmes!
The actor credits the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun kung fu, which he started to train about seven years ago, for giving him the strength to overcome his addictions.
Hey, Robert, Wing Chun looks good on you.
Congratulations from TheMartialArtsReporter.com!
Bartitsu, The Fighting Style Of Detective Sherlock Holmes
The latest blockbuster movie starring Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as his trusted asstistant, Dr. Watson, puts some serious martial art skills on display.
People have been asking me what style it actually represents and I must admit I had to do some research which has been a lot of fun.
Here is what I found out:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author and the creator of the literary figure, better known as Sherlock Holmes, referred to his main character’s fighting style as ‘Baritsu’, which turns out is just missing one letter to be entirely correct.
The martial art is called ‘Bartitsu’ and was named by E.W. Barton-Wright.
Barton-Wright had lived in Japan in the late 19th century and studied Jiu-Jitsu, among others with Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo.
Returning to his native London, he conferred with several martial arts experts in boxing, Savate, walking-stick fighting and Jiu-Jitsu, to create his own system which would incorporate several aspects of a ‘Gentlemanly Art of Self Defence’.
Bartitsu became very popular in the very early 20th century, not only among men, but among women, who also very effectively used their umbrellas to defend themselves against big city London thieves and criminals.
Unfortunately, there was a falling out between Barton-Wright and his Japanese star student/instructor and his successful Bartitsu self -defense system along with school literally vanished overnight.
The Bartitsu Society that is reviving this century-old self-defense system provided the following video documentary. Enjoy!
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