caitlin dechelle

UNITING THE WORLD THROUGH MARTIAL ARTS
NOVEMBER 2014
ATA’S
CHIEF
MASTER
G.K.
LEE
SAFEGUARDING TRADITION
KICKING HER WAY
THROUGH HOLLYWOOD
caitlin
dechelle
LIVING THE LIFE OF A SAMURAI:
TAREK HUSSEIN
WORLD
THE MAN BEHIND
THE MEDALIST
U.K.’S MICHAEL CLEGG
Caitlin Dechelle
Photography by Stace Sanchez
KICKING
HER WAY
THROUGH
HOLLYWOOD
O
ver the last 14 years, Caitlin Dechelle has
made her case as one of the best martial artists competing today. In that time, she has
won over 85 international martial arts titles.
The Miami native has now turned her attention to taking Hollywood by storm, both as an actress and a
highly impressive stuntwoman. We caught up with Caitlin
to talk about her life in martial arts and her burgeoning career in the entertainment industry.
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| November 2014
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WHAT MADE YOU START MARTIAL
ARTS?
I started martial arts when I was 6 years
old. My grandpa suggested that I do it for
self-defense.
YOU HAVE HAD A LONG COLLABORATION WITH XMA FOUNDER MIKE CHAT.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR
RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, AND HOW
IMPORTANT HAS HE BEEN TO THE
SUCCESS OF YOUR CAREER?
I first met Mike Chat on the NASKA circuit
when he picked me to be on his original XMA
team. When I was young, I spent quite a while
touring the UK with Mike doing XMA seminars, which taught me a lot at an early age. I
credit a lot of my teaching abilities to Mike.
Not only is he an amazing martial artist, but a
great guy. I have definitely learned a lot from
him along the way. Now that I live in Los Angeles, I teach at XMA HQ as well.
OF YOUR MANY MARTIAL ARTS TITLES,
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ONE THAT
YOU WON? DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE
EXPERIENCE COMPETING IN A TOURNAMENT, ONE THAT STANDS OUT AS
MEMORABLE?
Out of all my martial arts titles, I would say
competing at the U.S. Open on the ISKA stage
would be the highlight of every year. And this
past year (2014) probably would be my favorite. Not only did I win two more titles in
Women’s CMX Forms and Weapons, but they
also added a traditional weapons division as
well. Not many people know this, but that is
actually one of my favorite divisions so I was
happy to be able to compete and win that on
ESPN. A close second would be competing
for the USA in the WAKO World Championships in Naples, Italy, where I won forms and
weapons Gold medals.
IT MUST HAVE BEEN A DAUNTING
TASK TO LEAVE THE UNIVERSITY OF
CENTRAL FLORIDA AND HEAD TO LOS
ANGELES TO BEGIN YOUR CAREER AS
AN ACTRESS. WHAT WERE YOUR EMOTIONS LIKE WHEN YOU MADE THAT
DECISION? WERE YOU NERVOUS?
Of course, I was nervous! But I was also
confident that I could get to Los Angeles and
make it happen. My martial arts skills gave
me confidence and courage to take that move
on. The one thing I promised my parents and
myself when I moved to California was that I
would continue school, which I have done. I
work hard to fit school into my busy schedule.
I still plan to graduate and earn a degree because I think that is very important.
YOU HAVE DONE FAIRLY EXTENSIVE
STUNT WORK IN HOLLYWOOD. WAS
THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU ALWAYS
WANTED TO DO GIVEN YOUR IMPRESSIVE SKILLS IN MARTIAL ARTS? HAS IT
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HELPED YOU GET YOUR FOOT IN THE
DOOR FOR MORE ACTING ROLES?
Yes, stunts were kind of a no-brainer just
because of my martial arts background. I love
that I can take what I do and translate it into
film. I have also learned a lot in regards to
the stunt world and am learning more about
doing fights on camera. My role in “Chinese
Zodiac” was driven by my martial arts skills
and that has opened doors for me to get additional work, both stunts and acting. IT MUST HAVE BEEN A WHIRLWIND EXPERIENCE TO BE PERFORMING AT THE
U.S. OPEN AND THEN BE PERSONALLY
SELECTED BY JACKIE CHAN TO BE IN
ONE OF HIS MOVIES. WHAT WAS THAT
EXPERIENCE LIKE, AND WHAT DID YOU
LEARN FROM IT?
That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Words cannot even describe my whole experience when it comes to the film ‘Chinese Zodiac’ and working with him. Not only is he a
legend, but he also is one of the sweetest guys
I know. For me, that made the overall experience so much better. For someone like him
to be watching TV and handpick me, I was
honored. I learned a lot from him, from being
on set to just being around him and seeing
his work ethic. I don’t think there was ever a
day when I didn’t pick up something new. I
still stay in touch with him and always enjoy
spending time with him and his team when
they visit Los Angeles.
I LEARNED FROM YOUR WEBSITE
THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TAKING ACTING CLASSES, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN
FOCUSING ON AS FAR YOUR ACTING
SKILLS TO GET BETTER?
Acting classes and private coaching is so
much fun but so difficult. I definitely give
actors and actresses much more credit now
when I watch movies & TV shows. I think of
it like martial arts - keep practicing and never
stop! There is always something else to learn
and something else to master.
WHO ARE YOUR ROLE MODELS, BOTH
IN MARTIAL ARTS AND IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY?
I definitely have role models in each of those
categories, but my two biggest role models
are my parents. I am very close to them and I
wouldn’t be where I am today without them.
In the martial arts world, I would have to say
Mike Chat, Jon Valera, and Casey Marks. All
three competitors were legendary and created a lot of what we see today on the circuit.
In the entertainment industry, I would say
Jackie Chan, Jason Statham, and Angelina
Jolie. Jackie Chan and Jason Statham, being
martial artists, are always people I’ve looked
up to. Angelina Jolie plays the type of characters that I would love to play. She is a great
actress who does a lot of her own stunts and is
a great role model to her kids. November 2014 |
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“...MY LONG-TERM GOAL IN THE INDUSTRY
WOULD BE TO BE A SUCCESSFUL
ACTRESS DOING MY OWN STUNTS, LIKE
A FEMALE VERSION OF JACKIE CHAN.”
IT SEEMS FROM YOUR RECENT CREDITS THAT YOU HAVE FOUND A GREAT
DEAL OF SUCCESS AND THE NEXT FEW
YEARS ARE GOING TO BE VERY PROSPEROUS FOR YOU. WHAT SKILLS HAVE
YOU LEARNED FROM MARTIAL ARTS
THAT HELP YOU OUTSIDE OF COMPETITION, DEALING WITH THE DAY-TO-DAY
STRESSES AND PROBLEMS IN LIFE?
Martial arts has definitely helped in my
day-to-day life. Even though I love it for the
physical aspects, the life skills have stuck
with me and have helped shaped my life. Two
big ones for me are perseverance and dedication. This industry is not an easy one and
you have to keep plugging away and don’t
get down about it. Of course, there are hard
times, but I love what I do and I wouldn’t
want to be doing anything else.
WHAT ARE YOUR LONG-TERM GOALS IN
MARTIAL ARTS, AND IN ACTING/STUNT
WORK?
My long-term goals in martial arts would
be to keep teaching my students and teaching seminars. As much as I love competing,
teaching has always been so much more for
me. I love to be able to share what I have
learned with the younger generation. And my
long-term goal in the industry would be to be
a successful actress doing my own stunts, like
a female version of Jackie Chan.
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