“I am the kind of person who has been running after my dreams since I was a little kid.”
“It is very important to get familiar with the elephants, to gain their trust and to respect them.”

Tony Jaa is missing in action. The man, born with the name Worawit Yeerum, is off finding himself while his labor of love, Ong Bak 2, is finally exploding across the world in movie theaters and on DVD.

            The amazing martial artist certainly deserves the rest. He has been training, working, and striving to become what he is today for almost three decades. “I am the kind of person who has been running after my dreams since I was a little kid,” he said. “And I think it was good for me.”

            It may not have been good for his family, however, who’d marvel, perhaps fearfully, at the way Jaa would launch himself off the back of his pet elephants, Flower and Leaf, to dive into their village’s river. “Pet elephants?” Yes. Jaa’s parents were elephant herders and rice farmers in Surin province, a Thai town that which looked somewhat like the village from which come the characters Tony plays.

Movie Messengers
These villages didn’t have all the modern conveniences of places like Bangkok. They certainly didn’t have a movie theater, but what they did have was traveling movie messengers, who would arrive every once in a while to show films outside in the village square for the entire community. The preteen Tony was riveted by the movies starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and swore he’d be like them.

            “What they did was so beautiful and heroic that I wanted to do it too," Jaa said. “I practiced until I could do the move exactly as I had seen them do it. I think we all can create opportunity by taking a chance and not waiting for an opportunity to come our way. We should try to create our own luck.”

            Jaa did it by, first, begging his father to teach him Thai boxing at the age of 10, and two, setting his heart on finding, meeting, and impressing Panna Rittikrai—the man who revolutionized Thai action films with his 1978 landmark movie Born to Fight. Panna was reportedly impressed with the 14-year-old Tony’s dedication, but insisted the young man attend the Maha Sarakham College of Physical Education to hone his skills.

Cutting his Teeth
Starting as a stuntman with Panna’s team, Jaa’s looks and talent soon had him working in more than a dozen movies, culminating with him doubling for Robin Shou in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997). Jaa continued to work steadily in Thai movies and television, while racking up awards and accomplishments ranging from athletic gold medals, in his town and at his school, to traveling all over Thailand and China to represent muay Thai.

As he and Panna worked on their various films, they became fascinated with an ancient form of boxing called muay boran, practicing it for more than a year to create an amazing presentation film. Once veteran producer/director Prachya Pinkaew got wind of it, Jaa’s destiny was set in motion.

And what motion! Tony Jaa’s first major starring role came in 2003 with Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior. Using Jackie Chan’s films as obvious inspiration, Tony dazzled the world with his ability to run, jump, and fight. He pushed the envelope even further with his second major film, Tom Yum Goong (better known in the United States as The Protector). He created dazzling displays of unremitting action while declaring his undying love of elephants.

Finally, he felt ready to take total control of his career. With a huge budget of a $150 million “baht” from the Sahamongkol Film Company, he took his mentor Panna, a huge cast, crew, and stuntmen into the Thai jungle to spend more than a year creating Ong Bak 2: The Beginning … a sequel in name only. In it, Jaa is still a muay Thai Warrior … just not the same one he was in Ong Bak One. Instead, he is the son of an ancient leader who must battle corruption, evil, thieves, murderers, marauders, and virtually every great fighter in the country to take vengeance for his betrayed family.

“Now that I’m a director,” Jaa said, “I have to truly understand the whole picture. We have been to all over the country—Pa Bong Peak in Loei to shoot the thieves’ haven scenes; Surin province for the elephant catching scenes; Raying province where we built a several-story-high large-scale pavilion on a 40,000 square-meter land; and also in many other places.”

 The result is a film filled with fights, using styles and weapons from seemingly everywhere, set in an environment that fills the eye, mind, and even the soul.

“I decided to go see carvings and sculptures at ancient sites,” Jaa explained. “I found rock sculptures of grappling moves. There are carvings of demons and heroes fighting. There are carvings of monkeys, garudas, and giant serpents. So I finally was able to piece all the puzzles together and invent a new martial arts style that is totally different from the first Ong Bak and The Protector. It is the fusion of Thai dancing, ‘nata,’ and martial arts, ‘yuth,’ to create ‘Natayuth’ fighting style.”

 This attention to detail infuses every aspect of Ong Bak 2. Ong Bak 2 takes the viewer to all those places, and more, as Jaa’s slavish attention to detail threatened to overwhelm him, and, with it, the production.

