Episode 62 - Mr. John DeBlasio
Mr. John DeBlasio - Episode 62
When I teach now, I understand what I've been teaching all my life. I understand it more, which makes me a better instructor.
John DeBlasio & Method Man
whistlekick Sparring Helmet
I met Mr. John DeBlasio during my recent trip the Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honors Mega Weekend in Atlantic City, NJ. I was making my first pass on the exhibition floor and Bill Wallace was standing there talking to him. Shortly after I ended up speaking with Mr. DeBlasio and really enjoyed our conversation. It was clear that this man was not only a true martial artist, but also a good guy and a passionate (and successful) actor. I knew he'd be a great guest for the show.His acting credits include TV shows like Blue Bloods, Elementary and The Sopranos and movies like Talons of the Eagle with Billy Blanks and The Cobbler with Adam Sandler.And what a guest he turned out to be. This episode has a bit of everything - humorous stories, serious moments & amazing advice all from a man who is clearly walking the path of a martial artist. Mr. DeBlasio knows his history and does a great job of bringing us on his journey. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.Your humble host, JeremyToday's featured product is our whistlekick Sparring Helmet.
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Show Notes
Movie - Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection), Duel of the Iron Fist, Five Fingers of Death, Ip Man, The Monkey KingDuring the show we mentioned Gary Alexander, who we're hoping to have on the show soon. If you're unfamiliar with Mr. Alexander, here's a brief bio. We also talked about Jerome Mackey, believed to be the first to pioneer the chain-style of martial arts schools. Some interesting reading on the man, and here's a good start.The movie he's working on currently is called Beast, which is scheduled for release this year. Here are links to the official website and IMDb page. If you'd like to see Mr. DeBlasio's IMDb page, that's here.
Show Transcript
You can read the transcript below or download here.
What's up everybody? It's episode 62 of whistlekick Martial Arts Radio, the only place to hear the best stories from the best martial artists like today's guest, Mr. John DeBlasio. I'm the founder here at whistlekick but most listeners know me better as the host of the show, and my name is Jeremy Lesniak. whistlekick, if you don't know, makes the world's best sparring gear as well as great apparel and accessories all for practitioners and fans of the traditional martial arts. I'd like to welcome the new listeners and thank all of our returning fans. If you're not familiar with our products, you should check out everything we make like our wonderful headgear. If you're tired of stiff, uncomfortable sparing helmets, we have what you're looking for - comfortable, durable and still at a fair price. You can check out our headgear and the rest of what we offer at whistlekick.com. If you want to check out some of our other podcast episodes or see the show notes, those are at whistlekickmartialartsradio.com. And while you're over there, go ahead and sign up for the newsletter. We offer special content to subscribers and it's the only place to find out about upcoming guest for the show, and sometimes we send out discounts 01:16But now, let's talk about today's episode. Here on episode 62, we're joined by Mr. John DeBlasio, an Shin Ryu Karate stylist who is a very accomplished actor. He's acted alongside such greats as Billy Blanks and Adam Sandler, and appeared in popular television series like The Sopranos and Sex and the City. I had a great time talking with Mr. DeBlasio and really appreciated his insights. So without any further ado, Mr. DeBlasio, welcome to whistlekick Martial Arts Radio.
John DeBlasio:
Hey, Jeremy. I'm glad to be hear, thanks for inviting me.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Absolutely. Thanks. This is gonna be a lot of fun. You're bringing a different dynamic than a lot of our guests bring in and before we even jump into the first question, I wanna... One of the reasons I wanted to have you on the show is that you have a bit of crossover. You're a martial artist but you've also got quite a few acting credits; we're gonna have a link to your IMDb profile up and it actually looks like you're doing even more acting stuff. It seems like you're ramping up that side of your career.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah. I'll tell you it's really... In the past few years, it's really, you know, come to life. With everything going on in New York City, all the new TV shows. I've been pretty lucky, I've been an actor and a stuntman, and like you said, the martial arts really helps that. Right now, I am involved in the production with Robert Samuels to a movie called Beast. There's a big hype about it and I got the part as Aaron Statler in the movie. I'm also helping Bob as an Executive Producer and this is a first for me. As an actor and a stuntman, I've never really been a producer but this is a first time. And you know, we're excited with what's going on. We just actually got a confirmation from another film company that they're onboard with us so that's a big plus.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, that's exciting.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah, a lot of big, you know, martial arts stars are starting to come around and ask if there's room.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Wow. There's nothing better than that and I can relate to that. In doing this show, of course, at the beginning it was hey, will you please come on this show? And now after over 60 episodes, we have people coming to us saying can I be on the show? So it's a great feeling. I can certainly relate to that. But before we really jump in and start talking about your martial arts background and what gave you this context to be able to step into acting and stunts, I just want to throw out a few of the shows and the movies that you've been on that people may have heard of. I picked a few.
John DeBlasio:
Okay.
Jeremy Lesniak:
A couple of little shows - Elementary, Blue Bloods and The Sopranos.
John DeBlasio:
Oh, well yeah.
Jeremy Lesniak:
You know, people might have heard of those. I mean they've been on, you know, a couple of times. And then you were in, just a little over a year ago, Adam Sandler's The Cobbler.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah. And you know, that was really... something unique happened to me. On set, I met Method Man. And I'm not a real big, you know, rapper and I actually was on set and it was, you know, other actor comes in and he's gonna beat me up in the film and I'm like okay, cool and everything. I get outside and everybody outside wanting to take pictures of this actor and I'm like, who is this guy? And it's like, that's Method Man. And then all of a sudden, everybody want to take pictures of me because I'm standing with him, you know? It was cool. It was pretty cool. I thought they were, you know, looking to take pictures of me but it was actually Method Man.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Fun story from my world, completely unrelated to the martial arts stuff that we have in common. I've seen Method Man in concert several times. I am a big fan of rap music going back to when I was a kid. And we had a good run of several years where quite a few decent rap acts would come to Vermont at this, you know, little theater but for whatever reason they were coming here. And one of the times that he was here, I remember being in the crowd and him in the middle of this crowd, standing up, you know, with probably 20, 30 people holding his feet and I have never seen anyone, and I bet you can relate to this in that moment, that had more presence about him.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah really, really nice guy. But funny thing is when we rehearsed the scene, he's supposed to throw 3 or 4 punches at me. The first punch he throws, he hits me right in the face with his ring - an accident, he was all apologetic
Jeremy Lesniak:
Sure.
John DeBlasio:
But I said, you get one. That was it - one time. But he really is, really, really sweet guy. Also on set that day was Red Man. And, you know, we're outside talking and they started asking me about martial arts and fighting and it was really, really nice experience with them.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Definitely some great names out of my childhood and that's a lot of fun to act in a movie with them. I'm definitely jealous. But let's roll back. So in order to be a martial arts actor, you have to be a martial artist or at least you should be, right? And you are a martial artist so why don't you tell us how did you get started in the martial arts?
John DeBlasio:
Okay, let me bore you with this story. Way back in the '60s, I got interested... Actually there was a gentleman in my high school who was a substitute teacher and he would come in substitute classes. And during the gym periods, he would be in the corner of the room doing whatever he was doing at the time. I was like wow, what is that? And he was doing Karate on the side. So I kind of, you know, would go over to him every time and like kind of pick his brain, what he has doing, and he said yeah, you should go to classes. And then like everyone knows, Bruce Lee movie came out. And that was, I guess, the real reason that I started martial arts. Like all those young guys, we all wanted to, you know, be like Bruce Lee. And I went and met a gentleman by the name of Gary Alexander who stood about 6'5", tough as nails and I sat in his dojo several times until finally he asked me, are you just gonna sit here or you want to take classes? And I said yeah, I'd love to take classes, and the rest is history. I've been with him as a friend and as Sensei for 45 years. He teaches Isshinryu. I got my 9th Degree Dan with Gary Alexander Also trained with several other martial artists throughout the 45 years. I hold a Shodan with Bob Herten from Paterson, New Jersey. I've worked with Mr. Austin who is a Kung Fu instructor in Elizabeth, New Jersey. I've met so many different great martial artists that, you know... Through the years, I've trained with Bob MacEwen Danny Lane, Joe Lewis, Michael DePasquale just to name a few of them. And, you know, throughout the years, I've worked and trained and learned which brings me to this point here, you know? As far as the martial arts and the movies are concerned, way back in the day when you would just get on a movie set and fight for free, just the fact that you were there was a dream. And everyone would say you'd never get into the Screen Actors Guild. It's too hard. You'll never gonna get there, you know? You gotta be in a movie to actually be in the Screen Actors Guild but you have to be in the Screen Actors Guild to be in a movie. It was like a catch-22. And so I decided to go to acting school and along with the acting school, I would get more, more extra roles. And you know, you sit there forever in a little room waiting to be called to just walk by the camera. So that's called paying your dues and everyone that sits in the room, wait for the day that they would get three vouchers which would make them say eligible and then they pay their dues, they get into the Screen Actors Guild and they go on from there. But I got it on the first movie I was in.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Wow. Now you talk about paying your dues and it seems like you could draw some parallels between acting and the martial arts. When you don't step up, you're not a black belt, you're not in the Screen Actors Guild immediately.
John DeBlasio:
No.
Jeremy Lesniak:
You've got to throw 50,000 punches before you get to that point. You've got to do a lot of bit work and I'm guessing low-paying, no pay work before you can get there.
John DeBlasio:
Listen, it took me 5 years to get the Shodan with Gary Alexander. It was you know, it was 5 years of going to the dojo everyday. I think I was like an ornament on his wall. I was there, I would help, I would teach. It was love. I think to be a good martial artist, you have to love what you're doing because who wants to go after school up to, you know... most of the schools that I went to weren't huge schools. They were really small and I think the little small schools up on the second floor somewhere in the back of the hallway will probably you know, the schools that you learn the most in. No one saw what was going on, no one really knew what the martial arts were way back when. If you told somebody you're taking Karate, they were like whoa, it must be like a secret agent. And... Yeah, I'm serious, you know.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I believe you. I believe you, yeah.
John DeBlasio:
Not too many people were taking Karate in those days. I'm gonna give you a name that I don't if you know or remember, Jerome Mackey.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I've heard the time.
