THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME
Chances are if you are a Tokusatsu fan, you have probably heard or read the name, Mark Musashi (or マーク武蔵 if you are Japanese). But don’t be fooled too much by his last name, or even his convincing looks. Although born in the city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate, Japan, and having also lived in Shimokitazawa , much of Mark’s history is rooted in the rural town of Buckfield, Maine.
“Growing up in Buckfield is probably similar to growing up in any town of 2,000 people located in a very rural area. In many ways, it reminds me of the saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ The truth of the matter is that I was surrounded by the same group of people from the first days that I can remember all the way through to high school graduation. And while it can be a bit disturbing to think that all the girls you might ask to the prom are the same ones that saw you picking your nose in elementary school, I am grateful for the bond that came from growing up with the same group of friends all the way through my childhood.”
Mark grew up in what he described as a “strict” household, with an older sister, two parents, a house full of cats, a dog, a rabbit, and several goldfish. His mother, who is Japanese, was a bank accountant, and his American-born father was a high school Social Studies teacher. Particularly speaking, he was Mark’s own Social Studies teacher throughout high school. Moreover, his father’s profession is one of many reasons his family relocated to America when Mark was only two.
Being raised in such a descriptively stringent household, however, was never a hinderance to Mark pursuing his dreams.
“Once I became an adult…I learned that much of that strictness came from their belief that that is what parents were supposed to do and say. Although no one in my family has ever had any involvement with the entertainment industry, they have all been very supportive of my choice in careers. I think it ultimately boils down to seeing that it is what makes me happy and that is more important to them than anything else.”
Mark also enjoys the finer things in life, like laughter and comedy. Specifically, having been a student of improv in my own life, I understood exactly what Mark was saying when he described his biggest laugh:
“The hardest I ever laughed (or at least that I can remember) was at an improv performance at The Second City Los Angeles. The group that was performing was called Tres (Frank Caeti, Ithamar Enriquez, and Peter Grosz) and the special guest for the evening was Jason Sudeikis. As is true for most improv performances, if you were to try to explain what they were doing, it probably wouldn’t be funny at all, but all I know is that I was laughing so hard I had trouble breathing. There is definitely something special about watching master improvisors doing their thing. It is the creation of art in the moment which is unlike anything you could recreate with a script.”
For Mark, happiness, incorporated with an enduring interest in asian martial arts, ultimately led him on an a unique adventure that took him from his Freshmen Fall membership in the Kung Fu Club at Dartmouth University’s phys-ed department through senior year, to training a total of five months in China, between his Fall freshmen semsester and the summer prior to graduating Dartmouth. To date, it is Mark’s most colorful and memorable training experience:
“During that time we would spend about six to eight hours a day training, and that was about it. Thanks to the rural area we were staying in, there were very few distractions. It was also during this time that I transferred mostly into doing Wushu. I had done some sparring/self defense in my college Kung Fu classes, but really it was the forms work that I enjoyed. When it comes down to it, forms and fighting are two VERY different skill sets, so sparring training pretty much went away after that. Plus, having felt the impact of a spinning back kick to the crotch in my tailbone makes me think that I have gotten all that I need to out of contact sparring.”
Mark has trained in a mixture of styles, having dabbled in kickboxing as a regiment for fight choreography training, and also, Capoeira for recreation. His main focus, however, mainly deal with Wushu basics, including practicing his favorite form, which is straight sword. Ironically, he attributes his height as the main reason why most people who are familiar with him largely remember him excelling at spear forms, notably what he illustrates as having a longer spear than most average Wushu athletes.
Having been a stuntman for well over a decade, Mark’s training regiment has somewhat changed. He used to get in full weeks with extra sessions. However, because of his work schedule, in addition to having to circimvent his training around some of his old injuries, he now tries to get into the gym four days a week between two and three hours each session, with as much recovery time as possible.
When it comes to dieting and being in such good shape as he is, he does not endulge in any cheat meals, and he largely abstains from junk food, although his weight likely remains the same. He explains:
“I have pretty much always been skinny. I am sure there are plenty of people that would envy the fact that when I stop working out, I lose weight. I am usually around 145 lbs. regardless of what I eat or how I train. If I really work hard, I can get myself up to 150 or 155 (which was the weight I was when I used to compete), but these days that would probably be pretty tough. That being said, I do try to eat somewhat healthy. I don’t buy junk food (mainly because it is a waste of money seeing as it doesn’t fill you up) and mostly drink water. I also don’t drink alcohol, which can also lead to added weight, but I just hate the taste. I would say that the one thing that I feel bad about is when I make the mistake of getting something over at craft services on set. Once you start down that road you find yourself trying every salty/sugary/fatty thing they have by the end of the day.”
