Martial Arts Professional Magazine's interview with Jackie for its August 2007 issue. 

JACKIE CHAN & THE ART OF GIVING BACK!

In this very exclusive interview, movie icon, business mogul and humanitarian Jackie Chan talks about leadership, charity, maintaining tradition in the martial arts, his crusade against waste, the benefits of martial arts for children, the importance of teaching discipline to our youth and his evolution into the man that he is today. Prepare yourself for a glimpse into a side of Jackie Chan that you probably have never experienced before.

 
INTERVIEW BY NAPMA PRESIDENT ROB COLASANTI
EDITED BY JOHN CORCORAN
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE JC GROUP & NEW LINE CINEMA
 
In the world of martial arts, there’s presently no bigger celebrity than Jackie Chan. In fact, as a result of his amazing movie career, which spans more than four decades and 70 films, Chan has become one of the world’s most famous entertainers, period. Now this may surprise you, but I did not seek an interview with Mr. Chan because he is so famous, wealthy, or because I wanted to hang out with him on a movie set for an hour or two. Not even close. (I didn’t even ask him for his autograph, although I was holding a Mont Blanc the entire time.) Instead, I wanted to interview Jackie Chan for much more meaningful, beneficial and altruistic reasons—for reasons that would benefit you and all of my fellow martial arts professionals.
 
My thinking went something like this. At his core, Jackie Chan is a martial artist just like you or me.  Furthermore, when you look past Jackie Chan the movie star, he’s just a person like you or me. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and our own issues to deal with. But one big difference is that Chan has
found a way to tap into the limitless potential and inner greatness that we all have tucked away inside. He’s brought it to the surface and he’s done so in a big way. My goal was to learn some of the ways in which he did it, so that I could share this information with you. I wanted to reveal his secrets to success!
 
When the name Jackie Chan is mentioned, many of us immediately think: martial arts hero, world famous
actor and unbelievable stuntman. That’s because we’ve been so heavily exposed to these particular aspects of his career. However, these staples represent only a few of Chan’s remarkable accomplishments.
Case in point: what you may not know is that he is also an extremely successful international business mogul. In fact, it’s rumored that he’s a billionaire. If that’s true, then he’s the first martial artist in history to reach that lofty financial height. Frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if his worth was indeed in the ten digits these days, after discovering just how many powerful revenue streams he’s created. To give you an idea, Chan is involved with many kinds of businesses outside of motion pictures, ranging from upscale men’s Chinese clothing stores, to a line of Jackie Chan cosmetics, to a chain of fast-food restaurants.  He’s done television and print commercials for Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Glad garbage bags. He was recently signed as spokesperson for InstaGreen Tea Beverage Mix. He’s endorsing fitness centers, computer games and theme parks. He has just launched a Chinese TV competition aimed at finding his successor, which quickly generated more than 100,000 sign ups. Plus, he even has his own cartoon, The Jackie Chan   Adventures, which is broadcast on the Cartoon Network in the U.S. and on various other networks throughout the world. That’s just a sample of what Jackie Chan, the entrepreneur, has in the pipeline.
 
So, do you think you can learn a thing or two from Jackie Chan? Now you can see why my mission was to uncover valuable nuggets of information from this giant of a man, not to get his autograph. The journey for this incredible interview kicked into high gear when my associate at New Line Cinema finally made contact with Mr. Chan and his people, who were enroute from Hong Kong to Los Angeles. She called right
away with the news: “Jackie agreed to do the interview!” But he didn’t want to do a “phoner.” Instead, he wanted to conduct this interview face-to-face and on the set of Rush Hour 3. (Rush Hour 1 and 2 comprise a blockbuster franchise that has grossed more than $500 million worldwide.) So about 24 hours later, I was on a plane bound for Los Angeles. My dear friend and five-time female world kickboxing champion, Kathy Long, greeted me at the airport. A map denoting the location of the set was disclosed to me just prior to the interview, and thank goodness for Kathy, who graciously transported me there. As bad as I am with directions, I probably would have been eaten by mountain lions before ever finding my way in or out of this place. It was located in a somewhat remote area north of Los Angeles called Canyon Country.
 
