Actor and professional kickboxer Don “the Dragon” Wilson made an appearance at a sports club Thursday, where he gave a short seminar on kickboxing and his work in film.
Wilson appeared at NJoy Sports Club, located inside Profilo Alışveriş Merkezi in the Mecidiyeköy district of Istanbul, where he sat on a panel with Turkish movie star Didem Erol and among representatives from the club and media and communications company KOM Medya.
The seminar was held in one of the sports club's exercise rooms and started at 7 p.m. It attracted a number of kickboxing fans, several of them in gear, who later took the opportunity to be photographed with Wilson.
Born in 1954, Wilson has an impressive kickboxing career record, having accumulated a substantial number of titles and awards since the late '70s. “My sidekick and my defense are the two things that separate me from other fighters,” he told the audience. He gave the audience tips on punching and technique and then gave a demonstration of his famed kick. He said that, though some say he is the only one who can pull off the kick that carried him to so many victories, he believes anyone can do it.
Wilson's film career had its debut in the 1989 film “Say Anything,” where he played an unnamed sparring partner. He went on to star in the martial arts movie “Bloodfist,” released later the same year. “Bloodfist” grew into a franchise of films, all starring Wilson, the latest of which, “Bloodfist VIII: Trained to Kill,” was released in 1996. He starred in several other movies, the most recent being the 2007 film “The Last Sentinel.”
He said that with his movie career it is hard to keep up with kickboxing, but added, “The fighters are getting better every year.” Wilson did come out of retirement for a few matches. The latest, in 2002, he won, showing that at 47 he still retained his former excellence.
When asked, Wilson said he would like to star in a movie set in Turkey and that he would want the Turks to be the good guys. “Of course, I'd want a Turkish leading lady,” he added.
Wilson appeared at NJoy Sports Club, located inside Profilo Alışveriş Merkezi in the Mecidiyeköy district of Istanbul, where he sat on a panel with Turkish movie star Didem Erol and among representatives from the club and media and communications company KOM Medya.
The seminar was held in one of the sports club's exercise rooms and started at 7 p.m. It attracted a number of kickboxing fans, several of them in gear, who later took the opportunity to be photographed with Wilson.
Born in 1954, Wilson has an impressive kickboxing career record, having accumulated a substantial number of titles and awards since the late '70s. “My sidekick and my defense are the two things that separate me from other fighters,” he told the audience. He gave the audience tips on punching and technique and then gave a demonstration of his famed kick. He said that, though some say he is the only one who can pull off the kick that carried him to so many victories, he believes anyone can do it.
Wilson's film career had its debut in the 1989 film “Say Anything,” where he played an unnamed sparring partner. He went on to star in the martial arts movie “Bloodfist,” released later the same year. “Bloodfist” grew into a franchise of films, all starring Wilson, the latest of which, “Bloodfist VIII: Trained to Kill,” was released in 1996. He starred in several other movies, the most recent being the 2007 film “The Last Sentinel.”
He said that with his movie career it is hard to keep up with kickboxing, but added, “The fighters are getting better every year.” Wilson did come out of retirement for a few matches. The latest, in 2002, he won, showing that at 47 he still retained his former excellence.
When asked, Wilson said he would like to star in a movie set in Turkey and that he would want the Turks to be the good guys. “Of course, I'd want a Turkish leading lady,” he added.