“When we were developing the concept,” Jaa said, “master Panna and I tried to find a unique storytelling angle. The intention of the film was to show all kinds of martial arts from all over the world without discrimination. I went on to study as many styles of martial arts as possible—ancient Thai boxing, kung-fu, aikido, judo …! Several masters have given me advice, philosophies, and the spirits of each martial arts style. So I have decided to portray all of these important values. Martial arts and action films are the intermediaries that bring people of all races and languages to exchange thoughts and cultures without boundaries.”

On the eve of Ong Bak 2’s premier in America, Tony Jaa discussed what it took to make this labor of love.

INSIDE KUNG-FU: Ong Bak 2 was a financial success in Thailand. What do you expect for the American premiere?
TONY JAA: I hope that they will enjoy the film.
IKF: Is it possible the American audience isn’t ready for the realistic martial arts action you display?

TJ: I want the martial arts in my movie to be real, raw, fresh and at the same time displaying Thai culture. I think American audiences will like this.

IKF: You feature many different martial arts in Ong Bak 2. How did you learn everything from muay Thai and wing chun to hung gar?

TJ: I love martial arts and I’ve practiced it for many years. When I see some new interesting martial arts style I try to study the movement and practice as much as possible.
IKF: The arts you portrayed are so different. Was it hard to capture the flavor of each one, considering they originated from different countries?

TJ: The intention of the film was to show all kinds of martial arts from all over the world in one film without discriminating whether it is a fighting technique of Thailand, China, Japan, Korea, or any other nation. From that idea, I went on to study as many styles of martial arts as possible. Several masters have given me advice, philosophies, and the spirits of each martial arts style. So I have decided to portray all these important values in Ong Bak 2.

IKF: You also display your prowess with several weapons. Did you know these weapons before or was this a case of learning on the job?

TJ: Everyone of our stuntman, including myself, needed to practice all these weapon techniques. We practiced very hard until we were 100-percent ready for shooting.  And yes it is difficult to master every weapon you saw in the film. One of our stuntmen had a minor head injury when we practiced the scene with the clubs. These sorts of things can happen in an action film set. We did whatever it takes to get the picture we wanted. For example, I practiced three-to-four days for the rope dart scene.

IKF: What was your favorite weapon and why?

TJ: I love martial arts and these weapons are part of it. Therefore, I wanted to combine Chinese sword, Samurai sword, Thai sword or clubs together in Ong BakIt would create something new and fresh.

IKF: Other than muay Thai, what is your favorite martial art?

TJ: I like many, for example, kung-fu, ninjutsu and taifudo (a combination of several kinds of martial arts including aikido, kung-fu, judo, and muay Thai).

IKF: Doing all your own stunts is a yeoman’s task. What did you do to get in shape for the movie?

TJ: Training, training and training.

IKF: How long did it take you to physically prepare for the role?

TJ: I’ve been learning and training for Ong Bak 2 for years after we finished with Tom Yum Goong.

IKF: What kind of injuries did you sustain and how hard was it to remain healthy during the shoot?

TJ: There were bruises and broken bones, but this is normal for action films. We have a very good safety system because we learned a lot from Ong Bak 1 and Tom Yum Goong. Everyone in the team knows how to make things safe…how to shoot from which angle to make it look real. We had good preparation before shooting, and these sorts of things helped make this film much safer. It also helps prevent injuries.

IKF: So many action heroes let their stuntmen do the heavy work. Why do you insist on carrying the load?

TJ: Because I love doing stunts and martial arts.

IKF: Do you think it makes the picture more authentic?’

TJ: Yes definitely.

IKF: Many are saying the days of Jackie and Jet and Sammo are over. What do you think?

TJ: The martial art hero legend will stay forever; those guys are amazing and no one can replace them. They are my inspiration and to many others I’m sure.

IKF: What can be done to put the great martial arts action film back on top?

TJ: Good scripts and new and different martial art styles that people never experienced before.

IKF: Is it more important to be appreciated by your peers or the audience?

TJ: Both are important to me. I’m happy people like my movies.

IKF: What’s the worst injury you sustained on the set?

TJ: The worst was during the set of Tom Yum Goong.

IKF: Is there a stunt you won’t do?

TJ: Not at the moment. If I have something in mind I want to do, I will try to do it.

IKF: What was it like fighting on an elephant and how do you train for something like that?

TJ: It was challenging but very dangerous. If I missed I could have been dead. I had to practice everyday for couple of months for this scene. It is very important to get familiar withthe elephants, to gain their trust and to respect them. Concentration is very crucial.

IKF: Who is your martial arts hero and why?

TJ: Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, because they have created something great in their own style.