When we arrived, Mr. Chan’s publicity manager treated us like gold and showed us around the set. This was a really amazing experience. At the time, the 100-something-person crew was hard at work, filming a big stunt, against a huge green screen. Jackie’s and Chris Tucker’s doubles were hooked to cables, dangling over a big pool that had been built. There were cameras, computers, cables and machinery everywhere. The doubles repeatedly slid down the cables and crashed into a big pool of water as they were kicking and screaming. They shot this one scene over and over again, as the crew tweaked everything possible to get it just right for Chan and Tucker to step in and take their places. That happened later on that evening (after the interview) and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. In the movie, this will be an action scene that takes place at some famous fountains in France. We watched for hours and I was so intrigued by everything that was going on that I totally took my mind off the interview.
 
Then, next thing you know, I received a tap on my shoulder and the publicity manager said, “Jackie’s ready to meet with you.” A few moments later, I sat down with the 53-year-old superstar in his trailer to conduct the exclusive and rather unique interview you’re about to read. Right off the bat, I noticed that he as in fantastic physical condition. He had v-shaped forearms, big triceps, a full head of hair and he was very focused and calm. One thing I figured out in a hurry is that he really didn’t want to talk too much about Rush Hour 3, or his film career. That’s good, because honestly, it was the last thing I wanted to talk about, too. However, he quickly beamed with excitement the instant I asked him about his charity, the Jackie Chan Foundation. This was definitely his hot button and what he’s most passionate about. We ended up discussing his incredible humanitarian works quite extensively, and that’s why it has become the focal point of this cover story. It’s incredible to learn just how much Jackie Chan is giving back to society at this stage of his life. As you’ll read, he is without a doubt the quintessential “give back guy” of the martial arts. I mean, think about anything you’ve ever done for charity and then multiply it by a million! That’s the league Jackie Chan is in. He’s really using his fame and fortune to help countless others, in many ways, in many countries, and the proof of that is clearly illustrated in much of the imagery found throughout this interview. All in all, I was truly touched by what Mr. Chan had to say about leadership, charity, maintaining tradition in the martial arts, his crusade against waste, the benefits of martial arts for children, the importance of teaching discipline to our youth and his evolution into the man that he is today. This interview will give you, and all the leaders in our industry, a glimpse into a side of Jackie Chan that you probably have never experienced before. I trust that his words will inspire you as much as they inspired me.
 
NAPMA.com:You began your martial arts training at an early age. How much of an influence did your martial arts training have on making you into the person that you are today?

JACKIE CHAN: I think everything is coincidence. Not because I know martial arts did I become a superstar, because so many people know martial arts better than me. I think it was a natural. I was a child actor, then I became a low class stunt man, then my dream was to become a stunt coordinator.

NAPMA.com: I see.

Chan: So I study very hard how to become a stunt coordinator, teach people how to fight. If you want to be a good stunt coordinator, you have to learn camera angles, you have to learn editing. Then, slowly, I became an actor, then a director and writer. I think because I have all the techniques, combined with my martial arts, then I became the best. Why? Because I know camera angles, I know editing and I know how to write. And then it seems that my action is better than some other people’s. It’s not. It’s not! There’s so many action stars out there, or even the stunt guys right now. I’m not talking about 30 years ago. Yes, 30 years ago, I’m the best. But now, I use my techniques. I use all my tricks. Then the people say, “Wow, Jackie still can do a lot of things!” I think it’s the combination of everything. There’s so many action stars that don’t know the camera angles. They don’t know editing. They don’t know how to choreograph. They don’t know how to let themselves do the best technique for the screening.

NAPMA.com: I understand.

Chan: Yeah, because fighting, everybody knows it. But fighting has to go with the story. That’s very important and that’s difficult. What kind of movie, what kind of fighting? Comedy movie? Comedy fighting? I see so many action movies where the action doesn’t fit in the movie. It just seems like it doesn’t fit.  And it’s ridiculous sometimes. So that’s why you need a very good director and a martial arts director together.

NAPMA.com: As a martial arts icon, would you recommend martial arts for children growing up in today’s society?

Chan: Martial arts, yes, I definitely agree. The children right now, the young children, everybody should go to a martial arts school. Why? Because as soon as they go to a martial arts school, they learn discipline. They learn respect. You can tell the difference between the children of the same age—six years old—one in martial arts, one without martial arts. With martial arts training, you know the difference.

