The Magnificient 7 Kicks Ass

This September, the Magnificent Seven makes a return to the big screen in a reinterpretation of the 1960s classic. Antoine Fuqua, the director of action movie hits like The Equalizer and Southpaw directs this updated spaghetti western that’s heavy on stunts, fights and action.

In town for a day, Mag 7 stunt coordinator, Ryan Ryusaki taught us some techniques to take down an opponent. Any man you know with a “RYU” in his name has got to be a street fighter, and true enough, his discipline of choice was a street fighting style that was very fluid and adaptable to real life situations.

Ever wondered what to do if someone points a knife at you, ready to stab or take a swipe? How about knowing how to gain the advantage when you are kneeling on the ground with a revolver pointed at your temple? Performed correctly, there are moves that will pull the rug under your assailant’s feet and give you the upperhand.

Bruno Pucci and Leandro Issa, MMA fighters and trainers at Evolve MMA Singapore, asia’s premier martial arts gym made an appearance as  well. Both are exponents of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and are world ranked fighters.

Leandro is ranked 33rd in the world, while  Bruno is the gold medalist in the 2009 No Gi Grappling World Championships who famously bested a previously undefeated Bashir Ahmad with a rear naked choke.

These guys looked really scary, and if they were facing me down at the other end of an alley, I would definitely try out that last jumping move that I learnt. If I could jump over them, I could live to fight another day. If I just fell flat, maybe I’d break my neck and not have to suffer one of those moves where the MMA fighter sits on your chest and repeatedly punches his opponent’s face.

That is the gist of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, though. Although it is a highly disciplined sequence of moves and steps, if you manage to maneuver your enemy into a compromised position, you could really rain down a world of hurt.

It was a short half day lesson with these great fighters and great people. I learnt a lot of valuable lessons, such as tempering my enthusiasm to go out and challenging the first guy I met after the fight instruction session, because above all else, with great power comes great responsibility. Ommmm Pade Ommmm

Magnificent Seven  stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Peter Sarsgaard and Haley Bennett. Catch it on the 22nd September 2016.