Also, as a result of his busy schedule, his Netflix queue continues to increase, listing such films as “Beasts Of The Southern Wild”, “Life Of Pi” and “Zero Dark Thirty” to name a few. When it comes to favorite actors, Mark names Kevin Spacey and Bruce Campbell. In naming someone who he would love to work if he could only work on one more film in his entire life, he explains :
“I never really thought of it in that way, but given those specific terms, I guess I’d have to say Jackie Chan. That being said, I don’t necessarily expect to ever work with Jackie, and it will be fine if I never do. But if I knew I only had one more film left in my career, I would want that one film to contain a lifetime worth of action in it.”
Mark is also a fan of several genres, namely action, comedy and drama. His top five favorite films include The Princess Bride, Drunken Master 2, The Usual Suspects, Star Wars (Episode IV) and Spaceballs to round it off, with The Notebook as a “close sixth”.
THE JOURNEY
Shortly after the new millenium, Mark’s career path then brought him to Japan where he motion capture work on a womens’ underwear commercial. After that, he joined AAC stunts, and built the start of his career in Japan as a tokusatsu stunt and suit acting in shows. He has toured around the world, including as recently as Indonesia having made a high-profile name for himself throughout his career, appearing in such TV shows as Garo, Cutie Honey and Shibuya 15. And in 2008, he established himself once more in the United States, gaining a more versatile role not just as an actor and stuntman for TV and film, but also as stunt coordinator for shortfilms and live concerts.
Not being in the industry myself, I was curious to learn Mark’s opinion about whether or not stunt performers had it difficult or easy in this day and age, and of people in his field had limitations when it came to excepting certain gigs:
“With all of the advances in movie technology, I think that in many ways it is a whole lot easier to be a stunt performer now than it was a generation or two ago. These days we can set things up so that A-list actors can perform a large number of death defying (or at least so they seem) stunts. However, I will also say that it might not necessarily be as easy to get work as it was in the past. These days the stunt industry is filled with world class athletes, so the competition can be pretty fierce.”
On the subject of limitations, Mark expressed more of a sense of mild discretion than anything else:
“The main thing is whether it is something I can do or not. Up until this point I have never been offered a job that I couldn’t do or wouldn’t have time to prepare for. If someone was to offer me a job doing a 100′ highfall tomorrow, I would let them know that they were talking to the wrong person and then give them the name of some friends that I know can do that kind of thing. That being said, there are definitely times when I am being asked to do something that is right around the limits of what I think I can do safely. And then there are the stunts that you know you can do, but are just going to hurt a lot regardless of how well you do them. In that case, a large degree of what makes a good stuntman is that ability to say, “Sure, no problem!” even if it might not be something you want to do. Again, if you know you are going to get yourself hurt, you need to let people know that. But otherwise, a large part of a stuntman’s job is to put everyone else at ease even if you might be scared on the inside.”
ADAPTATIONS
Chance meetings seemed to be a mild, underlying theme for Mark’s career as a stunt performer, in my opinion, as it would only become a matter of time before friends would ultimately convince him to get acquainted with industry stuntman and fight choreographer, Larnell Stovall. That meeting would then land him a gig performing in the upcoming second season for Mortal Kombat Legacy. At the time, his IMDb credit had him appearing in episode one listed as a “Loudmouth Triad”, with actor Brian Tee in the role of Liu Kang along with stunt performers such as Sam Looc, Kerry Wong, Bryan Cartago, Stephen Oyoung, and Marc Canonizado. That was, well, at least until his schedule changed for that day:
“Haha, yeah, don’t get your hopes up on seeing too much of me in that episode. Originally I was considered for that role, but because I had booked another job on the day that they were rehearsing that scene, I was replaced by Sam Looc (who you can see getting thrown over the bar in the MKL2 trailer). There was some confusion on the call sheet as to who was playing what character and I am guessing IMDb just copied what the call sheet said. I am in that scene, but I am probably going to be the quietest “loudmouth” you will ever see.
If you are reading this and think you won’t get to see Mark in the webseries, do not fret. You will be able to catch Mark this Spring in Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2 performing opposite martial arts stuntman Kim Do Nguyen as doubles for Scorpion and Sub-Zero, played by actors Ian Anthony Dale and Eric D. Steinberg, respectively.