NAPMA.com: Absolutely.

Chan: One is jumping around. One is very quiet. One will bow. One will sit down. Martial arts really trains people when it comes to discipline. The young kids right now, they don’t have discipline. They are too wild. But I will open a school to teach the children that martial arts is for protection, for exercise, and martial arts trains your mind.
NAPMA.com: Yes, and teaches focus, discipline and respect.

Chan: And martial arts is also for entertainment right now. I can show you what I can do. What can I do? Wow, I can do the jump kick, but it’s not for kicking at people. So when I see the ultimate fighting, I think it’s too violent. I think it’s the wrong message. I know a lot of people like to watch it. Every time I watch, though, I just turn it away.

NAPMA.com: Too violent for you?

Chan: Yeah, just too violent. And sometimes I ask myself, “Are my movies violent?” Sometimes, yes. So this is why all those years you can see my movies change to when I fight and it’s like dancing. When a guy falls down, you don’t have to beat him again, again, again, again. You just see it one time— done! 

NAPMA.com: You have climbed to the top of your profession. And I wanted to ask you what role did skills such as consistency and discipline and hard work play in getting you to where you are today?

Chan: I believe that there’s so many people out there who work harder than me. Yeah, I believe that.  But me? I don’t know.

Chan’s Interpreter: Humble, isn’t he?

NAPMA.com: Yes, very humble.

Chan: Honestly, sometimes I want to take a break. Sometimes I want to just concentrate on my movie, just concentrate on what I’m doing. But I cannot do that. There are so many people that need my help. So slowly, I became involved so many things. And as soon as I become involved, then I cannot get out. But also, I don’t want to get out. I suppose I just do the film business because it is so easy for me.

NAPMA.com: Please speak to us about the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation and your mission to give back to  society.

Chan: I started the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation to mainly help children. Before, I just give money, but now I go into Cambodia and Vietnam. I go and I see the children. And it breaks my heart. How can I help them? Okay? Then next year, I go back again, next year, every year. Then I became an ambassador; a United Nations ambassador. I have to do so many things. Then I have to build academic schools for the poor. I built seventeen schools last year in China. I go there, see the children, how poor they are, without schools. I always think about them. I should go back. All of this makes me so busy. I don’t have enough time to sleep. The most happy time is when I fly back to Hong Kong. I have twelve hours to sleep. No telephone, nobody bothers me.

NAPMA.com: How can our readers participate, if they want to?

Chan: Just send me money. If you look at JackieChan.com, you’ll find our Kids Corner [the Build a School for a Dollar Project]. So many people send me money. I match one dollar for each dollar that’s donated.

NAPMA.com: Really?

Chan: Yeah. You look at JackieChan. com. They write me a letter last year. A lot of people ask me, “You built seventeen schools last year? We’re so proud of you, but we are not you, we are not rich.” I say, “Look, building a charity is not about being rich or poor.”

NAPMA.com: Right.

Chan: With even one dollar, you can help save people. Especially in China, with one dollar, you can buy school supplies. They can use it for one year. Then, I don’t know how, but a whole school helped raise money for my charity. The teacher said, “Look, now everybody ask your father for one dollar.” The students drew pictures for me. They put money inside envelopes, then everybody send it to me. Now, it’s totaled more than twenty-thousand dollars.

NAPMA.com: Impressive!

Chan: Every time someone donates a dollar, I give a dollar to match it. All my friends, they will give money too. I believe, by next year, I can build three more schools in China. A girl asked me, “How much does it cost to build a school in China? I said sixty grand for a small one. Big one? About one hundred, one-fifty or two-hundred grand.

NAPMA.com: What are these schools called?

Chan: It’s called Dragon’s Heart... Heart of Dragon. My name is Dragon and this comes from the bottom of my heart. So every school is called “Dragon’s Heart School.” Yeah, before, I was just an action star. Why I’m different now is because I care. First, I started helping people. Then I really got into it. I began to care about them. And then slowly it has become part of whatever I do. For example, when people want to buy me a present. I say, “No, give me cash. The cash I’m going to then give to the charity.” Every day, somebody gives me a present. Okay, then I will select this present to go to the elderly. These socks go to the children. This present goes to the kindergarten or this one goes to the crippled people.

