I can’t say that I’ve always wanted to movie stunts. But I CAN say that I’ve always envied actors who get to spend 6 weeks doing nothing but martial arts or archery or something for a movie role. I mean, how cool is that? Who doesn’t want to say, “Work? Oh, work’s been good. For the past month or so I’ve been learning how to kick ass for a movie. I got the equivalent of a ramped up 1.5 year Brazilian Jiu Jitsu session compressed into 6 weeks taught by one of the best there is. I also lost 20 lbs and got supercut while I was at it. Oh, and by the by, they paid $8 million.” Um, yes please?
While I’m not likely to land any movie roles in the near future, I’ve opted to take matters into my own hands. So like I mentioned, LivingSocial has been one of my enablers for the last few months of education and this time was no different. Only rather than learning to make guacamole, I opted to learn how to do suicides. But not those kinds… The kind where you jump off a building. Wait, no, not like that. Stunts!
I went to
Hollywood Stunts NYC and took the 2-hr High Falls stunt class. Walking into the place just FEELS like a movie set. Abandoned-looking buildings, graffiti’d trucks, wood pallets strewn around. I was waiting for ninjas to fly off the roof. Actually, I’m still waiting for ninjas. But I digress.
Once inside you see the giant air bag and the platform. It doesn’t look quite so scary until you see someone jump off it.
So we first did some fall basics on a mat (you see the black mat above) so we learned the proper technique to avoid getting hurt. Then we moved up to the first platform. Not gonna lie, it was a little nerve-wracking at the start. It’s sorta fascinating how your system overrides logic. Logic says: There’s a giant 10 ft inflatable mat beneath you. You’re fine. You’re falling into something safe. And yet, something else overrides the logic and is screaming at you “Are you COMPLETELY NUTS?!”
Fortunately for me the answer is usually yes, so I don’t have too much hesitation.
After mastering that after a couple of falls we move on up to the 2nd platform (and as high as we’ll go that day). And then the nerves go all over again. For a minute.
By the time we finished, doing a suicide off the 2nd platform was old hat. No need for nerves.
I hear there’s stunt fighting class…
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