Tag Archives: cage fight
video & pics: Gina Carano on the Arsenio Hall show
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Gina appeared on the Arsenio Hall show & talked about:
family, fighting, her background, In The Blood, and more. &
as you guessed, she was her usual charming & lovable self.
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(video courtesy: ArsenioHall.com)
Gina Carano Fan Experience: In This Corner…
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Growing up, I wasn’t an athlete. I always considered myself an average girl. It wasn’t until high-school that I found out that I loved entertaining people through dance and theatre classes.
It was the summer after I turned 17 and graduated. I auditioned for The Phoenix Suns Dance Squad. I remember practicing so hard to make it on the team. All of the girls were so beautiful; I started to lose confidence. Even though I had the skill, I didn’t shine in the audition. At that point in my life, I started to hate myself. I hated the way I looked and how short I was. Everything put me through a depression.
A month later everything changed. Watching one of Gina Carano’s fights for the first time left me speechless. It was the StrikeForce Women’s Featherweight Title fight against Cris Cyborg. Even though she lost, she just seemed so superhuman to me. I was at loss for words. I just wanted to see more of her. I watched all I could until I was exhausted for school the next day. Every video I watched made me say, ” Gosh, I want to be like her.” She inspired me so much that I questioned myself thinking, “Why not… why not give it a shot?” Don’t get me wrong, I was terrified of fighting. I had never gotten into a fight or even hit anyone, and the next thing I know, I’m stepping foot into a Muay Thai Gym.
Just the sound of “Muay Thai” was intimidating. I didn’t know what to expect. The coach was a little man from Thailand. He gave me my first pair of pink boxing gloves and red Muay Thai shorts. After changing clothes, I remember looking in the mirror and thinking, “I can’t believe I’m here right now!” I then tried to pump myself up, thinking “Okay, be like Gina, be like Gina.” Walking out of the bathroom, the coach said, “Oh good, you look like a fighter now.” By the end of the class, I fell in love with it; I was so excited.
It lit a whole new fire inside me. The girl who had once hated herself now had confidence.
I wanted to learn everything, every: punch, kick, knee and elbow. I would then watch Gina’s training footage and try to mimic her combos by shadow boxing in the hallway of my house and in front of my dresser mirror. I felt […]
Interview & pics: Gina Carano further in depth on next movie, Wonder Woman, female action stars and more
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FilmSchoolRejects.com spoke with Gina Carano, the recipient and inspiration for The Chick Norris Best Female Action Star Award, at ActionFest 2012.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us.
Not a problem. Film School Rejects, that’s an incredible name.
Thank you very much, we do the best we can. That’s kind of how we operate, we appreciate films as if we went to film school and yet all managed to get kicked out before graduation.
I like that.
I wanted to talk to you a little bit about making the transition from MMA to film. Specifically, did you find it difficult to work within scripted fight sequences after coming from something as visceral and in the moment as mixed martial arts?
Actually I found it, in a way, enlightening and freeing. It allowed me to do what I love to do without worrying about having to have a fight at the end of those two months of training. Instead it was more like choreography for a dance, but still letting me do what I love, and that was a ton of fun for me. It was a way for me to explore my passion without getting hurt or having to hurt someone else. It was beautiful actually. When you’re fighting in gyms, you have to spar all the time. Sometimes you’re better than your sparring partner, sometimes you’re worse, but you have to use a certain amount of control. I took that same mentality, “I’m not trying to hurt this person, I’m trying to work with this person.” It was an easy transition actually. (continued …)
(credit: swinjen, M1, & EoinA)