NAPMA.com: You’re giving back. . .

Chan: Every day, every day. I’m not thinking which girl I’m going to date tonight, which party I’m going to, which car I’m going to buy. Now I’m thinking which money goes to the China Foundation? Which money goes to the Hong Kong Foundation? Which goes to American Jackie Chan Foundation to help the sick kids in the hospital.

NAPMA.com: Martial arts school owners are leaders. They’re leaders in their communities and they’re leaders among their students. In your opinion, what constitutes good leadership?

Chan: I think helping people. It helped as soon as I started the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation. In the past, I was a wild kid and playing every night. When you go to a disco, then you meet people who are not very good. Mostly, they probably try to sell you drugs; they offer you drinks. As soon as I started the Jackie Chan Foundation, I met different people. They were lawyers. They were becoming doctors. And I learned so many things from them. Then, as soon as I see the children, it totally changed me. I started spending more time with the children than at the disco. And slowly, slowly I became more involved with charity, more and more. It was like going to school. Then it totally changed my personality.

NAPMA.com: I see.

Chan: I think by helping people, slowly I became a leader.

NAPMA.com: I understand.

Chan: I think first you learn the discipline. After that, leadership’s about helping people. When you start helping people, then you learn so many new things. Slowly, the people around you, they respect you. Then you slowly become a leader. It’s a very, very tricky, tricky thing. Yeah.

NAPMA.com: Mr. Chan, please talk to us a little bit about goal setting.

Chan: Me? I want to open a school.

NAPMA.com: A martial arts school?

Chan: Yes. I’m looking for the land already. It will be a combination martial arts, acting, stunt school.  Martial arts schools, there’s already so many. But a lot of people don’t know how to use martial arts for entertainment. They use it for fighting. I used martial arts to become a stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor. There are so many people who know how to really fight, but they don’t know how to use it for e entertainment. So I will teach them how to use camera angles. I will teach them how to edit. Editing is the most important component. Also, how to use a table; how to use a situation fight. It will be that kind of school. And also it will be a martial arts school. I will train them how to become disciplined. Every year, my dream is to teach twenty from the U.S., twenty from Japan, twenty from Korea, twenty from Russia, and same number from China.

NAPMA.com: So the school will be in China?

Chan: Yes. Because the land is cheap and you have a lot of space. Not in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is too small and too expensive.

NAPMA.com: So this will not be an ordinary martial arts school, and probably not for kids.

Chan: No, for everybody! I want everybody to join together in the one school so that Japanese understand Chinese, Chinese understand Americans. That’s the cultural mix I want. If everybody knows everybody, for the future, there will be no more war. Yeah.  That’s the most important thing. I want the American people to speak Chinese. I want the Chinese people to speak Japanese and the Japanese to speak American. Everybody speaks the others’ language. Then you don’t ever make fun of them.

NAPMA.com: I see.

Chan’s Interpreter: It’s like he wants martial arts to be one language.

Chan: Yeah.
NAPMA.com: Is it true that singing is one of your passions?

Chan: It depends what kind of song. If the song has a meaning, yes. I just recorded a song last week. It’s meaningful. The meaning is even if you fail, it doesn’t matter, you just go again, go ahead. You know, this kind of thing. Not like I love you, I love you. I don’t like this kind of romantic song.

NAPMA.com: Do you meditate to find inner calm?

Chan: No. I just find quiet places. 

Chan: Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes people leave me alone, by myself. I want it to be very quiet. I don’t want to think, I just want to be empty. I have my own way to meditate.

NAPMA.com: Do you recommend that people keep humor in their lives?

Chan: Yes. Humor is very important. With humor, you can get everybody to join together. If you are too serious, everybody will be scared of you. You will lose a lot of friends.  When I’m on the set, I’m so serious, everybody is scared of me, but they respect me. Right after a cut, then I become very human, and there’s a lot of comedy going on, you know. I make it fun for everybody.

NAPMA.com: Is there anything you’d like to tell our readers about your upcoming movie with Jet Li?

Chan: I’ve tried to work with Jet Li for a long time. And somehow we agreed on the scrīpt, but there was a dispute between two companies. So we just broke up. Then somehow the whole world is asking when will you do the movie with Jet Li. That will be great. Now, somehow, this has changed. It will happen. This month, we start filming in China and New York, Gobi Desert, Shanghai, Beijing.