Mark went on later to describe his experience working with Larnell, likening him among all good choreographers as having a “great eye for detail and a very clear idea of what he wants in the action.” Mark, then, expanded his thoughts further on the question of who he would want to work with most:
“I can’t think of too many people I wouldn’t want to work with again. I will say that Brad Allen was really awesome to work with, soI look forward to working with him again one of these days. Also, the folks at Naughty Dog are really great to work with, so I hope to get called in on their future projects. Just Cause Entertainment is in many ways like a second family to me our here in in LA, so it is always nice when they call me in. And even though most days on set with Garrett Warren consist of getting repeatedly smashed into hard surfaces, I really love working with him.”
Fight choreographer Vonzell Carter is another of Mark’s previous working partners, having shared the set on the 2011 standalone sci-fi live action shortfilm game adap, Street Fighter X Tekken which also stars Reuben Langdon, Brendon Huor and Daniel Southworth, with story and script by writer Haile Lee and directed by filmmaker Chris Cowan. When I asked about his thoughts on that particular project compared to other live action film adaps of said game titles, he said:
“Well, having been involved with it, I can’t help be a bit biased. That being said, I think that by being fans of the franchises, we did a pretty good job of being faithful to the source material. In all fairness, though, it is much easier to have a faithful rendition when you are only making something that is 10 minutes long. If I was to have a complaint about some of the other SF or Tekken films out there, it seems like they are trying too hard to attract people that DON’T know anything about the games. Unfortunately that leads to the fans of the game not wanting to see the film, and let’s be honest, one of the only reasons those titles were chosen was because they had a large fan base.”
While prepping the questions for my interview with Mark, I took into account my own history being an action fan who has seen a lot of videogame adaps to film. Some of my own definitive favorites include Mortal Kombat and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (which I remember going to see the following afternoon after I got back from my high school prom that morning – good times ^_~). My *close* second favorites are Street Fighter, Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li and Tekken (and I am sure to have some blogs up explaining all this, lol).
If you are an avid internet user and you watch and read a lot of online content regarding games and film, look at any thread and you are bound to find a LOT of people with highly critical (if not very negative) comments from followers of gaming culture. Do an online search and at some point you will find people with stark opinions on blogs about film adaptations of games, and some of the melodrama trolls express in decrying anything involving “Hollywood screwing up another game property” or something to that affect. And this, speaking from fact, is something I myself used to witness back in 2010 when the U.K. trailer for Tekken (I will be blogging about this film in the near future as well). Plus, in fact, if you look harder, and you will also find bloggers who have top five/ten lists of bad and good films based on videogames.
Having said this, I think it comes as a surprise to a lot of critics and curmudgeons who did not think (and I bet in some cases, did not want) Mortal Kombat Legacy to build the following it has grown since director Kevin Tancharoen began making a name for himself as *the* “go-to guy” for all things Mortal Kombat-related, with the release of his fanfilm “Rebirth”.
Machinima‘s upload of the new trailer for the second season of the hit webseries, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, garnished well over 4 million views on Youtube in less than a week since its debut on February 17, 2013. And MKL fans have been getting only more excited and eager as they await and obsess for news about the upcoming reboot. And with my next question to Mark, I wanted to gain some depth about where his opinion was on the results we have been seeing with Tancharoen’s accomplishments so far and how this could affect film studios with future film adaptations of games. I could have probably worded the question better. But seeing as how this was an email interview, I guess I didn’t clarify myself well enough right away, which is why he got a little lost when answering my next question, which I shared word for word, so reader can understand the dialogue:
FCSyndicate: Considering how American film productions seem to bode with fans who were disappointed with big screen renditions of Street Fighter, MK: Annihilation, Dead Or Alive, King Of Fighters and Tekken, and given the work of those like directors Kevin Tancharoen who did MK Rebirth and Joey Ansah who is covering bases with the upcoming Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist webseries, do you think the tides are turning for American film studios, if at all?
MARK:
“I’m not sure if I really understand what you mean by “the tides turning.” Keep in mind that Warner Brothers is one of the producers of Mortal Kombat Legacy and pretty much everyone involved with both those series is spouting off all of the industry credits they have in order to give their work credibility. Web series creators are rarely working in opposition to the film studios. If anything, they are usually just forced to do things on their own until a major studio feels they are a safe enough bet to invest in. What I do see more of now is studios investing in web content because it is a much safer investment than investing in what might be a failed movie or television series. By testing the waters with web content, they can get a much better gauge of how well a franchise will resonate with the audience.”
