Melissa McCarthy sure kicks (and punches) up a storm as a CIA analyst in Spy. All thanks to Diana Lee Inosanto. Diana who? Bruce Lee’s godchild and martial arts trainer to Melissa in Spy, thanks to whom the roly-poly Holly star not only overpowers an attacker with one quick kick between his legs, but also takes out the knife-wielding Nargis Fakhri with a frying pan in a hotel kitchen! “I love that scene,” says the California-based Diana, 49, in an exclusive t2 chat over email.

How did Spy happen?

In March 2014, I came on board to exclusively teach Melissa under the multi-talented stunt coordinator, J.J. Perry. Originally, my husband, Ron Balicki, a 30-year instructor under my father (Dan Inosanto, the successor to Bruce Lee’s combat philosophy Jeet Kune Do, and also the man who introduced Bruce Lee to the nunchaku), was supposed to teach Melissa. However, Ron had another gig, so somehow, both of them thought, maybe this is a unique opportunity for a female star to be trained by an actual woman in the martial arts and stunt field. Just as it’s rare in Hollywood to see the kind of ‘woman warrior’ image that Melissa had a shot at portraying in Spy, it’s equally rare to see women administratively take the helm in the stunt world. J.J. Perry knew of my martial arts background and stunt history, and gave me a shot to personally prepare Melissa for this demanding role as Agent Susan Cooper in Spy. 

There was something intriguing about working with Melissa because I knew she was going to be someone that women around the world could relate to and see themselves in. It was a complete honour for me. However, I will tell you that I was quite nervous.  With actors like Aaron Eckhart (for I, Frankenstein) my husband and I usually have several months to train them. Even my father had Denzel Washington for six months to prepare him for Book of Eli. Melissa was another story. I had a short time frame: under two months. And I knew she didn’t have a martial arts background. So the challenge was to find a methodology to quickly make her look as efficient as possible within the context of her character.

What was the brief given to you?

When stunt coordinator J.J. Perry and I talked, I was in Los Angeles and he was already prepping the stunts in Budapest. He had mapped out an intense and complicated fight scene for Melissa, which was approximately two-and-a-half minutes long and he sent it to me on video from Hungary. J.J. needed me to make her look as combative and visceral as possible. The way I took it? My mission was to make Melissa McCarthy fight like Jason Bourne but with curves!

How did you go about it? What was her training routine like?

Normally, I work as a fight choreographer, which has its advantages because I can start to modify the choreography on the spot, according to what I see of the actor or actress’s ability. But my job was to fulfil J.J. Perry’s incredible vision of choreography, and help Melissa adapt to that vision.

Melissa had a tremendous schedule working back-to-back projects and she was still shooting Mike & Molly at Warner Brothers Studios, which is where we trained. Because I had less than two months (on average two hours a day, three times a week) to teach Melissa, I knew that time would be our greatest challenge. My second challenge was that she did not have a martial arts background. Depending on the individual, it can take time for the human body to remember and perfect the motions required in certain styles of martial arts. I had to figure out a methodology.

Originally, J.J. thought Wing Chun would be the way to go, but after looking at the choreography, and how weapons-oriented the fight scene was, I knew I had to add more to that curriculum. I had to create a programme specifically for Melissa that would help accelerate muscle memory in a short amount of time. So, relying on my Jeet Kune Do roots, I first investigated her athletic roots. I remembered her athletic ability when she hosted SNL (Saturday Night Live) tumbling down the stairs in one of her skits. Not many actresses are that physical. I also read that she played tennis in high school, which I knew I could physically tap into. So, I spent a couple of days getting reacquainted with tennis and its movements and footwork. I saw that there is common ground between swinging a Kali stick (or knife) and swinging a tennis racket.

So, I came to the conclusion that Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) offered the best solution to get Melissa quickly in gear for her fight scene. I did train her a little bit in Wing Chun, which is an empty hand art that is great for hand sensitivity and coordination. But it’s quite a progressive system that takes time, something that we didn’t have. So, I switched gears and I started her on a very simple hand drill from Kali called Hubad. Melissa needed to be ready in a few weeks to deliver an intense fight scene for Paul Feig (director of Spy) and J.J. on the set in Budapest. 

With Melissa, I would show her how to do two-person stick drills that trained her to be ambidextrous. She loved it!  I taught her, primarily, 12 strikes of attack with a training knife from Cold Steel and Kali sticks, which would inevitably simulate a frying pan. I also taught her how to recognise those lines of attack that would come at her from the opposite person. And just in case her fight partner deviated from those lines of attack that were pre-choreographed, I tried to teach her to intuitively guard against them to prevent injury.

I gave Melissa Kali sticks to take home so she could practise in her spare time. I even heard that she would practise on the set of Mike & Molly. During our process together, I would make associations with tennis that Melissa’s muscle memory could tap into and transfer into combative expression. The programme was coming together. I also brought in my assistant Brenda for a day to help me. Like a dance routine, Melissa could match the movement by watching us perform the routine. When Melissa’s routine became ingrained in her, and when I felt her muscle memory was being activated, then I knew we could focus on timing, reaction, sharpness and speed. 

