Steven Ho (martial artist)
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Steven Ho | |
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Ho in 2009 | |
Born | Bernadetto Widiman Wibowo 9 December 1973[1] Bandung, Indonesia |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Martial artist, actor, stunt coordinator, stuntman, writer, director, entrepreneur |
Years active | 1989–present (acting) |
Spouse | Nina Petronzio |
Children | 2 |
Website | Official site |
Steven Ho (born 9 December 1973)[1] is an American martial artist, stunt coordinator, stuntman and member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Known as one of the first martial arts tricksters in open martial art competitions and early pioneers of non-traditional forms (NASKA), Ho helped to popularize the 540 kick and the Hawkeye Kick in the mid-eighties. Many consider Ho's influence, particularly his 540 kick, to be the beginning of the tricking movement.
Ho is also well regarded for his stunt work as Donatello in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) and his role as "Chan" in Mortal Kombat (1995).[1] For the much anticipated Britney Spears music video, "Hold It Against Me", Ho trained Spears and fight choreographed the Britney vs. Britney fight for director Jonas Åkerlund.
Ho was featured as himself on the
Ho co-founded Plush Home, Inc., an all-encompassing interior design firm and furniture line, in 2003 with his wife, Nina Petronzio, an American interior and furniture designer known for her high-end Transitional Style designs.[1]
Early life and martial arts
Born Bernadetto Widiman Wibowo in
After eight years of intensive martial arts training with Richard King Sensei of the Karate Institute of America and winning local karate competitions in Los Angeles (particularly at Ed Parker's Long Beach International Karate Championships and various meets at the Culver City Civic Auditorium), Ho moved to the National Karate Circuit (North American Sport Karate Association) and was responsible for the American Forms Division of which he was National Champion. Known for his jump kicking techniques and innovative style, Ho quickly established himself as one of the top experts in the United States.[2]
Films
In 1989, Ho was recruited into the film business by action-icon
Ho then made plans to relocate to Hong Kong to pursue a career as a
Ho went on to work in many film projects as an actor,
In 1999, Ho completed his directorial & writing debut on the indie film and festival favorite, .
In 2008, Ho Man was part of the acclaimed stunt team for
With his extensive background in martial arts and weapons, Ho has been a sought-after instructor and choreographer in Hollywood to stuntmen and actors aiming to get film-ready. Most Notably, Ho trained Brad Pitt in swordplay for six months prior to his production of Troy,[11][12] and prepped Tobey Maguire for 3 months prior to his transformational role as Peter Parker in Spider-Man (2002).[13] His students list includes Leonardo DiCaprio, James Franco, Pierce Brosnan, Pink, Method Man, Rachel Weisz, Gisele Bündchen, Josh Charles, Steve Nguyen, Peter Krause, Bar Refaeli, Lennie James, Ellen Barkin.[3]
Conan O'Brien
Ho was a regular and popular guest of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. On the well-received segments, Ho would typically inflict apparent pain to Conan O'Brien while he aggressively taught the host the basics of stunt fighting.
On the 8th episode that originally aired on 10 June 2009, Ho opened the show by sucker-punching Conan to "give him a sense of what a real hit feels like". The duo continued with a choreographed fight scene in which Conan portrayed the "thug fighter" and Ho the "hero fighter". A
Five weeks after his appearance, Ho was back for the 30th episode on 17 July 2009, making him the first returning guest of the show. This time Ho taught Conan the basics of sword fighting and using breakaway props. When he did not evade Ho's strike fast enough, Conan was hit by Ho with a bamboo sword in the ribs. Ho then proceeded to break a handful of breakaway bottles over Conan's head, sending him comically running to hide behind Andy Richter. The segment ended with Ho dragging Conan backwards in a sitting position across the stage and through a picket fence, chicken coop, breakaway mirror, and large scaled bowling pins. Seth Green was the second guest that night.[15]
Ho made a third appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien for the 65th episode on 14 September 2009, the first night the show shared the evening with
All of Ho's appearances were included in the montage of the finale show of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on 22 January 2010.
After the announcement of the cancellation of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Ho was instrumental in supporting and rallying fans for the "I'M WITH COCO" movement spearheaded by artist Mike Mitchell through Facebook. At the 18 January 2010 rally held in Los Angeles in front of NBC studios, Ho portrayed "Asian Conan" in a popular sketch for the website Funny or Die in which "Asian Conan" fights "Asian Jay Leno" in a street fight. Funny or Die and Ho then produced the comedy-action short, "Asian Conan, Episode 1", released as an exclusive on their website in April 2010.[18]
Ho returned as a guest on O'Brien's
Ho's 8 June 2011 appearance on Conan made him the first main guest invited back for a second appearance on the TBS show. Ho taught O'Brien how to develop his Qi power through martial art breathing technique. He proceeded to teach Conan a proper martial art Horse stance and Sanchin, before kicking him with multiple Roundhouse kicks and hitting him with various wood dowels and a 2×4. The episode ended with Conan breaking three wood pieces held by Ho's assistants.
