Actor and martial artist Donnie Yen spent his youth in Boston, dividing his time between sessions at his mother's martial arts school, boxing gym, and lifting weights at the Chinatown Boys Club.
What martial art does Donnie Yen practice?
"I was training to be in action movies before I even knew it was a possibility," Yen told Men's Journal. Even the frigid cold of New England didn't stop him from training.
I'd do a jump kick, then drop to a full split, on the ice, just to test how well my body could control the movement.
It wasn't just about all kinds of moves he could perform, but also what kind of conditions he could do them.
His main desire since he was young
This wish to be one of the next big action stars has come true. Yen started his career in Hong Kong and became one of the most sought after actors.
The turning point that brought him worldwide fame and familiarity came when he played the legendary Wing Chun Grandmaster Ip Man, better known as Bruce Lee's teacher, on screen.
More recently, his role as blind battle monk Chirrut in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has brought him even further into the international spotlight.
Now, with Ip Man 4, his latest kung fu film, Yen returns to the roads that brought him here.
How was your upbringing growing up in Boston?
Donnie Yen: My mother was a martial arts teacher and she ran a wushu school, so I started training with her, but there was an early fascination with what the body could be, as well as the physical aspect of martial arts.
Naturally, I was a curious person and found myself hungry to know how to make myself stronger.
There was no access to the information that there is now, so it all depended on where you went and what books you could get your hands on.
Besides your mother's school, where else did she go?
I remember taking the tube to Roxbury, it took about an hour or so to get to a boxing gym.
There were no commercial boxing gyms such as. They were really all for legitimate fighters and trainers getting ready to compete.
But I found my way into one of them and met the fighters who let me into the community.
I was a strange sight there, this skinny little Asian boy, but they took my bag and showed me things. I spent months. Looking back, it was a bit of a crazy experience.
I also got into bodybuilding thanks to the Rocky and Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.
It was my first show to see a physicist as a main character, and it was superhuman. He wanted to increase muscle because he was somewhat skinny.
I found out there was a Nautilus machine at the Chinatown Boys Club, so I'd go after all my martial arts and boxing. He just spent hours training there and lifting weights.
There are some pretty crazy videos of the workouts you've done. Where do these routines come from?
That was when he was trying to be an action star. He was trying to be a "whole package" that not only looked like the part but also had that knowledge of martial arts.
I took these routines from the books, from everything Arnold and Sly Stallone did. I also incorporated some old school Shaolin training and also some inspiration from what Bruce Lee did.
Where does the discipline come from to do all this?
I was relentless in my quest to be the best I could be, setting crazy goals for myself. For example, I challenged myself to do 10,000 side kicks on the hanging bag and put it in my notebook.
So I would just spend hours doing side kicks and at the end of the day I would write, for how many hundreds of kicks, when I hit 10,000 kicks, those side kicks were very strong.
There were several times that I pulled heavy bags off the wall, maybe 10 times. He would go to boxing gyms and finally drop his heavy bag off the roof.
How did you take this base and adapt it to action movies?
I used this passion to learn in each work, first, I will study intensely the style that should dominate my character. Then I would hire experts and consultants to help me bring the best version to the screen.
Also, I was always looking for new styles and new techniques that I could incorporate into the movies myself.
Do you remember any examples of this?
I remember when mixed martial arts competitions and cage fighting first appeared before and during the early stages of the UFC.
I was in Hong Kong running around trying to find ways to watch the fights. She was chasing the tapes.
I was more interested in seeing the Gracias and what they were doing with jiu jitsu. Once I saw him, I knew I had to put him in my movies. I was one of the first to bring it to the cinema in Asia.
How did you feel when you got the role of Ip Man?
I played a former practitioner, not to mention a revered figure, as well as being Bruce Lee's teacher, so I worked with Wing Chun experts for about three months.
I spent hours breaking down the moves and ideas, it is impossible for anyone to understand everything there is to know about Wing Chun and be on their level.
I should have studied for decades with no other responsibility. [All I could] was try to figure out what he could from the philosophies and build on the foundations that he had built over the years in various styles of martial arts.
I don't think anyone could really play that role without that [existing] knowledge of martial arts.
In addition to training, how did you prepare?
I had a responsibility to portray this person to the best of my ability, even though there were fictional elements to the story.
In addition to the constant training he was doing, I spent a lot of time meditating on him and what he accomplished. She would find the music that seemed to represent her. I spent a lot of time getting to know the man beyond legend.
How did you feel when you were so well received?
I had no idea the movie would be as good as it did. I remember when it came out, it changed my career a lot, but it also hit mainland China hard.
This had an interesting effect as the Wing Chun style started to become popular all over the world due to Bruce Lee, but strangely it was not that popular in different provinces of China.
In the country, martial arts are very regional, and the film was a way to transcend the style.
I have heard that thousands of people have started Wing Chun because of the movie, and this is surreal to me. Many Wing Chun practitioners have approached me for telling me what an effect this had on their classes.