I totally understood his answer when it came to detailing how film studios use the internet strategize their investments into online content. I think it was a smart move to make considering fans have been wanting knowledgeable content creators to take source material seriously to be able to translate to the screen. And it is partly why I eagerly wait until Mortal Kombat comes out, as I have been since MK: Annihilation. I also look forward to Spy Hunter since I am a Corey Yuen fan (even though I am a little apprehensive when it comes to Hollywood’s embrace of him (with some exception of some films he has done with Jet Li, Romeo Must Die, Kiss Of The Dragon and The Expendables, and an even closer exception of War).
Unlike me, Mark is an online gamer. So when I asked Mark about any film adaptations he was looking forward to based on games, this is what he expressed:
“I am a HUGE World of Warcraft fan, so I am excited to see how that plays out. I am a little disappointed that Sam Raimi is no longer attached, but I am a fan of Duncan Jones’ past films, so I am hopeful.”
CINEMA DICHOTOMY
Going back on Thousand Pounds for a minute, I also got to inquire about Mark’s upcoming role in the crowdfunded martial arts action webseries, Clandestine Path:
“Honestly, I don’t know that much. Thus far the first two pilot episodes have been shot and are in post production, but given that my character does not appear until episode 3 or 4, I have not yet been called to set. I am like pretty much everybody else when it comes to checking out the facebook page and seeing the latest production stills.”
Mark also went on to compliment Thousand Pounds for the work they do and expressed his hope that they get to work together again in the future, along with friends and fellow martial arts actors and stunt performers, Reuben Langdon and Daniel Southworth, both of whom he says has “been a HUGE part” of his career since 2008. “I would not be where I am today without their help.” he says.
Thousand Pounds is not the only independent film company Mark has applied his talents to. In addition, he also makes appearences at Morphicon events where he, along with other Power Ranger TV Alumni, signs autographs, speaks to devoted fans, and creates comedic action shortfilm skits with high-profile independent filmmakers like Fernando Jay Huerto of Jabronie Pictures, and blogger and writer Keith Hayward of Henshin Justice Unlimited. This is what he had to say when I asked him his opinion how important the independent industry is to the martial arts/action genre:
“I think that these days independent film making is a huge part of the industry regardless of genre. The main difference is that now, thanks to the internet, it is so easy to have your projects seen by an audience. And as we have seen, if something is well made or has something original that audiences want, people with money will soon be investing. The flip side of that is in many ways I think it is harder to be an independent film maker. There is just SO MUCH content being made these days, that sometimes it can be hard to get noticed. And things that may start out slowly and build gradually will often get ignored by the 3 minute or less attention span YouTube viewers.”
Mark also gave what I thought were some pretty deep, but simple observations about what defines “achievement” when I inquired if the independent action industry accomplished more in areas where Hollywood films tend to lax.
“Perhaps. But the real question is what constitutes achievement? If we are just talking about cool action and interesting choreography, then maybe some groups have more of that than Hollywood films do. But then how many independent action teams can come up with the kind of action sequences that you see in the Fast & Furious, Transformers, or any of the Marvel films? And by the same token, I don’t mean to undermine the independent teams, but are they doing anything better than what the professionals are doing in asia? The point I am trying to make is that fighting and physical action works well in the independent world because it is cheap. And one of the reasons asia is so good at that type of action is because they can’t afford to do the kind of action that Hollywood does. However, asia can afford to call in very experienced professionals when it comes to shooting physical action. Also, keep in mind that many of the stuntmen working on the biggest budget Hollywood action movies were once members of independent stunt teams. (Zero Gravity, for example.) While it is true that there will always be people that want to carve their own path and stick to being independent, the road to success in this country generally leads to going Hollywood.”
Briefly breaking away from performing stunts, Mark has also begun a mild stint in stepping into the world of cinematography and shooting action shortfilms, most recently in a creative and comedic action sketch called “Mini Fight” with Marisa Labog and Alex Kingi. Mark explains how he feels about his work so far, and how he is using it to apply himself as his career continues to grow:
“Honestly, I think I’m pretty terrible behind the camera. The main reason I started shooting my own stuff was that I just wanted to know how some people can make mediocre performances look amazing. When I was learning how to do stunts, I was always told to be aware of how I look from head to toe. But in the modern way of shooting action, we can mask a lot of the subpar movements with cinematic techniques. I feel that if I do want to work more as a stunt coordinator/choreographer, it is my responsibility to learn all of these tricks to amping up the action. Still, for my own projects I do want to try and strike a balance between keeping things exciting, but still showcasing performances that are worth watching.”