On 9 June 2011, O'Brien and George Lopez attempted a feat never before accomplished by two back-to-back late-night hosts. Both funnymen scheduled one another as guests on the other's program. In his interview on Lopez Tonight, O'Brien discussed his recent stunt segment with Ho and showed highlight clips. In particular, he talked about a 2x4 that did not break on his thigh when Ho hit him with it.[19]
For Ho's 12 October 2011 appearance on Conan, the martial artist gave Conan a lesson in basic self-defense. He taught the late night host the fine art of palm strikes, elbows, knees, groin kicks, and head butts. Ho also taught Conan how to escape from a full mount position by "bucking" up while grabbing a handful of Conan's "love handle" at the same time.[20]
1 March 2012 marked Ho's fourth appearance on Conan, and Ho's seventh time on television with the host (including The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien). This segment focused on Ho teaching Conan how to utilize everyday home items as weapons for self-defense. Ho's lesson focused on hairspray, a plastic comb, coffee in a cup, a Sharpie pen, and a baby stroller.[21]
Ho appeared on Conan for a fifth time on 13 September 2012, to teach the host self-defense against a gun, and how to defend himself against an attack inside a men's bathroom, while sitting on a toilet.[22]
For a holiday sketch on 8 December 2012, Ho played himself at a Conan Christmas party where he and Andy Richter throw a drunk and belligerent Conan out a stage window.[23]
"Occupy Conan" special ran on 31 January 2013. In addition to Conan and Andy Richter, the original show's guests, Anne Hathaway and Steven Ho were all recreated by fan submissions.[24]
Ho and his stunt team accompanied Nina Dobrev on her 12 March 2013 guest appearance on Conan, by helping her showcase her fighting abilities to the host.[25]
Ho returned as Conan's first guest on 25 July 2013 in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle themed episode, where Ho taught the host the tricks of the trade on how to become an action hero.[26]
Stand-up comedy
Ho performed his first stand-up comedy sketch at Comedy Zen to a sold out 220 seat audience at
Plush Home
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Plush_Home_showroom.jpg/200px-Plush_Home_showroom.jpg)
Ho dropped out of
In 2001–2003, Ho was hired as a creative consultant by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) to aid in their in-house presentations of new products developed.
In 2003, Ho and his wife, Nina Petronzio, secured a storefront on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, California and opened Plush Home, Inc, an influential, high-end interior, Transitional Style design firm and furniture line.[3][13]
References
- ^ a b c d "Steven Ho". IMDb.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Martial Arts Masters". www.otomix.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ IMDb
- ^ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Episodes -TMNT Games & Videos on Nick.com". Ninjaturtles.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat Movie Credits". NMortalkombatonline.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "request - Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmakermagazine.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "SLASH 1997-98 - Current Events March 1997 - May 1998". Sankepit.org. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "SAG's New Stunt Ensemble Honors Announced by Ben Foster and SAG President Alan Rosenberg on TNT.TV and TBS.COM | Screen Actors Guild Awards". www.sagawards.org. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "Linkin Park Wins Best Rock Video - MTV". Mtv.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Show of Strength". People.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "SPLICEDwire - "Troy" movie review (2004) "Troy" review, Wolfgang Petersen, Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom". Splicedwire.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Homeworks". Articles.latimes.com. 13 May 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien". www.thetonightshowwithconanobrien.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ a b c "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien". www.thetonightshowwithconanobrien.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "Steven Ho – Deconstructing Fighting and Stunts". stevenhomartialarts.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "Leno helps Conan ... sort of". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Asian Conan Ep. 1". Funnyordie.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Conan O'Brien Vows to Reunite George Lopez & Erik Estrada! | Lopez Tonight". www.lopeztonight.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "Stuntman Steven Ho Demonstration Pt. 1 10/12/11". Teamcoco.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Steven Ho's Amazing Groin-Puncturing Sharpie". Teamcoco.com.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Steven Ho Teaches Conan Defense Against Guns & Knives - CONAN on TBS". Youtube.com. 14 September 2012. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Conan's Kick-Ass Christmas Party Flashback - CONAN on TBS". Youtube.com. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Conan Announces "Occupy Conan" - CONAN on TBS". Youtube.com. 4 December 2012. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Nina Dobrev Shows Off Her Action Hero Chops - CONAN on TBS". Youtube.com. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Steven Ho Helps Conan Channel His Inner Ninja Turtle". Youtube.com. 26 July 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Home". Audreymagazine.com. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Plush Home by Nina Petronzio | High-End Custom Casegoods & Upholstery | Interior Design Services -". www.plushhome.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.