Boondock Saints USO Tour Leads to Sean Patrick Flanery
September 12th 2010 18:32
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Recently, I received a press release from Boondock Saints promoter informing me about the Boondock Saints cast is joining the USO tour.
Making the long-distance journey on what will be the film`s 10-year anniversary are actors Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus and Brian Mahoney, along with the film`s writer/director Troy Duffy and producer Chris Brinker.
During the trip, the group will visit multiple military bases, sign autographs and pose for photos. While all five are making the trip to show their support of service men and women, Mahoney shares a special connection with troops, having served ten years in the U.S. Army.
I recall in an interview with Troy Duffy the director of The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day, sequel to the cult classic The Boondock Saints.
I jokily asked Duffy if he worked out in hopes of finding another angle to sell my interview. He chuckled and said loudly No!
But, he told me that the star of the movie, Sean Patrick Flanery, holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu and teaches it around Los Angeles. With the added benefit that SAW 3D, which Flanery stars is also coming out this Halloween, I got my writer instinct in full force, began my research into, what I discovered, the martial arts guru.
I discovered that the 45-year-old actor holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He began his martial arts training at the age of nine.
First, he studied Tae Kwon Do because he thought it was the ultimate fighting technique. He told Fight Magazine he thought if you had a black belt you could beat up guys like the character in the television show Kung Fu.
Flanery found his calling and continued to train in a variety of martial arts styles. At the inaugural UFC event in 1993, he saw Royce Gracie command a much larger competition with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Flanery gave up everything else and decided to master this discipline. He didn`t have the earnings to follow an education in jiu-jitsu. He knew he had to study this style.
His acting career started to take off after he nabbed a lead role in the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
He was cast in several prominent pictures including Powder, Simply Irresistible and The Boondock Saints.
Flanery started his formal Jiu-Jitsu training in 2001 at Rickson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy. He wanted to learn under the champion himself.
Flanery started as a white belt and trained three times a week. The process was intense and jiu-jitsu consumed his life.
He continued his acting career, taking on roles in Stargate SG-1, The Dead Zone and Charmed. He stilled trained hard. He even took 6 months off from his acting career to truly master the discipline.
Flanery entered enter the Pan Ams Jiu-Jitsu tournament as well as others. He was very successful, becoming the first annual Inland Empire Champion in 2002. He also became the American Nationals Champion and Pan American Champion in 2003.
Flanery decided to train under Shawn Williams, who earned his black belt from Renzo Gracie. A strong bond developed between them and they started their own school, Hollywood Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
By 2008, Flanery proudly received his black belt from Williams. The instructor`s first time he had ever given one to a student.
But when it comes to acting, Flanery takes martial arts far more seriously, which you can discover for yourself when you visit him at his jiu-jitsu in Hollywood.
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