Member AlbertV Posted October 12, 2015 Member Share Posted October 12, 2015 (edited) We have a thread on the women of martial arts films, so I thought, let's talk about who some of our favorite child actors of martial arts films are. Some of course, are still active as adults today, and others have retired from films and delved into others. Here are some of my favorites. Wong Yat-Lung (The Sleeping Fist, Thundering Mantis, Kung Fu Kids Break Away) Xie Miao (New Legend of Shaolin, My Father is a Hero, Teenage Master) - still active today Angie Tsang (Iron Monkey) - she is now a Hong Kong police officer Kane Kosugi (Revenge of the Ninja and virtually every movie that starred his father after) - Today is his birthday!!! Happy Birthday Kane!!! Of course, we all know he's still active Ashton Chen (aka Shi Xiaolong, Sik Siu-Lung) (Shaolin Popey, many TVB series) - took break and moved to New York City and enrolled in a professional acting school. Returned with a role in Ip Man 2 and continues under his name Ashton Chen Siu-Lung Edited October 12, 2015 by AlbertV 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kokuryuha Posted October 12, 2015 Member Share Posted October 12, 2015 1#.Ernie Reyes jr.This guy was the kid most of us wanted to be like growing up.He was in The Last Dragon,Red Sonja,Surf Ninjas,and he was kicking Dwayne"The Rock"Johnson's ass in The Rundown as an adult.Before all that he starred in his own T.V.show "Sidekicks" http://Don Cheadle get Pwned by Ernie Reyes Jr.: http://youtu.be/WJSj5qSagwA 2#.Eboni Adams.She was the teenage girl in the first Blade movie that almost kicked wesley snipes head off like she was Hwang Jang Lee's love child.She is a reigning kata champion.http://Eboni Adams Forms: http://youtu.be/mZXtnSFQjbk 3#.Jake Strickland.He had a memorable cameo appearance in The House of Fury as a kid enforcer who was using the Bo staff as if it was an extension of his body.He injured Stephen Fung one of the adult actors in their fight scene.Small but mighty.http://Jake Strickland: http://youtu.be/MxlFdlmniSc These three individuals are still active in the martial arts world if they're not doing movies.That's a certainty.Bonafide experts in their respective disciplines.Let's keep this list going. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted October 12, 2015 Author Member Share Posted October 12, 2015 There are four standouts in Phillip Rhee's Underdog Kids IMO. Three of them are still in active competition today, 1) Tyler Weaver, who played Cameron, one of the Beverly Hills Scorpions. 2) Aidan Considine, who played Underdog Kid Alex, who in the film does the same move Jaden Smith did in The Karate Kid...without the wires! 3) Andrew Franklin, who competes in tricking competitions, played Underdog Kid Ricky Finally, Rayna Vallandingham, who played Underdog Kid Leticia. She recently retired from competitions There are two youngsters in The Martial Arts Kid who I think can go far as well. Irish-born Jesse Jane McParland (Golden Dragon) Nassim Lahrizi (Young Dragon) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kokuryuha Posted October 13, 2015 Member Share Posted October 13, 2015 Also there is Ted Jan Roberts a young martial arts child star who started his karate training at seven and was trained by his father who also was an martial artist that was one of Chuck Norris' black belts.T.J. starred in the movies A dangerous place,The magic kid 2,and Tiger Heart before landing his most famous role in a westernized live action version of the Japanese tv series Masked Rider.http://Scorpion (La revanche des arts martiaux - ted jan…: http://youtu.be/UZ0i-simudc The three child martial arts actors in the Three Ninjas franchise...Max Elliot Slade,Micheal Treanor,and Chad Power.Max Elliot Slade(Colt)achieved his brown belt Gosoku Karate at eleven yrs old.He now sings and plays guitar in a band called Vishoda. Michael Treanor trained in both karate and tae kwon do and achieved his black belt at 12yrs old.He got his 2nd degree black belt at 13,And scored his 3rd degree black belt at sixteen.He still continues to train but earns a living as a psychologist.He was chosen for the role of Rocky when he was attending karate class. Chad Power(Tum-Tum)began his training early in martial arts and was the youngest out of the bunch eventually achieving his black belt later on.He now coaches a Camarillo high school football team.http://3 Ninjas - Trailer: http://youtu.be/FTEo5Fke_To 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted October 15, 2015 Author Member Share Posted October 15, 2015 (edited) Nice!!! Can't forget Blake Foster, who made his film debut at the age of 11 in the role of Justin in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, followed by the series PR Turbo. He was a blue belt in American Tang Soo Do under Sense Tom Bloom. Foster continued his martial arts training while acting in other family films and had his first adult martial arts film role in Drifter TKD as the student of Ron Pohnel's titular character. Currently married with a son, Blake will pop up at the Power Rangers conventions now and again. Then: Now: Blake now holds a 2nd-degree black belt in American Tang Soo Do. Edited October 15, 2015 by AlbertV 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted October 15, 2015 Author Member Share Posted October 15, 2015 And speaking of 3 Ninjas: After 3 Ninjas Kick Back, 1998's 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain featured 3 new martial artists in the roles of Rocky, Colt, and Tum TumMathew Botuchis (Black Belt in Karate) played Rocky. He still acts today, mainly on TV.Michael J. O'Laskey II (Black Belt in TKD, TSD, Jujitsu, and Okinawa-te Karate) played Colt. Check his out in The Sensei where he plays a gay teen who learns martial arts to protect himself after being bullied. The Sensei herself is played by Diana Lee Inosanto and the film is set in the 80's at the height of the AIDS crisis. Really good film! Check out his official website.J.P. Roeske (Black Belt in Freestyle Karate) played Tum Tum. I know his sister was in the Halloweentown films and even made an appearance here in 3 Ninjas, but she left acting is back in competition. Haven't heard much about J.P. though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted October 15, 2015 Member Share Posted October 15, 2015 http://www.hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=22692&display_set=eng Kei kong-Hung, "Ding Dong" from Demon of the Lute! That is all I have seen from him, but I see he was in "The Raid(91) which was recently released, which now has me more interested in that movie. The other films I see him listed in, he is so far down the list I assume he can't do much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted November 5, 2015 Author Member Share Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) Let's not forget...Taylor Lautner, who made his film debut in Shadow Fury just before he played Shark Boy in The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Taylor studied karate and then, became a protege of Mike Chaturantabut, the founder of XMA. We all know where he went from there...he will be next seen in Adam Sandler's Ridiculous 6. Edited November 5, 2015 by AlbertV 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted February 24, 2017 Member Share Posted February 24, 2017 On 11/10/2015 at 10:28 PM, AlbertV said: Angie Tsang (Iron Monkey) - she is now a Hong Kong police officer I looked for this on the fórum and couldn't find it: Why did Tsui Hark opt for a female actress to play Wong Fei Hung? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Asmo Posted February 25, 2017 Moderator Share Posted February 25, 2017 8 hours ago, DrNgor said: I looked for this on the fórum and couldn't find it: Why did Tsui Hark opt for a female actress to play Wong Fei Hung? It was probable he was looking for a child/young actor that had the look/skills/presence etc, rather than specifically finding a male actor. I know there's also precedent of women playing male characters in HK cinema but I don't know if that factored into it at all. Never been able to find a concrete reason/commentary on the matter. Just offering possible reasons that seem plausible to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator thekfc Posted February 25, 2017 Moderator Share Posted February 25, 2017 On 2/24/2017 at 11:17 AM, DrNgor said: I looked for this on the fórum and couldn't find it: Why did Tsui Hark opt for a female actress to play Wong Fei Hung? 17 hours ago, Asmo said: It was probable he was looking for a child/young actor that had the look/skills/presence etc, rather than specifically finding a male actor. Plus her flexibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Asmo Posted February 26, 2017 Moderator Share Posted February 26, 2017 6 hours ago, thekfc said: Plus her flexibility. That's definitely important, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted February 27, 2017 Author Member Share Posted February 27, 2017 Here's Angie as Wong Fei-Hung in Iron Monkey And Angie in the 2006 Wushu Championships in Doha, Qatar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted February 27, 2017 Member Share Posted February 27, 2017 I hadn't even realized that it was a girl when I watched it years ago !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG Posted March 22, 2017 Member Share Posted March 22, 2017 And of course: GD Y-Y 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted May 5, 2017 Author Member Share Posted May 5, 2017 Thought of another one: Chan Chi-Keung, who at 15 years old, played the role of Monkey Boy in New Seven Dragon Ball, aka Dragonball: The Magic Begins. A talented martial artist himself, Chan would join forces with David Cho Hau-Foo (aka Jet Le) on City of Darkness. Chen is the one with the guitar. He was married to actress Rachel Fu from 2008-2013. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted October 16, 2017 Author Member Share Posted October 16, 2017 (edited) At the age of six, J.P. Roeske was already a nationally ranked martial arts champion and played Tum Tum in 1998's 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain. His sister and fellow martial artist, Emily Roeske, would have a small role in the film but would be best known for playing little sister Sophie Piper in the Halloweentown series of films. J.P. now goes simply by James Roeske and runs the Surprise Family Karate Academy in Surprise, Arizona (checked Yelp and it is still open). In addition to teaching martial arts alongside his sister and mother (who is a 5th degree black belt in American Freestyle), James has become adapted to dancing as well, becoming a both a performer and choreographer. Here are the Roeske siblings in 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNvpBFFdhAQ (Tricking video featuring James and Emily) Edited October 18, 2017 by AlbertV 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted October 19, 2017 Author Member Share Posted October 19, 2017 (edited) Ryan Potter has been a practitioner of White Tiger Kung Fu since the age of eight. The Japanese-American actor starred in Nickelodeon's Supah Ninjas and was the voice of Hiro in the Disney hit film Big Hero 6 and its upcoming TV series sequel. Potter also got to show his martial arts in the film Underdog Kids, directed by Phillip Rhee, as the captain of the Beverly Hills Scorpions, Eric Barrett, who always seemed to disapprove of his father's dirty tactics. Potter signed on to play Beast Boy in the upcoming live-action series Titans, based on the DC comic Teen Titans, for DC's upcoming streaming channel. This must have came after he created a video of himself doing a concept fight as Tim Drake in hopes (at the time) to become Robin to Ben Affleck's Batman. Little trivia: Ryan's stepfather is Hollywood stunt legend James Lew. Now onto Wang Zhenwei, who got a bit of praise for his role as the bully Cheng in the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid. Having trained in Wushu since the age of four, The Karate Kid would be Wang's only big-screen appearance as he starred in the TV-movie Martial Arts vs. Reality in 2012 as "Boss". Since then, he is still active in martial arts but lives a relatively normal life. Wang in The Karate Kid Wang today Edited October 19, 2017 by AlbertV 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted January 25, 2018 Author Member Share Posted January 25, 2018 On 10/13/2015 at 3:33 PM, kokuryuha said: Michael Treanor trained in both karate and tae kwon do and achieved his black belt at 12yrs old.He got his 2nd degree black belt at 13,And scored his 3rd degree black belt at sixteen.He still continues to train but earns a living as a psychologist.He was chosen for the role of Rocky when he was attending karate class. Here's the most recent photo of Dr. Treanor from the Behavioral Associates of L.A. website 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted June 18, 2018 Author Member Share Posted June 18, 2018 Update on former child action star: Sasisa Jindamanee. The now 24-year old former junior Muay Thai champion who broke out in 2004's Born to Fight and appeared in both Somtum (Muay Thai Giant) and Power Kids is now a musician. She has her own YouTube channel where she performs songs and goes by the name of Cat Sasisa. She performed the theme song of Somtum. Sasisa in Somtum/Muay Thai Giant (2008) Sasisa today This was her most recent video, uploaded just yesterday Here is her YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK6NWizBdQSQf8JLYDjP3Vg 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted August 31, 2018 Author Member Share Posted August 31, 2018 When Michael Treanor and Chad Power opted not to return to the 3 Ninjas franchise for the 3rd made but 2nd released Kick Back, they were replaced respectively by Sean Fox as Rocky and Evan Bonifant as Tum Tum with Max Eliott Slade "Colt" being the only one to appear in the three original films. Whatever happened to these two replacement Ninjas? Well, like Michael Treanor, Sean Fox is now Dr. Sean Fox. He lives in the UK and is the Senior Lecturer in Global Development at the University of Bristol. As for Evan Bonifant, he has continued his acting career, primarily in television and will play the titular character in the upcoming short film Tennessee Goblin. That's him under the mask in the poster 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted August 31, 2018 Member Share Posted August 31, 2018 On 10/16/2017 at 10:22 PM, AlbertV said: Here are the Roeske siblings in 2011: I love tap dance ! That'd too bad that the music in the clip is so loud that we almost can't hear the shoes' tap on the floor, but it's nice clip, thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted December 20, 2018 Author Member Share Posted December 20, 2018 (edited) Another update: Ted Jan Roberts had appeared over the last few years in short films, 2015's Heart and Hull and 2017's Room 138. Here he is today. Michael O'Laskey II, who played Colt in 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain is now a MMA fighter for indie promotion SteelFist Fight Night. Edited December 20, 2018 by AlbertV 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted January 15, 2019 Author Member Share Posted January 15, 2019 Happy Birthday to former child star Ernie Reyes Jr. Today is his 47th birthday! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted January 29, 2019 Author Member Share Posted January 29, 2019 One who really impressed me was Hina Tobimatsu, the co-star of 2011's KG: Karate Girl opposite Rina Takeda. She was only 14 years old when she did KG. She's now 22 years old. KG and Salvage Mice would be her only film appearances. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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