Film Fighting class wraps up with skills demonstration

On Saturday, October 18, local media were invited to a costumed demonstration of skills learned during recent “Film Fighting Workshops” taught by Robert Goodwin, founder of Film Fighting L.A. and a stunt/fight coordinator and sword master with 50-plus years of experience. 

Goodwin’s impressive training resumé includes film scenes and actors for “The Soloist,” “Sherlock Holmes,” and many others; stunts and sword skills for films including “Quest for Camelot,” “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more; and years of television stunt scenes to help actors learn to fight and fall safely but convincingly. 

“Safety is always first,” shared Goodwin. “Every fight scene you see has involved a minimum of four hours of training, some much more.” 

As students Brooklyn, 12, and Annie, 12, moved through Saturday’s demonstration, Goodwin explained how basic choreography skills are adaptable for use with different weapons and with different accompanying vocalizations. He also explained how variation in camera techniques and director approaches give desired perspective for the end result on film. Different actors bring different levels of experience to the filming, as well; some with considerable martial arts or movement training but working to get their head around the character, others with limited prior training but different levels of self-confidence or teachability. That experience has given Goodwin a variety of effective class methods for students he works with now. 

In addition to scheduled film fighting classes, Goodwin also offers T’ai Chi classes in Springfield and Branson. His education has included personal study with masters of several forms, and he has taught across the U.S. and Europe in university and theater settings. T’ai Chi classes in Branson meet at The Grove Church, 116 Pathway Rd., from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays, with a rotation of class content to regularly accommodate beginners. Learn more about T’ai Chi or future film fighting class offerings by emailing bob@filmfightingla.com.