NAPMA.com: Your movies drive students into martial arts schools because people see them and then get excited about martial arts. Will this new movie with Jet Li have that effect on the public?

Chan: I believe, yes. It’s a movie that teaches young kids how to become a martial artist and save   people. It’s an educational movie.

NAPMA.com: So it shows the positive side of the martial arts?

Chan: Yeah. It’s positive and funny.

NAPMA.com: Success. It’s very much a relative term. What does success mean to Jackie Chan? 

Chan: Success?

NAPMA.com: For some people, it’s money. For some people, it’s fame. For some people, it’s putting back into society.

Chan: Success—I think it depends. Like when I was young, my goal was to become a stunt coordinator.  Then later on, oh, I want to be a Bruce Lee, because everybody would respect me. Bruce had so many fans around him. Then somehow I became a star. I wanted money. I didn’t want the name because I was starving; I wanted money. They offer me . . .how much, then “Yes, I’ll do it!” When I had fame, then the money automatic came.

NAPMA.com: I see.

Chan: When you have money, now you don’t care about money anymore. After you’re successful, there’s so, so much easy money that comes your way. Now you want to do something for society, for myself, for my family, for the country. It’s so easy to help children and to help people. That’s funny, yeah.

NAPMA.com: Beautiful.

Chan: It’s so easy. Everybody wants to support me with things. I just ask them for more. Okay— boom—I get them and then give these things to the children. Sometimes, I’ll do a commercial for a product but with one request: One percent or two percent of my earnings goes to the charity. Also, they must give products to the charity. See?

NAPMA.com: I see.

Chan: Easy. I let everybody help. So after many years, I have so many contacts. And everybody knows what I’m doing. I call them and they automatically give me things. I need some food. Okay. I need some water. Okay. This makes it so easy for me to help a lot of children, especially in China. Probably you never see how poor they are. When you see it, you will always remember them, and think about them.

NAPMA.com: I’m sure.

Chan: So now, I learn not to waste water. On the set, every time we wrap, you see a thousand water bottles like this one. He holds one up. Just one sip has been taken because people do not like the name brand. And they just throw it in the garbage. You know how wasteful that is? Especially in California, there’s not enough water!

NAPMA.com: That’s right.

Chan: So I pick up every bottle, turn it upside-down and put it on a tree. I squeeze them. So by doing charity, you learn so many things. I’m upgrading myself. And I teach this to other people. A lot of people say, “Ah, Jackie, I learn from you.” “No,” I answer I learn from somebody and then I just pass it along to you guys. I hope you guys continue to pass it along to others. I hope everybody learns how to save the world.”

NAPMA.com: That’s very well put.

Chan: So this is why a girl asked me sponsor two-hundred-thousand DVDs for Asian schools. The DVD is entitled Inconvenient Truth.

NAPMA.com: Al Gore’s movie?

Chan: Yes. I buy the two-hundred thousand DVDs. I spend the money. I say yes. Then I had them translated into Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Malaysian. Then I gave them away.

NAPMA.com: Since you started your martial arts training a number of decades ago, the martial arts industry has changed quite a bit. What do you think about those changes?

Chan: I think change is good. Now you train in martial arts for so long, and you do it every day, it can be so boring. And also the young kids, they know so many things. Martial arts is too easy for them now. And now martial arts is about kicking, turning kick, doubleturning kick, and somersault-turning kick. That’s difficult. If we want to attract this age group of kids, you have to add years to the training.  Then they have a goal. Otherwise, after two, three years, they know everything. Yes. But you want a double somersault and triple somersault and doing it with a stick, a knife—like my kind of action. A lot of people ask me, “What kind of style you are.” I say, “My style is chop suey.” Right?

NAPMA.com: You’re eclectic.

Chan: I’m the founder of chop suey/ eclectic. When you see my movies, I use sticks, I use all kind of styles. I use hapkido, karate, judo, somersaults, comedy—everything combined together. And now you see the new generation. The action is not like the old days. They jump. They do the flips. I believe they learned this from watching me, but now they’re better. They’re better because they know they have to start gymnastics first. After gymnastics, they make their body stronger.

NAPMA.com: Is this what you did when you were growing up?

