For The Dark Knight and Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan sought a practical fighting system that would make sense for Batman, particularly because the hero is known for his no-kill policy.
Warner Bros.
'They're brilliant actors,' Paul Jennings says of Christian Bale (left) and Heath Ledger.
He found it in the Keysi (pronounced kay-see) Fighting Method, a means of self-defense for the street founded by Justo Dieguez of Spain and Andy Norman of England. It focuses on defending oneself through the body's natural response.
Paul Jennings, a stunt coordinator for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, answered some questions about how they used KFM in the new film.
Jamie Dougher
Q: What's your favorite fight scene from The Dark Knight?
A: To pick out one, I don't know. Basically, we focused Christian [Bale] on the Keysi fighting system. Chris [Nolan] decided he wanted to come out a bit wider on the fight scenes and show more of it. [Bale's] just a beast. He demolishes anything in his way.
Q: What was it like working with the actors?
A: It's just a privilege working on scenes and watching Christian and Heath [Ledger] work together. Christian did all his own fights. Heath loved doing his own stunts, too, so they could generate some ideas themselves. ... There's an interrogation scene with Christian and Heath – it's so well-acted. There's punches and moves in it, but they just act it so well. In rehearsal, that whole scene was emotionalized by Chris Nolan and the two actors.
Q: Why is KFM so well-suited to Batman?
A: The bottom line is, some martial arts, and some movies ... they'll fly through the air and spin-kick, and that looks great, but I think we've moved on to what we want to see, something real for Batman. We were just lucky to find this system. It looks unique. It's brutal. If you can hit someone, you hit them. You don't spin-kick them. We try to keep that reality in the fights.
Jeff McKissack, who trains Keysi fighters locally, will be at the Cinemark 17 on Webb Chapel Road tonight at midnight and for this weekend's evening shows. He'll be answering questions about KFM and how it's used in the movies. He can be reached at jeff@kfm-usa.com.
