10.  I am an experienced martial artist/stage combatant. What extra training do I need?
Although martial arts give good basic skills for fight scenes, there is a great deal of difference between throwing a punch or kick in real life and reel life. To learn how fight scenes are done, all prospective stunt people should do stage combat training. Both unarmed and armed fights are choreographed - much like a dance. In general, movements are a bit bigger and slower than in sparring so they can be clearly seen by the audience. Almost all kicks, punches and strikes with weapons are actually non contact. The illusion of contact is created with appropriate body reactions, facial expressions, carefully selected camera angles, editing, and sound effects added later.

Martial artists often find the film fight style to be unnatural - it goes against everything they've learnt. They have to learn to adapt the real moves they know to the reel style. Bruce Lee's movies reflected a very different style of jeet kun do to that he taught as self defence.

Judo and aikido break falls and rolls can be useful for fight scenes and stunts involving minor falls.

Stage combatants have a slight advantage over martial artists as their sword and staff techniques are much closer to film/TV fight techniques than what is taught in the dojo. Similarly, if they have done combat mime or other unarmed stage combat training, they know the type of techniques that "sell" punches and kicks in fights to an audience. To make a fight look good you have to act.  How to throw a movie punch by Manny Siverio explains the basics of fight choreography. The rest of his site is also well worth checking out.

Both martial artists and stage combatants need specialist training for other stunts: cars, high falls, fire, etc.
 

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