The Filipino martial art of Kali is being showcased in Netflix’s newest film titled “Old Guard” top-billed by Hollywood actress Charlize Theron (Mad Max, 2015; Snow White and the Huntsman, 2012).
The action-packed movie is based on Gregory Rucka’s graphic novel with the same title that tells the story of warriors and mercenaries who have been living for millennia because of their inability to die.
Theron and the actors of the film underwent different martial arts training for the combat scenes.
In a teaser video released online on July 9, 2020, the film stunt coordinator shared that they came up with different fighting movements by incorporating Hung Gur, Taekwondo, Judo, Silat, Kali, and more.
Stunt coordinator Brycen Counts described the lead character Andy as one who “moves fluently from multiple styles, from ancient styles to modern techniques.”
Charlize Theron, the American-South African actress who plays the role of Andy in the movie, shared how much effort she had to put into her character to be able to play it properly.
“I obviously had to fight like someone who’s been fighting for 6,000 years and that level of perfection is hard to come by but the team who I got to work with on this film really focused on my strength,” the actress said.
The film “The Old Guard” is now available for streaming on Netflix.
Kali or Arnis in another local term is a Filipino combat sport where the players use a hard bamboo stick to strike and defend themselves.
In the Philippines, Cebu in Central Visayas is aiming to be the World’s Arnis Capital after the after martial arts school Doce Pares forged a partnership with the Department of Tourism to well promote the local sports.
This is not the first time that the local combat sport is featured in an international film.
Arnis was also performed by actress Maisie Williams in her role as Arya in the hit HBO series, Game of Thrones.
It was also featured as the fighting technique of the Filipino character in the online game TEKKEN 7, Josie Rizal.
WATCH the combat training of The Old Guard’s Charlize Theron here and SEND cheers to the Filipino athletes who promote the ancient Filipino martial arts Kali and Arnis.
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