I was just trying to do the man justice and we found ourselves reinvigorating the popularity of the technique in some way, which is a great honour.
Was there a moment in the series that was particularly memorable?
Facing Mike Tyson in the third film was very emotional for me. I'm a big fan of him as a fighter, but having him in the movie was also an interesting challenge for me as I had to defend myself against him.
Not just like me physically, but like the Ip Man character in his fighting style. It was a very unusual challenge.
How was the preparation of this last Ip Man movie different from the previous ones?
Of course, I had already established the training and practice routine before the first movie, this last movie was more about the man and his mindset. The franchise now has a legacy and I wanted to do something good for the fans when it comes to closure.
This preparation was less explosive and aggressive, since Wing Chun is a more elegant martial art.
It's a very different style than what we normally see in today's action movies. I liked the preparation, knowing that it would be the last. I let the rest flow and enjoyed the experience.
What was the most difficult part of acting in Ip Man?
It's very difficult to transition between the types of roles I play. Going from a fighter who just wants to hurt to a peaceful martial arts grandmaster can be a lot.
One day I'm on the set of XXX with Vin Diesel, I'm wearing my leather jacket, doing my one-two-three combinations and jumping back, and the next day I'm in my traditional costume performing in Ip-Man.
I need to spend time practicing, but also focus on the right space for [the role]. This may take a while.
How do you maintain your basic physical condition?
I always take care of my body, through training and recovery methods. These days I focus on stretching to be as flexible as possible, as this is of great importance with the type of action I am doing.
As you age, you can lose flexibility and hurt yourself. I don't do heavy weights anymore, I just don't need to get as strong as I need to.
You act as a general in the next Mulan. What did you think of the physical aspect of that role?
I focus on bodyweight training, a lot of push-ups, as well as the relaxation training that I always do.
Everyone in the film went through months of training to prepare for their role. My character is good with his sword and a taichi master.
The director honored me and the production team seemed to respect my career and what I've done so far.
When I got to the set, the stunt and martial arts coordinators agreed with me to add my own take on the choreography they put together.
What was it like filming that taichi scene from Mulan?
I only did two takes. The first one felt good and so did they, but we decided to do another one. The movements of the two were different, and I think I couldn't recreate them because this art is so much being in the moment.
I don't do much tai chi, but I like it a lot. There is another level of connection: being in tune with your body in a higher sense.
My mom is a great tai-chi master, so there was a full-circle element to this scene as well.
Professor Donnie Yen
It turns out that Yen didn't have to look far to get started as a martial artist. Her mother is Grandmaster Bow-sim Mark, an expert in tai chi and other styles of wushu. Mark trained in her native China before moving to Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1970s with her husband and her children, where she opened a school called the Chinese Wushu Research Center.
5 quick facts about Donnie Yen "Kung Fu King".
Donnie Yen, the Guangzhou born movie star, is a manual, a master of Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Jeet Kun Do and almost all other types of martial arts.
Although his best-known movie so far remains Rogue One: Into Star Wars Story, here are some lesser-known facts about the actor.
1. Son of a martial arts pioneer
Yen's mother, Bow-sim Mark, was one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century and helped popularize them abroad, later emigrating to Brighton, Massachusetts, where she founded the Chinese Wushu Research Institute in 1976.
2. Addictive child
After a period of teenage rebellion during which he was trapped in a local gang, Yen's parents sent him to Beijing at the age of 14 to study martial arts and moral education.
3. Big fan of Bruce Lee
Although Yen was widely praised for his performance as the famed martial artist Ip Man, he also expressed his admiration for Bruce Lee, getting another chance to align himself with the greats, starring in the 1995 television adaptation of Lee's 1972 film Fist of Fury.
4. Conflicts with the "Grand Master"
During the making of the first film Ip Man (2008), disputes arose between the producers and Wong Kar Wai's team over the name of the film.
Wong's take on Ip Man's life was titled The Grandmaster (2013) and featured Tony Leung taking a more philosophical look at 1930s martial arts.
Had some tension at one point, Ip Man starring Donnie Yen and Wong's film were critically acclaimed, each successful in their own right.
5. A gangster on the big screen
Donnie Yen also confirmed that he will star in a big-screen version of the classic Hong Kong-based gangster game Sleeping Dog, which gained a huge fan base around the world after its release in 2012.
In February of last year, Yen posted a photo of himself dressed up for the film with the caption, "Sometimes great things take a while, Sleeping Dog is on the go, are you ready for it? »
Donnie Yen Trivia
- Yen is a huge fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
- Bruce Lee is one of Yen's idols, considering his fighting philosophy and how it combines with Jeet Kune Do, it's not uncommon for Yen to connect with Lee.
- Yen's wife, Cecilia, won the "Miss Vitality" and "Miss Perfect Figure" awards at the Miss Chinese Toronto 2000 pageant.
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