In addition, I also had to train her to be familiar with a handgun in the vein of a Sig Sauer, so we used an Air Gun Glock and we went over gun safety. My godbrother, Brandon Lee, was killed by accident on the set of The Crow, so I’m very sensitive about gun safety and prevention. Luckily, my hubby, who was a former sheriff from Chicago, trained me quite well for many years. At the end of the day, the main goal of any stunt team is safety, and I needed to teach Melissa to safely get through her choreography while still making her character look capable of intuitively adapting to an assailant’s attack while some of the choreography had comical undertones.

How did Melissa respond to your training? How did she perform?

Melissa responded wonderfully!

I think the introduction to martial arts and particularly Filipino Kali was an eye-opener. She could hit sticks and be combative and still get a workout and understand the basics of self-protection. It was a win-win situation all around. I am happy to report there were no injuries during my time with her, but perhaps there were some sore muscles (I mean she was working out her entire body!).

Any fun anecdotes that you can share with us?

Well, you mean outside of the fact that I was teaching her martial arts with a kitchen knife and frying pan, which was pretty fun and hilarious?! There is a moment in the fight scene (with Nargis Fakhri’s Lia) where Melissa pauses and says her lines. I just assumed she would keep repeating the same scripted line, but nooooo. Metaphorically speaking, Melissa is a Black Belt in improvisation. So, she would work out a new line each time I was trying to come at her with a kitchen knife. Now, I’m dying inside, trying to keep a straight face — it’s literally hurting me to not smile! Every line she’s delivering, every time we go over the routine, is new, organic, and it’s now death by comedy. My stomach is hurting because she has comically ‘punched’ me with her wit. I never had so much fun.

What is the most satisfying thing that you get from training actors?

Curiosity and enthusiasm and a deep love for the martial arts and how sacred and life-changing it can be.
 
Okay, now to the man that a whole generation has grown up hero-worshipping — what are your earliest memories of your godfather Bruce Lee?

My fondest memory was when he had returned from Hong Kong and came over to our home in Los Angeles. After months and months of him being gone, Uncle Bruce and Linda (wife) had stopped by our home. I remember I was playing in the backyard by myself, and he had stepped out into our Japanese garden. I remember running to him as a small girl to hug him around the waist. He smiled and gave me a warm hug back. Later, he would be in my father’s library, lifting weights (yes, dad’s personal library also had a weight bench and desk in the middle of the room). I remember walking in the room and watching my godfather bench-pressing, while he spoke philosophy and related his thoughts about martial arts... meanwhile, my father would sit at his desk taking notes. I remember as a small child I had interrupted their discussion. But my godfather got off the bench, and smiled. I noticed that his shirt was off and that he had incredible ‘six pack’ abs.  I had never seen a man with that kind of muscular structure. He smiled and comically allowed me to punch his abdomen. His stomach felt like a rock. It was pretty funny.

How, and when, did you get into martial arts?

Having Dan Inosanto as my father and Bruce Lee as my godfather, martial arts became a second language for me in my home. I was born into it... didn’t have much of a choice. It was my heritage and culture. I was surrounded by martial arts 24 hours a day. Although, at age five, I did protest at times, especially when dad interrupted my playtime with my Barbie dolls and he wanted me to throw a round kick!

My father made sure I had a well-rounded education, which meant exposure to both Asian and European martial ways. Thus, I have a background in Chinese Gung-Fu, Wing Chun, Thai Boxing (aka Muay Thai), Western Boxing, European Fencing, Shoot Wrestling, Indonesian Silat, French Savate and the Filipino Martial Arts — (Kali, Arnis or Escrima) — sort of a mixed martial arts background. It’s funny that today, the term ‘mixed martial arts’ is associated with the octagon ring and UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), but for me as a child growing up, mixed martial arts meant not only learning empty hand combat but it also meant learning weaponry: knife, single sword, double sword, long staff, combative stick techniques and much more.

But, Jeet Kune Do is also about an individual’s personal evolution. I resonate a lot with the Filipino martial arts, which I refer to as Kali. It offers a broad range of combative needs and it incorporates empty hand techniques, stick, sword, knife, staff, and flexible weapons, like the sarong. It is a highly adaptable system and has been used in the military, paramilitary, even American Football with the Dallas Cowboys, and Hollywood films like Bourne Identity, 300, or I, Frankenstein.  

What are your thoughts on the revolutionary concepts Bruce Lee developed?

Well the martial arts foundation that he set up for the world was important. That foundation in expression is known today as Jeet Kune Do. There is a martial ‘art’ aspect to Jeet Kune Do, sometimes known as Jun Fan Gung Fu, which was my godfather’s personal form of martial expression, and there is a philosophical aspect to Jeet Kune Do. The easiest way to explain Jeet Kune Do is in a quote by my godfather — “In primary freedom, one utilises ALL ways, and is bound by none and likewise uses any technique or means which serves its end.” It’s an open-minded approach to knowledge, which will never stop.

