Training in taekwondo for eight years and then being able to do it in a film was pretty amazing.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I got into Taekwondo when I was nine, and I started training Muay Thai and Brazilian Jujitsu later in life.
Our father has always been very passionate about taekwondo. In all honesty, we were forced into it without a choice. He would train us every other night at home, so we would always be perfecting our technique.
I started taekwondo at 5 or 6 years old and did a bunch of kick-boxing later, too. Eventually I became a black belt and coached as well. I did some basketball and softball growing up, but most of my activity was martial arts.
People in the U.S. didn't know what taekwondo was. But they saw what the Lopezes were able to do with all the love and support and hard work we put in, and what we accomplished. It makes me feel real lucky to be in a position like that.
It wasn't until I went to Korea out of high school and got exposed to the martial arts for the first time and was just completely enamored with the physical ability of the martial arts and making my black belt.
I did karate for years and years and years.
It takes years of building that experience as a filmmaker, as well as physically. You have to have a high level understanding of martial arts.
Martial arts was really the first thing in my life that I followed through on and accomplished a degree of proficiency for.
I got trained in kick-boxing and mixed martial arts. I enjoyed the whole process so much, and I'd love to do more action films.
I took karate classes for a few years. Taekwondo. I'd love to do a movie role where I could do some karate.