Chan: I started in the Chinese Opera. Inside, we had different schools. Different teachers taught you kicking, punching, sticks, singing, dancing, gymnastics, how to clean—everything. You had to learn it all. NAPMA.com: At this stage in your career, your movies present you as a positive role model. I assume that that’s the path that your career has taken you. Millions and millions of people look up to you.

Chan: I think I learned a lot from society and also the government. I was a wild kid. I mean, I was bad. I was fighting on the street. And it was the government and also the people that said, “Because you are so famous, we need you do something good.” I hated that. But I began doing charity and I learned so many things that taught me to be a good person. Now, doing charity, cleaning the street, that’s my daily work.

NAPMA.com: Really?

Chan: It has become very natural. People around me, everybody is learning from me. And slowly, slowly, I’m becoming a role model. I think I’m lucky and a natural.

NAPMA.com: You seem like a very disciplined person to me. I can’t imagine anybody becoming as successful as you are in life without having a lot of discipline. Did that discipline come from your martial arts training?

Chan: Yeah. My discipline comes from my mom and from school. I’ve learned so many things from other people I cannot name them all. I’ll learn it because I want those kinds of things to use in my movies. So whatever I see, I collect like a recording in my mind. So in my movies, you see so many things. I’m not a genius who can create these kinds of things.

NAPMA.com: Is there anything else you’d like to say to the martial arts school owners across the United States of America?

Chan: Okay. To become a school owner, they must have a good heart. They want to teach people. I want them to open a school to really teach children. You shouldn’t just open a school, get everybody in, get the money, then just find the rubbish teacher to teach them.  So this is why I didn’t try to open a school for a long, long time. In China, everybody says, “Jackie, open a school. As soon as you open, more than one hundred- thousand people will join.” I know. I would become very rich. But I said, “That’s wrong.  So many people open a school in China, cheating, cheating, cheating the people.”

NAPMA.com: Hmmm. . .

Chan: Cheating the children and they don’t know it. Some martial arts schools somehow use my name or imply that, when you take martial arts, then you can make it into a Jackie Chan movie. Somebody worked for me, for like one year as a stuntman, then he went to China and opened a school. Everyone joined. That’s bad. So that’s why all those years I didn’t open a martial arts school. One day I want to open a school and go back to look around and teach the children at least four or five times a month. We have the responsibility. It’s not just for the money.

NAPMA.com: Talk to us a little bit about why it’s important to preserve the tradition in the martial arts.

Chan: Tradition is important because I look at many of the young kids in academic school right now. No discipline. They never listen to you. Because the rules, the law, so much protects the children. Very, very few children have discipline automatically. Yeah, kids like four, five years old are jumping around and yelling. My son, he’s 24 years old, he bows and he’s more quiet automatically. I think it is okay to have tradition, but not too much. Like in our Chinese Opera School, the teacher had too much. You know, I believe children need a slap, a hit just once in a while.

NAPMA.com: They need some discipline.

Chan: Yeah, discipline. Like my son, his shoes are never like this using his hands to demonstrate two shoes sitting flat. In my house, they are always like this demonstrating shoes in disarray with his hands. The tennis shoes always one side down, one side up.

NAPMA.com: Laughter.

Chan: Also, kids in martial arts learn respect. When you see old people coming, you automatically stand up. You give the chair to the old people. And when you are crossing the street, you help people. And never, never hit the weak. Always help them. And remember, martial arts is for defense. It’s not for attacking. So when people are fighting, always, always defend. We learned these kinds of things in my training. Now, the young people . . .five young children recently beat one girl.

NAPMA.com: Oh, I saw that on the news.

Chan: Yeah. See? Because they don’t have people to teach them respect. And also, the families spoil the children, let them do whatever they want. They want to buy this here, want to buy another there.  They yelling, “I want, I want!”

NAPMA.com: Martial arts changes that. So I guess you would recommend martial arts for any kid growing up in today’s society.

Chan: Any! Any good martial art, including taekwondo, hapkido, etcetera.

NAPMA.com: Yes. It’s not so much the martial art. It’s what the art teaches.

Chan: It’s discipline. Yeah. You see Korean people mostly learn hapkido or taekwondo. Look at all my true Korean students, when they shake hands. They always shake like this. Chan shaking Colasanti’s right hand with his right hand, but supporting his right arm with his left hand, palm up.