For a lot of women today, martial arts is the road to feeling safe. What would your advice to Indian women be about the need for learning martial arts? 

I think that it’s important to find either an instructor or school that really supports the advancement of women’s rights and opportunities.  Finding a teacher that you can trust and will support your own personal growth and evolution is so important. I have heard horror stories of women who were committed to their martial arts schools only to find that there was no advancement or promotion in their system. I have heard of women being denied their Black Belt (or equivalent type promotion) because their gender was considered inferior to men... how sad that we are living in an age where such thinking exists in certain parts of the world. It’s important to find a martial arts instructor and /or school that is evolved enough to really champion female martial artistes and female martial arts teachers. If I were searching for such a school, I would ask the potential instructor if they rank women. If they don’t, I would be very cautious. 

What some people may be surprised to know is that such social issues regarding the expansion of women in martial arts concerned even my godfather during the time he was alive. Thus, Uncle Bruce asked my father to develop a women’s programme in Los Angeles, during the time my godfather was filming in Hong Kong. I think he was heavily impacted by the death of actress Sharon Tate, after Charles Manson and his cult followers had murdered Sharon and his good friend, Jay Sebring, with several other people. 

He also felt that women, by nature, could be trusted with martial knowledge and not exploit martial arts or steal it. I think Uncle Bruce was deeply bothered by the fact that some men in the martial arts community, who had trained with him, were taking his art and philosophy and putting it in their systems, and not giving him credit.
 
Calcutta-based Satyaki Gupta heads a martial arts organisation called 7CASP (Seventh Chakra Arts for Self-Preservation) that trains people in arts such as Jeet Kune Do, Kali, Silat and Wing Chun. He is the only certified instructor in Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts under Dan Inosanto in India. What are your thoughts on Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto’s teachings reaching India? Do you have any suggestion or advice for Satyaki?
Although I have never met Mr Gupta in person, I am sure happy that my godfather’s philosophy and my father’s teaching has influenced so many lives worldwide, and especially in India. It takes a very special person to take the calling to teach martial arts. I admire that this is Mr Gupta’s passion in life and I hope that he continues to touch the lives of his students in a positive way.

Have you been to India? 

No. But I would LOVE TO! I would like to study yoga there.

Would you like to visit Calcutta and hold a workshop?

Of course, maybe one day.

What’s a regular day in your life like?

Every day that I wake up, I am motivated by the love of my family. Their well-being is my chief aim. I am a mother of two sons. My elder son has autism, and my younger son is healthy and 12 years old now. I try to read daily, something spiritual or inspirational to feed my soul. I have such a fast-paced life outside of my home — travelling, working on career ventures. I also do yoga and mindfulness exercises every other day. Yoga is a very big part of my life as I get older. It is what has kept me together. I’ve had some horrible injuries from my early years as a stunt actress and thus, yoga helped me get through some of the pain and injuries, and more important, stress.

Diana’s top 4 roles

Rent: I did nothing spectacular but I was working on my first and only musical! Need I say more? In India you have Bollywood so I know people would understand my love of musicals. I couldn’t believe I was doing a stunt fight in the riot sequence following Idina Menzel’s performance as Maureen Johnson singing Over the Moon. I watched her perform 20 times and never got bored. I thought to myself, ‘I actually get paid for this?’

Star Trek Enterprise: I worked on a few episodes of Star Trek Enterprise and I loved every moment of it. I’m a Star Trek geek and I was so excited to be working on one of Hollywood’s most iconic franchises. I was a kid all over again on those sets and my costumes were ten times better than the one I had as a kid. Need I say more about the awesome set designs and special effects make-up?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I did some intense fight scenes doubling Sarah Michelle Gellar. I also got to work directly with Joss Whedon. This was the beginning of my stunt career, and it was the beginning of Joss’s career as creator and director. Also, this was the time that Sarah’s career took off too. I had to double Sarah for the presentation for Paramount Pictures to greenlight the pilot and next few episode. Honestly, I didn’t see how a story about a teenage girl hunting vampires would make it on TV, but how wrong I was. It became a classic and I am glad I was there during its take-off point. It set my career in motion to work on other big shows. How fortunate I was!

Spy: Training Melissa was one of the highlights of my life. Spy is such a terrific film and I am glad that I could be a part of it in my small way.

SNAPCHAT

Fave films: West Side Story and Forrest Gump.
Fave books: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling, David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell, and The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.
Fave music: Oooo, that’s hard. I’m JKD (Jeet Kune Do) when it comes to my music; I love everything. I love Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars, but I also can shift gears and listen to Pearl Jam or Stone Temple Pilots. I also love Earth, Wind, and Fire.
Fave apps: Lumosity, Quizzative

Arindam Chatterjee
Did you know about Diana before reading this? Tell t2@abp.in