John DeBlasio:
Well it wasn't until Jerome Mackey that I feel that Karate became more popular or martial arts became more popular because he opened up a chain or Jerome Mackey's schools. Before that, there were just a school here or a school there, you know it wasn't like a school on every corner. Even when I opened my own dojo, there wasn't a school on every corner. But if I remember well, Jerome Mackey was one of the first, you know, Karate instructors - I don't even know what his background was - that opened up a chain of schools. And no today, there are chains everywhere.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Wow. Yeah, I'm gonna have to do some research on him. That's, you know, it's a name that rings a bell but I don't have enough context so thank you for sharing that. So there's a good origin story for you as an actor. You know, as the audience like to know how did you get to where you are in this scene, in this film that we're watching. So now we have a bit of context for you and what brought you here on the show today. But I'm sure through all that time, I mean 45 years of training and movies and training under great people, I mean Gary Alexander, of course, is a name that a good chunk of our audience, if not most of our audience, is gonna recognize, but I'm sure you've got a lot of stories through all that time. So I'd like you to take a moment and think of your best on and give us that.
John DeBlasio:
My best martial arts story?
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
Funny or serious?
Jeremy Lesniak:
If they're short enough, how about both?
John DeBlasio:
Okay. I'll give you a funny one.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay.
John DeBlasio:
Years ago, like I said, I was like an ornament up at Gary Alexander's school, and he would ask myself and one of our other black belt, Toni Mankini, to do demonstrations throughout the town. And one time he asked us to do a demonstration for a motorcycle group, club - if you want to call it that, a club. So we got there with a few of the other students, Gary Alexander wasn't there. And I look around and I said Toni, I think this is the hell's angels. And we started to put on a demonstration and no matter what we did, they would get closer and closer, louder and louder. And I kind of thought to myself at the time, we're not getting out of here. Soon they're gonna start challenging us because we just, seems like the saying, going the right way. S I was gonna do some self-defense so I asked anyone if they had a knife. I never saw so many knives come out. Everyone was just so happy to offer us a knife. And I figured if we do it realistically, they might kind of like it. So we proceeded to do some self-defense with the knife. Everything was going pretty smooth and then, boom. I get cut. All of a sudden, I felt like I was one of their club members. They were coming over, they were: you're the man, you're a really cool man. You know, you didn't even flinch; somebody get him a band aid. I was like man, all it took was for me to get cut to survive this. To me, that was funny because no matter what we did, nothing was working. So you know, a cut on the hand for us to be accepted and to me, you know... I always remember that in the martial arts. And the thing that the one guy said was oh, you're really tough. You took that cut without even complaining.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That's quite the compliment from someone of that ilk.
John DeBlasio:
Yes, yes.
Jeremy Lesniak:
So what happened next? What happened after the cut, after you know, like they got you a bandage?
John DeBlasio:
Oh you know, 17:53 we bowed out and we set talk with them. They had like a little... It was in a park we could barbecue. They barbecued, we ate with them and then we left. So it turned out to be a good experience but it really seemed like it was gonna be a bad experience.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
They weren't buying what we were selling.
Jeremy Lesniak:
True. After that point where clearly they started to see you differently, do you think that changed their perspective on what you were demonstrating?
John DeBlasio:
Yeah. You know, I think the whole time, they probably... what it was... We had something that they didn't have. You know, they have their club and their bikes but we had this skill that takes a lot of time to acquire and I think when we demonstrated, they saw that. I guess, you know, like anything else, if you feel a little intimidated by something that someone else is doing, you kind of shy back a little bit at first.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
But then you see something you like and now you want to accept. So I always found that in the martial arts, putting on a lot of demonstrations. A lot of times there would be other martial artists in the crowd that were watching and you know, at first it's well you know, my martial arts’ better than your martial arts. I'm sure you've heard that or seen that throughout your years. But after a while when someone actually does see something that is a little different than what they do, they sometimes, you know, accept that and say wow, I like that, I think I'm gonna use that. And that's what I've done throughout the years even though Isshinryu was my background, all the other martial arts and all the other instructors and friends that I met in the martial arts had so much more to offer than just me learning one style. And now, today, when I teach, I incorporate all of those styles and all of those memory and things that I learn from other people. And I realized that no one martial arts system is the answer.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I agree. If there was one that truly was better than all the rest, we'd probably end up all doing that.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah and you know, when people put titles to an already... how can I put this? Something that was there hundreds, thousands of years ago and then people put their title on it today, it doesn't change what it truly is - the true form of the art. You know, none of us really created any of what's here today. We just, like I said, took from several different arts in our mind and use what's best for us.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, I agree. So what's the second story that you had?