NAPMA.com: Yeah.

Chan: Because they learn the principles of martial arts. They learn martial arts when they’re young.  Now they are so disciplined. . .always bow.

NAPMA.com: Oh, yes.

Chan: Look at many young kids right here in America. They don’t even shake your hand without martial arts training. Yet, we have a scene in Rush Hour 3 with all martial arts children in it from three, five, six years old to twenty. They come to the set yelling. The teacher shouts, “Quiet!” And all the young kids get quiet! Without martial arts, they would keep yelling. [Chan yells loudly.]

NAPMA.com: I would have to say this was a fantastic interview.

Chan: Okay. You go to the Jackie Chan website. Then you understand more. Thank you!

On the Subject of Imitation Shaolin Kung-fu

The Shaolin Temple is commonly considered the birthplace of Chinese martial arts. In 1979, the People’s  Republic of China Congress declared it a National Treasure. In keeping with the spirit of contemporary China, the Shaolin Temple today has been reborn as a well-oiled corporation, with monks with master of  business administration (MBA) degrees sorting out temple management issues on cellular phones, presided over by an abbot, Shi Yongxin, the local media call the “CEO of Shaolin.” In the interest of maintaining its beloved traditions, the Shaolin Temple has become, quite effectively, a moneymaking machine. Today, the sprawling Temple complex draws over 1-million tourists annually and grosses $2.5- million from admission fees alone. In the popular imagination, Shaolin kungfu is synonymous with the rigid discipline and deep spirituality of the cryptic Zen Buddhism school practiced at the Temple.  The reality is quite different, however. Due to the Temple’s growth related to its martial arts teachings, Dengfeng, the nearest town to the temple, is jam-packed with about 100 martial arts schools, where more than 40,000 students of both genders from across China and abroad study Shaolin kung-fu.
 
MARTIAL ARTS PROFESSIONAL: It seems like the martial arts industry has become somewhat over- commercialized. Agree?

JACKIE CHAN: Yeah.

NAPMA.com: Yeah. And I think that that’s a bit of a problem because we could lose sight of tradition.

Chan: Yeah. Look at Shaolin kung-fu. Everybody is talking about Shaolin.

NAPMA.com: You mean the commercialization of the Shaolin Temple?

Chan: Yeah.

MAPro: We did a cover story on it last year.

Chan: Yeah. Just, I’m shamed.
NAPMA.com: What’s your take on that?

Chan: Right now, you don’t know who is teaching the real Shaolin style. There’s too many. Around Shaolin Temple, there’s more than a hundred Shaolin schools. Shaolin is our national treasure, our Chinese treasure. I think the Chinese government should do something to stop this and to check who  is the real Shaolin. Maybe to combine them into one for the future, so there is only one Shaolin.  You would select the students, so not everybody can go to Shaolin schools.

NAPMA.com: You mean to have an authentic one?

Chan: Yes.

NAPMA.com: Otherwise, you lose sight of what’s authentic.

Chan: Like in Japan, they have a Shaolin Temple. You know how great they are? They have like a half- million students in Japan Shaolin. Big, giant, beautiful. You know how difficult it is to get in there to  train? Very difficult. You have to have a certain grade. This is not commercial.

NAPMA.com: I see.

Chan: They really keep it traditional. That’s Shaolin. I hope China does the same thing. Now, whenever I go to the United States, I see so many fake Shaolin styles. They use the name. They know a little bit.  They shave off their hair, then they take the yellow jacket, and they suddenly become Shaolin. One of my stunt guys is better than them. Yeah, I think China government should do something, you know, to—

NAPMA.com: —To authenticate who is who.

The original article included photos which all can be found on our website. Please click here to read about one Dragon's Heart trip and click here to see our photo albums from the trip.

Thank you to Martial Arts Professional Magazine for permission to post this interview.
 
Rob Colasanti is the president of NAPMA, a 3rd-degree black belt, the author of How to Build the Martial Arts School of Your Dreams, an ACMA-certified instructor and a popular speaker on the subject of martial arts school operations. John Corcoran is managing editor of Martial Arts Professional. NAPMA would like to thank Don Warrener of Rising Sun Productions for introducing us to the good people at New Line Cinema.