Mark also discusses what he would also like to see more of when it comes to martial arts films in all markets-mainstream and independent, as well as in the awards department when it comes to stunts and costumes.
FCSyndicate: As a filmmaker in your own right, what do you hope to see more of in the martial arts action genre, mainstream or independent?
“At the end of the day, I want to see something that is well done. If that something happens to be independently made, that is great, but again those creators are probably not going to stay independent for much longer. And if what the independent filmmakers are doing starts getting attention, I guarantee that the mainstream folks will soon follow suit. (For example, I know for a fact that there are big budget films that are trying to look more the The Raid.)
FCSyndicate: If you could change one thing about any entity of the action entertainment industry, whether its the business end of the camera or signing on the dotted line, what would it be?
MARK:
“I think the one thing I would like to see change is the Academy’s idea that stunts isn’t Oscar worthy. The argument that I have heard is that stunts isn’t art, it is technical execution. However, when I see all of the imagination that goes into creating new, spectacular action sequences, I can’t see how people could consider that just simple execution. Also, I mean no disrespect to costume designers, but I find it a bit odd that almost every year the nominees and winners are for period pieces. Those wardrobes actually existed as do the techniques for constructing them, so how is reproducing that considered art and coming up with something new considered technical? Heck, I’d love to see the guy (or girl) that came up with the Iron Man suit get an Oscar for that.”
FOR THE LOVE OF IT
When I used to train in shotokan karate a little over 15 years ago, I couldn’t get enough. When I couldn’t afford it at first, my parents and I met with the sensei and made an agreement that I would clean the dojo regularly and run errands when needed (which even meant doing the sensei’s laundry) in exchange for classes until I could. I had some great classmates and I had a very cool teacher my classmates got along with. And the business end of my crescent kick was nothing to mess with.
Back then, I had my good days and bad days. I had days when I had great workouts and days when I didn’t do my best because I wasn’t into it. Some Saturdays when I had class, I wanted to stay home and watch WMAC Masters and Mortal Kombat: Conquest and I couldn’t (of course this was before the station moved the timeslot…bastards lol).
When I trained, there were also days when I took some nasty sparring cheap shots. At one time, I got one in the face causing a bloody nose. Another time, I got dealt an elbow to my right shin while delivering a roundhouse, causing a hairline fracture which prohibited me from training in class until it healed. Moments I did not handle very well at first.
Fun times.
My favorite segments were always in Katas. To be honest, I haven’t trained in so long that if you asked me to name them now, I probably couldn’t-if anything I would probably botch the first 3 or 4 Kata names I remember, lol. But Katas were always fun. For me, it was a performance where I could show off my technique and coordination. Executing solid movements like that with the energy and power I put in made me feel great about what I was doing. It was a part of what I loved most about training, aside from trying to learn how to defend myself.
At that age, I was also into a lot of hobbies, such as music, dancing and pencil drawing portraits and still-lifes (I won awards for some of those things which got lost over the years). I think in some ways, this mirrors what Mark talks about when I asked him what he loves the most about martial arts:
“There is a certain beauty to dedicating ones self to something and slowly refining your craft over the years. It could be playing an instrument, working with your hands, or any kind of sport or dance. For me, I think martial arts was just the right combination of something I was relatively good at, but something that I wanted to keep getting better at.”
Mark’s path as a stuntman has proven to have its share of benefits. He stays close to his fanbase as much as possible, and is highly heralded as one of the foremost stunt performers and actors in his field, which is also an exemplary result of his martial arts training dating back to his years at Dartmouth. But his successes do not always bring him resolve, as is the nature of being a stuntman who performs for the camera, and often with the risk of injury. There are highs and lows to being a stuntman, particularly in his life, which he explains below:
FCSyndicate: How has martial arts training impacted your life, in the real world and in the film industry? Any moments of adversity that tested you? Low points? High points?