John DeBlasio:
Oh the second is I fought full contact for 10 years and Gary Alexander started this kickboxing league. When I, you know, started with him, I went around doing like kickboxing demonstrations like three 3-minute rounds. And we would go to different places and put on these kickboxing demonstrations so that, you know, we could promote these kickboxing tournaments. And I remember one time, I was supposed to fight this guy three 3-minute rounds at the Pines Manor in Edison, New Jersey. And we get there and it's a boxing ring in a banquet hall. So when you put a boxing ring in a banquet hall, the ceiling is about three feet from your head; it makes it kinds crampy.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah. So we get in there and I get in the ring to put on this demonstration and Gary Alexander says okay gentlemen, we're gonna have 3 minutes, three rounds of kickboxing and 22:53 And I spin kick and kicked the guy right in the head and I knock him out. And I'm like oh, man. It wasn't supposed to be that. It was supposed to be a demonstration.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
So what happened? There's no one else to fight. So Gary Alexander says well Mr. DeBlasio, I guess it's me and you. So I spent the next 9 minutes like a pin cushion. And he proceeded to beat me back and forth which I didn't mind, you know this is why I'm here - to learn, to get tough - and then for some ungodly reason, I see an opening. And I throw a flying side kick and knocked him down. And he stands up and I thought my life was over and he goes, well if I'm gonna get knocked down, it's gonna be by one of my black belts. And I was like... I'm still alive. And we bowed out, go in the back room, getting changed down, Gary Alexander walks over to me. He goes, this ain't over, mister. So I knew where I was gonna get the rest of my black and blues. It was gonna be back in the dojo. I always thought that was, to me, that was funny that I made it through that day.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. I mean to go 3-minute rounds with someone of his caliber especially as his student and you know, him knowing everything that you do probably just as well if not better than you. What was the crowd's reaction to you knocking that first guy out so quickly?
John DeBlasio:
Oh, what do you think? Everybody was like cheering, you know... I wasn't cheering too much cause I kind of thought what are we gonna do now? Cause we're putting on an exhibition here.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
You know, I was looking for anybody in the crowd. Anybody want to get up here, you know? Not him, please. Not him. He's a... I love him to death. He's one of the toughest martial artist that I've ever met.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. Yeah, he's... There are quite a few stories that I've read about him. He seems like an incredible martial artist and an incredible man.
John DeBlasio:
And even at his late, you know, late stage now, he still trains everyday. Every time I speak to him, you know, he's out training somewhere. He's not giving up, not giving up.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Good. Good, I'm sure he has a lot left to learn but just as much if not more to teach. SO it's good that he's out there setting an example and sharing with everyone. Maybe we can have him on the show someday.
John DeBlasio:
I'm sure he'd love it.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Oh then, great. Now let's roll back.
John DeBlasio:
Okay.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Let's imagine, you know... I'm guessing you were a teenager when you got started if I was hearing you properly in that school-teacher substitute, a substitute school teacher, I think you said.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah I was either 16 or 17.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay. So let's imagine you're back there, you're 16 years old and that gentleman doesn't come to the school and you don't see martial arts up close and you never start taking classes. How do you think your life would look now? I mean you wouldn't have gotten in the martial arts. You may have gotten into acting but in a very different way.
John DeBlasio:
Well I'd be honest with you. Martial arts... that's a hard question because martial arts is like a part of my life. When I gave up my school, when I sold my school, the thought was retire out of martial arts. And it took about five minutes for someone that I sold the school to at the time to say why don't you stay on with it and teach? And it was a totally different system than what I was teaching. And it was like okay cause I really thought... like it didn't take much for me to not want to do this anymore. So if I went back to 16, 17 years old and I never took martial arts and I'm talking to you on the phone today about something else, I don't know if I'd be in the same shape I'm in. I don't know if I were to meet all the thousands and thousands of people that I met as a martial artist. Cause I would go around not only demonstration, not only working in schools but I travel a lot with Bob MacEwen and Danny Lane, Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis, Michael De. You're putting on demonstrations and seminars and meeting people, and I think I would miss all of that. I think I would be, not less of a man, but I would have less experiences in my life, and I think that's what helped as an actor. Because meeting all the people and kind of watching - I'm a watcher, I like to watch people - a lot of people gave me ideas of how to act, you know someone that was handicapped, someone who was slow or someone who, you know, bragged a lot. They just game me ideas as an actor and it's rewarding. You're in the same predicament, you know that experience of going somewhere and meeting a lot of people that want to learn from you. I know myself, I like an audience. The more in the room, the more energetic I am. I'll do... By the end of the seminar, I go sit in the hotel room and I'm exhausted and I'm aching because, you know, I'm older but I still have that drive. I still want to put on the same "show". I want to put on the same show that I put on 30 years ago. I know the body's a little worn down but the mind, and I think that's the martial arts I would miss because it keeps the mind really sharp.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. Yeah, we've had quite a few guests on the show that are advanced age. You know, folks into their 70s, little bit beyond and there are minds right there, I mean I can tell you.
John DeBlasio:
You had Bill Wallace on the show, right?
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
I mean I've known Bill for I guess close to 40 years and he's the same guy. He was 40 years ago today, you know? Same sharpness, same you know... He gets out there no matter what. No matter what, he puts on that show for everyone, you know, keeps them energized, keeps them wanting to learn. And I think that's what happens to us; it keeps our mind sharp.
Jeremy Lesniak:
It does and he's a perfect example of that, of not wanting to let that go because he doesn't have to. I mean he's got to work a little bit harder to put on that same show but he's absolutely gonna do it and anyone that has taken one of his seminars knows that especially people that have taken multiple seminars from him or you know, worked with him over let's say a 10-year span. He's not quite what he was but he's still more at 70 years old than I'm ever gonna be.
John DeBlasio:
But the greatest thing is, everybody knows his name.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
You know, it's... So when he gets out on the floor today, they know who he was and I think that's really, you know, the legacy. Here's the man. It's just, it's the man on the floor today. They don't care if he can kick as high, they don't care if he can kick as fast. It's the fact that they're in that room with him and they're learning from him. Cause knowledge doesn't change.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That's a great line - knowledge doesn't change. I like that.
John DeBlasio:
Techniques get slower or you know, kicks get lower, our punches get slower - not in my case, my punches are faster but 32:36
Jeremy Lesniak:
Absolutely.
John DeBlasio:
But the knowledge. You always have that knowledge and I think it gets sharper and sharper. You know, even if the fact that you're getting older, it gets sharper because when I teach now, I understand what I've been teaching all my life. I understand it more which makes me a better instructor. When you're younger and you're trying to teach, you just want to teach because you know, you saw the instructor do it so you mimic it. But as you get older and you stick with it, you want to... I know everyone that's in the martial arts understand this but you understand what you're doing and it makes what you teach real.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. Great points. So let's shift a little bit and you know, let's come back into a world where, you know the real world, where you have trained, you do have all these wonderful experiences that we just talked about. And I'd like you to think about a challenging time in your life and how your martial arts training or experience was able to help you with that time.
John DeBlasio:
Oh, let's see. Well it's more recent about... oh, I'll give you the year, 2008. Everything was going great; I was still in the dojo teaching, still had students and everything and I had a motorcycle accident. I broke my back, I tore my shoulder out of the socket, wreck my knee, broke my ribs, laid in the hospital bed for a week, couldn't move, body burning, everything hurt, cried, felt sorry for myself, wound up with a... what do you call them... a brace around my upper body so that I could stand up, wobbled like, you know, like I didn't have stability, was brought to my son's house for two weeks, put me in you know, in the living room, tell them if I want to go to the bathroom, there it is. When I watch TV, no lying down, sit on this big rubber ball. If you want to take a shower, it's upstairs, I'm going to work. And I thought, what am I gonna do here? And through, you know, the fact that I was a martial artist and I will always push myself and you know, always train hard, it gave me the ability to get up, got take a shower, sit on the ball, gain my strength back, and not because my son was trying not to help me; he was helping me by letting me help myself. And I stayed there for two weeks, got myself back on track, spent a long time not being able to do martial arts. But everyday that I couldn't do it, I would do it in my mind. And like I said, it really keeps that mind sharp because I went over all my techniques, kicks, punches, disarming, you know, edged weapon defense. Everything was going on my mind until I was able to start training again. That was a pretty rough time.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. How long would you say it was from the beginning of the rehabilitation to your ability to get back into the dojo and train physically?
John DeBlasio:
Well let's... I'll be honest and then I'll tell you the truth.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay.
John DeBlasio:
Honestly, about a year went by that I couldn't really train but everyday I tried to train. I tried to do something. I tried to you know, throw a kick or throw a punch, and I think that actually sped up the recovery but it takes a while to you know, for things like your back and your shoulder to really get back to normal.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. So let's just spend a minute and talk about that mental training, that training in your mind. You know, I don't if you were doing kata in your mind to... you know, that was something that my original Sensei had always encouraged us to do in class. You know, if can't make it to the dojo, you know, if you're sick in bed, you can always practice in your head. What did... Tell us about that for someone that maybe hasn't trained in that way.
John DeBlasio:
Alright. Well here's the thing, your instructor was correct. Going over in your mind your katas or your forms or your poomsaes, whatever it's called, when you learn those, you're not learning it to do a dance. You're learning it because in your mind, you should be fighting. It's teaching you how to fight. It's teaching you turns, moves, blocks; it's really the basis of a lot of martial arts systems. I know there's an organization, BKG with Mr. Henry 38:42 I've gone to that school; when they train, all they do in their school is forms. But by doing the forms over and over again, they're great fighters. So when you think about training in your mind, what you need to do is you have to have a reason why you start to think of what you're thinking. I always think about self-defense. That's my specialty. I love teaching self-defense and you know, that's what I do now. I teach semi-private, two days a week, all my students are interested in self-defense. They're no longer interested in uniforms, you know, the school-type of setting. They come to my house, I have my certain students that come up, I train them in self-defense and I tell them the best way you're going to really understand this, sometimes you have to close your eyes and you have to imagine what you want to do so that when you open your eyes, then you can do it. So training in the mind is probably, I think 75% of being able to do it in the street. You have to have the mindset to stand in front of someone, to actually stand there when they throw a punch, to block and counter or, you know, block and put into a hold. I really feel that training in your mind is 75% and then the other 25% is the physical.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, that's...
John DeBlasio:
We can go philosophical. Chi and, you know... it's all mind over matter.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, it's a recurring theme. I mean so many martial arts movies, if we want to bring it back to that. I think it's present in at least every traditional martial arts style I've ever engaged in in every school be it Korean or Japanese or Filipino. Any of those schools, any of those styles that I've trained it, it's always there.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah. It's... You've gotta... You gotta have a mindset of what you're gonna do and that's everything in life. If you don't set your mind to do something, I don't think you're gonna be successful in it.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That's pretty powerful idea there, yeah. And we're starting to see more and more of that come out as people... you know, we have people who are making their career, not so much in the martial arts, but as motivational speakers and that's a recurring theme for all of them - the power of the mind, the ability to visualize what you want. I mean whether you're talking about, you know, something as old as the book Think and Grow Rich or the newer one, The Secret or anything like that, it all threads back to the same thing for sure.
John DeBlasio:
It's funny you mentioned the book The Secret. That's all based on, you know, law of attraction. It is so true that what you want, if you think about it and put your mind into it, nobody's gonna stop you from doing it. I mean this is from my experience. Like I told you earlier, all was you're not gonna get into the Screen Actors Guild. Boom, I got into the Screen Actors Guild. You're not gonna be in a movie. Boom, I'm in the movie. I watch TV, Sopranos came on. I was like wow, I'd like to be on that set. I'd love to work with those guys, and I did three times. Oh I'd like to do this or I'd like to do that. And it just seems that when I put my mind to it, it happens.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
So maybe I could run for... No, I'm only kidding.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Well, it is an interesting political feel we have now so I, you know... I bet, automatically, if you threw your hat in the ring just based on the 45 minutes or so that we've had right now, you would garner quite a few votes.
John DeBlasio:
Well in the martial arts community.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, without a doubt. So you've dropped some big names. You've had a chance to work with some pretty incredible people. But if we take out those people that you know, you trained under directly, you know Gary Alexander and some of those others, who would you say was the most influential in your martial arts career?
John DeBlasio:
Most influential. Well the answer would have to be the most influential is definitely Alexander because he gave me my start in the martial arts. Honestly, he's a powerful, he's a giant in the martial arts, and he gave me my... how do I want to say this? I'm looking for a word... my foundation in the martial art. And I don't think until I actually learned Isshinryu and understood it that I could have gone out to learn other martial arts and met other instructors. But other influential people that, right now, influence what I do... well because, you know, because I'm trying to break into the movie industry, people like Jason Statham, Donnie Yen. I admire their skill, you know, on film. And I gotta think about myself as an actor-martial arts, you know, action actor. Gotta please the crowd because if you don't come over as a martial artist or a good actor, you're not gonna be doing too many movies. And I gotta thank Bobby Samuels because, you know, he's given me this opportunity to work with them in Beast, and I can't wait.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, why don't you tell us a little bit about that movie? You know, it's come up a couple of time and I think it'd be a good opportunity for us as the audience to hear what's the gist of the plot, when can we expect to see this come out.
John DeBlasio:
Okay, so I can plug it?
Jeremy Lesniak:
Please, plug.
John DeBlasio:
Okay, let me plug it. So Bobby Samuels came to be with the script called Beast; and I actually did a movie years ago with Bobby. It was called Blazin'. It was Michael Wehrhahn was the start and the producer of that film. And we were kind of good friends then and then we lost contact for a little while and then I went to the action Urban Film Academy. I guess you've gone to those.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I haven't been to that one but I've...
John DeBlasio:
Okay
Jeremy Lesniak:
been to a few events like that.
John DeBlasio:
I went to that and I kind of ran into Bobby again and it was like years went by and you know, I met him again. And he told he was gonna be working on this project, Beast, that he and his writer and... there was two writers in Beast, and he said I'm gonna send you the script. Take a look at it. So I read the script, gave him a call, I said Bobby I love it. He said, who would you like to play? I gave him a couple of names in the movie and he said well listen, I want you to read it again and I want you to read it for Aaron Statler. Aaron Statler is ex-CIA guy to go-to. You need somebody to kill or you need money or you need guns, I'm the guy to go to. But don't cross me because I'm the guy that could take care of you, you know, with a finger snap. And the movie Beast is about a chemical that's produced to make soldiers faster, stronger, impervious to pain, their mind is clearer, you know, everything is faster. And so I get onboard with this gentleman, Walden, who has this chemical. And he tells me that this is what he wants to do when in reality, what he wants to do, he wants to build an army of Beasts. Because the more you take this chemical, it has side effects and it turns you into a beast. But the real reason that he wants this to happen is because he wants this army to fight actually against the U.S. Cliché, you know, movies. And in the movie, well I can't tell you too much about it, but that's basically the premise of the movie. There's a lot of action in it. There are a lot of good people tied to this movie. I'm not gonna tell you right now who they are. That's something that Bobby Samuels has to release but there are really some good martial artists that are tied to this film.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Sounds exciting.
John DeBlasio:
We actually are now an international production because we just got a letter of commitment from Eagle Films in Malaysia, who just came onboard with this film.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Cool.
John DeBlasio:
When will it be out?
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
I think, if I'm not mistaken, the end of 2016. We start filming in June. So with any luck, maybe there could be a release at the end of the year or the beginning of 2017.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That's great. So we've got less than a year so that's pretty exciting. So do you know where you're going to be shooting?
John DeBlasio:
I would guess some of it's gonna be shot in Malaysia and the rest of the film on the U.S. side. I believe we're shooting in Philadelphia.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay.
John DeBlasio:
That could always change.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Sure.
John DeBlasio:
That always changes but as of right now, that's what I understand.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Awesome. Well that's exciting and I'm looking forward to hearing some of these names that you can't talk about yet. Of course that's always what people want to know; it's the things that they're not allowed to know.
