Welcome, fellow Space Cadets! We have another interview for you today. This time, we have an interview with Jino Kang, the man behind Fist 2 Fist, Weapon of Choice, and the short film, Kid Fury. In advance I would like to thank Master Kang for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer a few of our questions. Master Kang holds a 7th degree blackbelt in Hapkido as well as black belts in Tae Kwon Do, Kyokoshinkai Karate, and Gracie Jiu-jitsu. Let’s have a chat with Master Kang!
Q: I would like to start with your background in martial arts. If I recall, the art that you have the most experience in is Hapkido. But you’ve also trained in Tae Kwon Do, Kyokoshinkai Karate, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and USA Judo. How has studying the martial arts influence your decision to start making movies?
A: Well, I noticed that in action films, whenever martial arts were choreographed, the action was usually one or two styles. For example, Steven Seagal’s movies utilized Aikido and some Wing Chun moves. The more pronounced Kung Fu films from China was just Kung Fu. Nowadays, films like John Wick franchise films, utilize BJJ and Judo while Bourne Franchise incorporate Kali and MMA. Since I trained in so many styles, it opened my eyes to various styles that can be utilized for entertaining choreography. Also, in my films, I welcome all different martial arts to shine and showoff their styles.
Q: Who has been your biggest influence in the martial arts?
A: Bruce Lee, of course as well as Toshiro Mifune. My late father Myung S. Kang was the driving force that kept me moving forward too and never stop learning. He never pushed me but always there for support.
Q: For Weapon of Choice, how did you become involved in the project and how much has your martial arts experience influence the direction of the film’s production?
A: Weapon of Choice came about when I met Tony Urgo who was the editor for Fist 2 Fist. We talked about doing another film but not an MMA film, which was dominating the market at the time. I wrote first 70 pages and created all the characters, Tony finished the final 30 pages and polished the script. The rest just fell in to place. We knew we had a great script and everything else just lined up – like magic.
Q: You wrote and directed Weapon of Choice. What was the biggest challenge in getting the film from concept to the final picture?
A: The money, of course. It’s always about the funding. We didn’t quite have everything that I wanted to bring in to the picture like name talents and locations. But it worked out in the end. You make the best as you can with what you’ve got.
Q: Since making a film is largely a very collaborative effort, how much input did you receive from the actors and crew as for how they should approach a particular scene?
A: I’m not the micro-manager type. I look at the auditions and if I see that they have potential to bring that character live and make me believe it, that’s all I need. Since it’s all in the script, the actors need to be able to decipher what’s written and what’s not written, read between the lines, and bring it during the shoot is all that matters. The actors may ask to have a few line changes to flow better, than it’s all right with me as long as the context is true to the story we are telling.
Q: Was there a point during filming or post-production were you got frustrated with the process and how did you overcome that particular challenge?
A: Again, it’s about the money. Because of budget constraint, we don’t have enough time to shoot at that particular location. For instance, I wish I had 15 more days to shoot, then I believe the film would have been perfect. I heard films like “RAID” had six months to shoot and we shot Weapon of Choice in 30 days.
Q: When it comes to critiquing a film, I try to be as fair and open as possible. How do you respond to negative criticisms of your films?
A: I usually have a punching bag nearby when I read a new review. Ha, Ha, just kidding. Luckily the reviews have been great. I’d say 90 percent positive reviews. But all kidding aside, what irks me the most is some guy in Dubai or Bulgaria (not blaming all those folks) who probably pirated our film because I know we didn’t sell to those territories, saw first two minutes of our film and first to criticize on imdb. The intro credits haven’t even finished rolling. Whatever, take a deep breath and move on. Sometimes rolling in BJJ really helps, those poor students. Just kidding, again. No, not really.
Q: For Kid Fury, how did you come across Timothy Mah and how impressed were you with him in general?
A: Would you believe Timothy started in Hapkido with me when he was five years old? Yep, now he’s a young man with a bright future in whatever he tackles. He’s third degree black belt trained over ten years. My, how time flies. He’s first love is Guitar/Musician but I think he has a huge potential as an action star too.
Q: Is there any martial arts actor that you would really like to work with in the future and why?
A: For sure, like Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White and JCVD. Because these guys are truly talented and driven, they represent role models for future generations to come.
Q: I absolutely had to ask this question for sure: What is your favorite martial arts movie and why?
A: Well, that’s a tough one, because I have a few. Seven Samurai, Chinese Connection (aka Fist of Fury), Once upon a Time in the West and Yojimbo! I’ll talk about Yojimbo, if you don’t mind. The story is compelling and shot exquisitely in black and white. I love that Toshiro Mifune’s character is morally ambiguous but you know he’s a good guy. Standing in smack dab in the middle of two evil sides he ingeniously negotiate to eliminate each other. The sword fighting is entertaining but the story telling is absolutely phenomenal.
Q: Again, thank you for your time for answering these questions and I’m really looking forward to what you’ve got planned in the future.
A: Thanks so much for the interview. All my best, Jino
As you can see, Master Jino Kang not only understands the ins and outs of indie film making, he also manages to have a sense of humor about some of the processes. It has been absolutely fantastic asking Master Kang these questions. As I said in the interview, I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us. If you want to learn more about Master Jino Kang, please check out his website here: http://jinokang.com/index.html. If you would like to check out the stuff that he’s done, here are the trailers for Fist 2 Fist, Weapon of Choice, and Kid Fury: