ADRIAN PAUL
Hollywood actor and Shaolin Kung Fu and Hung Gar practitioner
Known worldwide for his role as Duncan Macleod (Highlander)
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Hello Adrian, can you introduce yourself?
I am Adrian Paul, of the clan Paul, born in the Lowlands of London, and I was not alone…. Okay, now we’ve got the Highlander stuff out of the way. I am an actor/director and Producer for 35 years, with over 200 hours of television and 35 films to my name, possibly the most notable being, The Highlander Franchise. I have also headed my own charity, called The Peace Fund, (Protect, Educate, Aid, Children Everyday) for the past 22 years; hosted a radio show called, Peace Fund Radio, with over 600 hours of free public service. I have operated my own business, The Sword Experience, since 2016; and I am a partner in a film servicing company, in Budapest, Hungary. I am married for ten years to my wife Alexandra and we have 3 children, Angelisa Valentina-Rose, Royce and our youngest at 5 weeks old, Seven Sterling
Tell us how you got to practice martial arts, including Hung Gar and Shaolin Kung Fu?
I started Martial arts as a way to curb my temper.
I needed structure and an outlet to focus on. When I was young man it had been in the form of Rugby, soccer, plus, several other sports. As I got older, I realized I needed more. I started boxing and kickboxing and but it wasn’t until I got the role of Duncan Macleod, in the TV series Highlander that I decided to take it seriously. After the first season, I began studying Hung Gar Kung Fu. I liked the fact that it was a hard style, with a flow from one move to another. I understood movement from having been a choreographer and a dancer for several years, so I guess it just fit. From that point I started learning from other martial artists who came onto the show. trying out different styles on both hand and weapons forms, but I always had Hung Gar as a base. When I finished the series, I kept studying but then I moved to Canada to film another series but when I returned to Los Angeles in the early 2000’s I wanted to continue training. My Shifu had moved back to Hawaii and I had always been interested in what some people refer to as the founder of most marital arts today, Shaolin King Fu. As luck would have it, I found a studio run by the first non-Asian to be consecrated as a Shaolin Warrior monk, only a mile from where I lived. I studied there for about three years.
What did you like? What made you love martial arts?
At first, I was interested in the physical side of the arts. But as I studied more, I understood that there are many sides to what being a martial artist means. I love the challenge of hard work and discipline, a way to push me to achieve something new. It is a way to test your inner strength, as well as your physical strength. Both allow you to be in balance, which is what the Yin and Yang symbol of Martial arts means.
What do you think martial arts bring physically, mentally and spiritually?
Physically it brings Discipline, mentally it brings concentration and Spiritually it brings you harmony.
Do you have references from masters? Examples that have motivated you and still motivate you?
I am constantly challenged to learn more.
I work often with different marital art instructors when I travel for the Sword Experience events and we share various techniques. I recently have been working with Mark Mikita, who is a Grandmaster in Philippine Martial Arts, and who has been studying for over 50 years on developing a numbering system for the participants to the Sword Experience and in doing so have learned numerous disarm techniques.
You are known all over the world, especially for your legendary role as Duncan Macleod in the Highlander series. What did martial arts bring you for this role? And what did this role bring you?
As a great acting teacher once told me. As you change as a human being, you will change as an actor and as you change as an actor you will change as a human. I found this to be true with Highlander because along the learning path that playing Duncan Macleod gave me, I found numerous times events, or facts that made me re-evaluate who I was as a person. The best example of this, was the affect I had with children who were excited to meet Duncan MacLeod. It opened my eyes to my ability to inspire underprivileged children for them to rise above their challenges and become whoever they wanted to be. It was the reason I founded The Peace Fund in 1997.
Martial Arts did the same for me. It made me settle and become confident that I could achieve whatever I wanted, if I put in hard work.
You made your own fights in the Highlander series. Do you have any anecdotes from the fights, the stunts to tell us?
It would take me hours to recount the fight accidents and stories that went along with performing the hundreds of fights that I performed.
But, in short, my right index finger, that was constantly bleeding during the run of the show, also received stitches. Along with some above my left eye, others to the side of my right eye, while having been dropped on my head twice, struck numerous times in the face, head, back and hands.
All in all, I would do it all again. That said, I wasn ‘t the one who created the fights, I was the one who molded them to what the story was tell us. When the sword master would come with choreography that he had designed, I would adjust it in order to show that there was a conversation going on during the fight, not in words but in action. I learned from my first sword teacher, Bob Anderson, that a sword fight was a conversation. Where the acting stopped and the action began the conversation had to continue. Otherwise, the audience loses interest because they are watching a different story.
According to many stuntmen and professionals, you are one of the best actors / swordsmen in the world. And in February 2016 you founded the SWORD EXPERIENCE, for what purpose did you found this event? What does it consist of?
I had been asked to release sword videos, many times, But I never felt qualified enough to teach a specific style. Martial art forms are like opinions, everyone has one. I was not interested in having non sensical discussions about the merits between what I would teach and what others thought. So, for years I did nothing. Then I started to see all the sword fights being released on screen in many films and television shows and thought that if I would to teach anything, it might be fun to teach the fight scenes from films and television series. But wanting to give people a great time, I decided to create The Sword Experience, to teach people not only a sword fight but to give them a life experience. So, we went about setting our events in castles, vineyards, abandoned warehouses, Japanese gardens and many filmic locations. Now we make film shorts, that are shot and cut together like a mini movie. I get my creative juices working because I have 5 -6 hours to teach people how to use a sword, pair them up with a partner, and film the entire story. Even spectators now get dress up and become part of the story.
Since its inception the Sword Experience has grown and changed. We now have retreats, convention and Elite experiences, as well as corporate events. Now having taught over 70 events, I realized a commonality between people with and those without experience. It didn’t matter what style someone took, or what sword technique they knew or didn’t know, it was all about targeting. If you are working with someone in choreography, you both need to know the exact location of the strikes, in order to keep each other safe, while making the fight look as realistic as possible. If you are a HEMA fighter, a competitive swordsman, or martial artist, you need to be precise so you can achieve your goal. That was when the Sword Experience numbering system was created, based on angles of attack and defense.
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Our latest launch will see us go on line, first teach this system, so that everyone is on the same page, and then moving on to a series of workout videos. These will be aimed for people who just want another way to get fit, while learning about movement, and for those who want to improve their sword work or to faster or stronger in their martial techniques.
How do we participate in this event?
You can go online and find us at www.Swordxp.com
You have already come to France (You also speak French.) to do an internship during your Sword Experience tour, do you plan to come back to France to repeat an internship?
I have taken the Sword Experience to France twice and was planning on coming back this year, but with the current state of travel and restrictions, that doesn’t seem possible right now. Once things have gotten better, I definitely want to come back to France, In the meantime people will be able to train with me online after we launch in Mid-April 2020. Again, you can find information about that on our site or on any of our social media pages.
A big thank you Adrian for this interview. I am extremely honored.
Do you have a word for the end? Something to add?
Yes, it is what I tell people who come to my Academy events.
If you cannot do great things today, do small things greatly and tomorrow great things will surely come.
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CONNECTIONS:
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FACEBOOK page: click here
INSTAGRAM page : click here
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website of The Sword Experience: https://swordxp.com/
