You see when he's demonstrating his moves on his stuntmen, he's got that bruce lee flow. No traditional stance just the composure of a man waiting to react to an opponent. I know it's just an exhibition, but you can tell he's a high lvl martial artist.
I was there. I was just a face in the crowd and one of the many who shook his hand and got a poster signed, but he seemed like a very nice dude. He stopped and smiled for every photo with a fan. If only he spoke English (his only barrier to US/mainstream media), he'd be big here.
To everyone saying bruce lee and tony jaa are just actors, 1 Bruce lee was a legend in the martial arts community before he was an actor, he studied under the great sifu yip in wing chun and under many others in arts such as taekwondo. Tony jaa has studied extensively in muay boran and other arts as well. He has proven his ability. Hell, he designed his own martial art and philosophy which is now practiced worldwide, tony jaa fough without cgi or wires in the protector
Of course they can fight, nobody is arguing about that. But Tony (or any martial artist movie star, like Bruce lee, Jacki Chan etc) would get completely destroyed if they went into a ring or the octagon and fought a real pro MMA fighter. That's why they are in the MOVIES and not in the Octagon or in a Ring. Only nerds think Tony Jaa and his kind are unbeatable in the real world. High flying kicks and beautiful form will get you absolutely killed in a real fight against a pro fighter.
christian larsson Um, have you not noticed Bruce Lee is in UFC 4.. He began with street fighting and brought the uprising of staged exhibitions. I don't know what your smoking, saying he'd get "destroyed" by stepping into the octagon with UFC fighters who haven't trained nearly as hard as he.
christian larsson bro!MMA fights or UFC are limited because of the rules and regulations...but in a street fight you can hit your opponent at the fatality than cause a death.
christian larsson lol seems like we're the only guys who are not blinded by fancy kicks in movies! guys, i'm a big TJ, bruce lee and jet li fan, but they ARE more actors than fighters! and to those who say ufc is limited (and i'm not even a ufc fan, i love watching boxing and muay thai or k-1 style fights): in the ufc octagon there are only a few things not allowed. bruce lee (who was inspired by muhammad ali) would not last one round in the ring with anderson silva or buakaw banchamek.
+te0nzin u have no idea how hard and how brutal the Muay Thai environment is in Thailand. Kida train from very young age daily and brutally only to have a chance to fight in the rings. Who cares if they're crippled or even die cause they are just nobody from the slump. Tony Jaa don't get to where he is without real substance. You have no idea what he has gone through to achieve what he has today. if he is a fake, he would had been killed years ago. Many had challenge him, no one cares if a faker has been killed...
None of us living will ever see another fighter like Bruce Lee (He was as close to myth as reality can get). But Tony Jaa is a close conciliation. He's absolutely amazing! We're lucky to live in a time where such a man exists. I hope you all appreciate his skill and mastery as much as I do.
+PurpleShy Guy Because Tony Jaa doesn't fight in the UFC doesn't make him a pushover. Look at fighters like Anderson Silva, he kicked ass a long time in the UFC.
Fighting is an art form. It is the perfect balance of strength and control. Of speed and endurance. Of skill and focus. and this is why I have a gun. :P
for their time, yes. Tony's are fantastic, to be sure. You forget that one scene where he fights up a flight of stairs... all in one take; no cuts. Never seen that in a movie, ever. But, for some fantastic old old work, check out zatoichi. Beautiful long, wide sets. Incredible, when you consider the camera equipment they had to work with.
I think what makes Tony Jaa so unique is that he has no formal martial arts education. He just learned on his own. To be that skilled with no education is truly a remarkable feat.
but bruce lee is a smarter and much faster fighter. his philosophy is beyond amazing but tony jaa is still a great fighter. just dont think he has anything over bruce
I like how while he is beating up the first kid, the second one is just standing there, and you can see he's thinking something like "OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, THAT'S IT, I'M DEAD".
I love Tony Jaa. He's young still so he has room to grow. I would like to see him in a real competition though, even though there's a huge difference between movie's and the real thing.
I never knew who Tony Jaa was until I watched Ong Bak 1...when I finished the movie my respect from him and Muay Thai grew. My wife came from Thailand and is a very big fan of Jaa and she knows how to KICK ASS..she knows Muay Thai and I know Wing Chun. Me and her are a great combination because we're both fighters and lovers.
@FlashySenap what I admire is the countless hours of training he put in to get to this level. that dedication and self-discipline should be admired by anyone.
A great demonstration. I always liked that he showed off his stunts in public to prove he could really do them whenever he wanted (granted they went through this dozens of times, but still!). I don't really know of any other martial arts performer that re-enacts their fight scenes live, like him.
Yer thats true, i do jujitsu and have been for 6 years now and i love it. We do both standing (Throwing and defence) and ground work so it covers both genres. :)
I was actually at this event. let me tell you this guys no joke, when you watch the movies, even myself, you feel like theres a little movie magic being done, but this guy is for real. The ufc guys are good brawlers, but tony jaa has one thing they don't have, consistent accuracy, which most ufc fighters are lacking and why they wouldn't win in a straight western boxing match with a pro boxer.
some of the moves ressembles southern gung fu like white crane, hop gar and lama pai. and all his locks are seen from chi na or just some modern self defense. he mixes it very well and very creative.
These guys have so much to teach us westerners,not just about fighting techniques but about the whole spiritual side of it.Only thing is that most westerners wouldn't listen cos 'we already know it all'
all the people complaining about his hand movements for no reason etc... thats all tradition so it has a reason this martial arts were developed during hundreds of years so i think they know what they are doing... fact is that he is an incredible fighter
I'm not talking any shit. Tony Jaa has said in an interview that he never had any formal training. He learned Muay Boran on his own! That's remarkable!