John DeBlasio:
They can go on Facebook or they go on YouTube, some of the names, I believe, are released there but I just want to make sure.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, I totally understand. Now as a guy who's been in movies, I'm guessing you really enjoy movies? Watching them?
John DeBlasio:
Oh yeah, I watch them all the time.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay. Do you have a favorite martial arts movie?
John DeBlasio:
Favorite martial arts movie of all times, Fist of Fury.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. Was that your first Bruce Lee movie?
John DeBlasio:
Yeah, it was one of the first Bruce Lee... I think it was The Big Boss, was actually the first one.
Jeremy Lesniak:
But was it your first one? For a lot of people, the first Bruce Lee movie that they say really sticks with them.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah, I think it was The Big Boss.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay.
John DeBlasio:
That was the one where they were at the ice factory.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yep.
John DeBlasio:
And then it was Fist of Fury. Enter the Dragon was actually his first big break. Cause I know he got ripped off on several TV shows.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. We've talked about it on the show before that he was intended to be the start of Kung Fu.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah, yeah. And everything, you know, we could have a whole hour talking about why that didn't happen. But you know, if I go even further back, some of the first martial arts movies that I saw here in the U.S. was Duel of the Iron Fist, if you remember that one.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I've heard of it, I don't know that I've actually seen it.
John DeBlasio:
And Five Fingers of Death.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That one, I know.
John DeBlasio:
I actually went to the drive-in movie theater in Union, New Jersey to see those.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That... They're both classics. I know that Five Fingers of Death still pops up time to time on television. So do you have a...
John DeBlasio:
What's your favorite?
Jeremy Lesniak:
It changes because through all of this, through the show, you know, every week, we have more movies that people talk about and I'm out there trying to watch as many as I can which of course isn't nearly all of them. But for me, it's probably still the original Karate kid because you know, I was born in '79 so that movie came out just a year after I started training when I was four. So that movie came out in '84, I was 5 years old. And it was the first thing in popular culture that validated what I was doing.
John DeBlasio:
Right, right.
Jeremy Lesniak:
You know, we didn't grow up with cable, my mom didn't bring me to the movies very often. So I didn't grow up, you know, I didn't see Enter the Dragon till I was in high school. But the original Karate Kid was on, I was flipping through the channels just a couple of weeks ago and it was on again and it just... It still, for me at least, hold up. And I just, I can't walk away from it.
John DeBlasio:
Well it was the message. It's the message, you know. And the way they made the movie was to send out that message, you know, don't give. And it was the original bullying movie.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yep, without a doubt.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah. I mean, god, they had the biggest bullying campaign. They didn't even know about it, you know, they didn't even think about it. The whole movie was about bullying.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, for sure.
John DeBlasio:
And I think in schools today, they should show that film when they want to talk about bullying because there it is. And you know, he stood up to the bullies and he overcame.
Jeremy Lesniak:
He sure did.
John DeBlasio:
I'll give you one other favorite movie real quick.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
And its recently, you know, it just recently came out, Ip Man.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Such a great movie. I mean Donnie Yen, I mean... He's the man of the moment, isn't he?
John DeBlasio:
They're, you know... One of my associated, Michael Wehrhahn, is working really close with Donnie Yen. They just released here in the U.S. cause it was released in China, The Monkey King. And Donnie Yen is the Monkey King in the movie and... I mean I don't know if you've ever seen it, it's just released in the U.S. It's phenomenal that, you know, it's a fantasy movie. And Donnie Yen just plays a fantastic role. I mean there's nothing this man can't do.
Jeremy Lesniak:
No, and everybody want him in everything. We just put out something on our social media the other day that Jet Li dropped out of the new Triple X movie and they pulled Donnie Yen in to fill that role.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah, wow.
Jeremy Lesniak:
And he's gonna be in the next Star Wars movie. He is the martial arts actor of the moment. I mean and he's tremendous so I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry. He's the second martial arts actor of the moment.
John DeBlasio:
Thanks.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Have you ever met him?
John DeBlasio:
Have I met... Oh, yeah, I've met him. I've met him for a very, very short time. Nothing to say, you know. I hadn't any sit down time with him or anything like that but I'm sure I'm going to probably meet him now that the Monkey King is coming to the... You know, is now in the U.S. and Michael is working on a trilogy of The Monkey. And I'm sure, hopefully, Donnie will be brought into that and myself.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Hey, awesome. So we're gonna have to stay in touch because of course, I would love to have him on the show.
John DeBlasio:
Cool.
Jeremy Lesniak:
So I'm gonna ask you to become bestfriends with Donnie Yen, and then you and I can talk again and maybe you can encourage him to come on the show.
John DeBlasio:
I would love it.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay. So let's start to wind down now. I mean you've taken us on quite a ride. I mean you have some absolutely amazing stories which I knew that you would but what's keeping you going? I mean obviously, we can hear the passion in your voice for acting and that pursuing that is something that's keeping you moving forward but how about as a martial artist?
John DeBlasio:
What keeps me going?
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yes.