MARK:
All things considered, I think martial arts training definitely made my life much better. If nothing else, it has given me a sense of confidence and fulfillment that I never had before I started training. Early on, there were plenty of times when I was frustrated with my lack of progress. Later it would be a different kind of frustration when I would see younger kids doing things I couldn’t hope to do.Ultimately, though, martial arts training has become such a large part of my life that in some ways it is hard to separate them anymore. That is one reason why things can get pretty grim when a major injury keeps me from training.”
FCSyndicate: What has been the easiest thing so far you have been able to achieve throughout your career?
MARK:
“Um, injuries? Maybe a higher pain tolerance? In all honesty, though, I probably have had an easier time of things than many others. I was very lucky to have met some very talented stuntmen early on and they taught me almost everything I know. I see young stunt people in this country trying to get started in the business and I can’t help but think how hard it must be to build a solid foundation here.”
FCSyndicate…And the hardest thing to achieve?
“Probably contentment, but that is true in all aspects of life. The fact of the matter is that there is no “happily ever after” in life, so no matter how far I’ve come, I don’t ever think I will truly be content with my career. Whenever I see some amazing action movie, there is always a part of me that gets depressed if I wasn’t a part of it. Even if I was starring in the biggest summer blockbuster of the year, I am sure there would still be a part of me that would find something to keep me from being satisfied.”
Mark’s journey through life sure has its cuts and bruises from time to time, to say the least. But there is no sign of him stopping. From college on through 2013, he is making progress with himself each and everyday, doing what he loves. He has talent and friends a working community he is proud to be a part of, motivating him as he motivates others. In my opinion, that sense endurance of lends itself to the discipline he was exposed to as child, as well as in college while in Dartmouth’s Kung Fu club, which explains his answer when I asked Mark what a person should take away the most in learning martial arts:
“Discipline. That being said, it was my elementary school (and later high school) basketball coach that taught me what discipline is. The first martial art I did was Kung Fu. As many Kung Fu students and teachers will tell you, Kung Fu literally means skill achieved through hard work. It does not necessarily have to relate to martial arts. I believe one of the best things in life is to dedicate oneself to something, to push oneself to become better, and to have pride for ones work. I think the martial arts lend themselves to this type of pursuit, but the same could be said for dance, music, cooking, sports, study, games, or just about anything. And ideally once someone has seen the virtue of this type of hard work in one aspect of life, it will translate to other parts as well.”
Lastly, when I asked Mark about how he feels his experiences have molded him to date, he expressed his security in the knowledge he has gained so far, and the skill set he continues to build along the way as he continues to fulfill his dreams on the path he travels:
“After ten years in this industry, the main thing that I have gotten out of all of this is that I have a pretty good idea of what I am good at. There is always a little bit of nervousness when you aren’t sure what will be asked of you on any given day, but these days I am pretty certain I will be able to handle anything that comes my way. I can’t do everything, but what I can do, I do well.”
I have to say, this is one of the longest pieces I have done for this blog. It is also a very special one. When I started my Facebook page, all I imagined was posting and sharing my fandom and my love for the action genre to help build a community around. And to think just months later, I would be able to share dialogue with people who actually work in an industry we observe on big and small screens, including Mark Musashi.
Mark is a cool and honest man, a good actor and performer and his fanbase is proof of that. And with his upcoming stunt performing in Kevin Tancharoen’s second season of Mortal Kombat Legacy, I hope to see and hear more and bigger things of him in the near future.
It was a little difficult completing this article, specifically for a number of reasons, which included not getting to watch Japanese T.V. shows since cable and internet were pretty scant for me for a time. This, of course, meant doing some researching along the way…on top of maintaining news content for my blog and the page, in addition to my personal life offline. And all on an internet connection that gets pretty slow on a frequent basis.
But this was a challenge I am glad to have met and conquered. And of course, the big pay-off: getting to share some of Mark Musashi’s story on my blog. I want to thank Mark for taking time out of his super-busy schedule to talk and correspond with me and lending me the opportunity to learn more about his industry from his point of view. And Mark, if you are reading this, I hope I did you proud. 🙂
To read Mark’s 2006 interview with Henshin Justice Unlimited, click here. To watch Keith Hayward and Jabronie Pictures’s Fernando Huerto pick a fight with Mark, click here and here, and in *THAT* order. Trust me. 🙂
Click HERE to view the trailer for the new season of Garo, directed by A.A.C. Stunts President Makoto Yokoyama.
For all things relevant with the latest news and info about Mark, you can check out his personal blog at the AAC Stunts official website and you can also visit his own official website, MarkMusashi.com.