John DeBlasio:
Number one, I'm 62 years old. I want to wake up in the morning and feel like I have a purpose. I'm still teaching - makes me feel great that at this age, people still want to come and listen to me. That there, you know, really satisfies a lot. It keeps me feeling like, you know, I have a purpose. People want to come here, they want to learn from me. I guess it's part of my life. I can't not train. It's like if I don't train, I feel like I'm cheating on myself. I don't know if you understand what, you know, what I'm trying to say.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I do and I sus ---
John DeBlasio:
It's something you do everyday. And it's like get up and don't brush your teeth, you go outside and you're talking to people, you're going oh wow, I wonder if my breath stinks, you know? So if I stop training, I wonder what's gonna happen to me. Am I gonna deteriorate? Am I not gonna be able to move anymore? So the training, even though sometimes it hurts, it just keeps you going. It just keep you feeling, you know, good about yourself.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, I agree. I completely understand and I'm absolutely the same way. If I go too long without a good training session, I start to get frustrated and maybe a little difficult to be around. So if people want to keep up on what's going on with you and the movies that you're doing, are you a social media guy at all? Maybe the opportunity to follow you?
John DeBlasio:
Am I a social media guy? I'm probably what you call a dinosaur when it comes to anything to be done on the computer or... my phone, I answer it. I can send a text message and that's about it.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay.
John DeBlasio:
I have my wife to help with all the stuff, you know... It's so funny when I get a call for an audition for, you know, a TV show or movie - it's right away. Hurry, they need a head shot, they need my resume, I gotta do a self-tape. Can you help me with this? Can you put...? Otherwise, I would have to be putting my head shot in an envelope in the mail and it's not gonna get there for the next four days. And then you know, my chances of getting any jobs are shot.
Jeremy Lesniak:
So we owe some of your movies to your wife.
John DeBlasio:
Yes.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Good, good. Alright so then what we can do is you know, I'll make sure you and I will stay in touch. And then as things happen with Beast or with other roles that you're in, we'll make sure we'll let everybody know about those.
John DeBlasio:
Yeah. I mean if they went on Facebook, you know, if they want to friend me on Facebook, I usually answer people on Facebook.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay, great. And so the way we always end, do you have any parting advice for the martial artists that are listening?
John DeBlasio:
Yeah, I always do. Let's see, you got another hour? Okay. The only advice that I would give anyone in the martial arts or anyone that's planning on getting into the martial arts, choose the school not by the size, not by how many students are there. Choose the school by what the instructor is teaching. It's gotta be a fit for you. I know a lot of people go to Karate schools and they come to me, they talk to me and they go my son's not learning anything. He keeps going up in the ranks but I don't see anything different. It's probably because he's not connecting with the instructor. Because you know, martial arts are martial arts. A punch is a punch, a kick is a kick, a block is a block. It's how you interpret it and it's how you, you know, put it together. And the person that's teaching the class has to excite you; has to you know, keep you interested in what they're doing. Because if you're just on the mat because your mom or dad signed you up or you just go there cause you got nothing else to do, you're not gonna learn. You're not gonna learn in the best environment. So I'll just say choose the school and choose the instructor that you feel you connect with, and then you'll get the most out of that training. And if you're gonna start to train, it doesn't come right away. It's not something that's your passion right away. It really grows on you. It's something that, in my case, later on in life, I understand it now.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Thank you for listening to episode 62 of whistlekick Martial Arts Radio and thank you to Mr. DeBlasio for your time. Head on over to whistlekickmartialartsradio.com for the show notes with links to the things we talked about today including this wonderful photo I found of Mr. DeBlasio and Method Man. We also have links to the upcoming movie Beast as well as his acting resume. If you like the show, please subscribe or download one of the apps so you never miss out on a new episode. And if we could trouble you to leave us a review wherever you get your podcast, we'd appreciate it. Remember, if we read yours on the air, just email us and we'll get you a free pack of whistlekick stuff. If you know someone that would be a great interview for the show, please fill out the form at whistlekickmartialartsradio.com. Or if you just want to shoot us a message with a suggestion for a Thursday show or some other feedback, there's a place to do that as well. You can follow us on social media. We're on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, all with the username whistlekick. And remember the products we make here like our great headgear and a lot more. Those are at whistlekick.com. So until next time. Train hard, smile, and have a great day.
John DeBlasio:
I wish I could remember one story I should have told you. I was in I think West Virginia or somewhere with Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis, Danny Lane, you know, Bob MacEwen, Michael De, and we were all in a LongHorn eating and we were throwing peanut shells on the floor. And the guy, you know, started to complain and I kind of, you know, real short, I kind of went over and said do you realize who's at these tables? Don't threaten anybody here because you're gonna get killed. That same experience in a.. what do you call those like Chinese, the 1:05:38 houses where they cook in front of you?
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah.
John DeBlasio:
Somebody slipped a shrimp and it landed on one of the, I think it was Wallace's white shirt, and then it stained it. And the guy with the sushi knife on the other table, cause we were getting loud, was like waving the knife at us like to stop, you know? Cause we were making jokes. And I'm like god, you don't realize what's at this table. Don't go, you know, put a knife in front of people's face. Gotta be there, you have to be there to really appreciate it.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, absolutely. Do you mind if I chop this, that little bit out, and put that into the episode? Cause that was fun. That story there?
John DeBlasio:
Sure, yeah.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay, cool.