LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A new book by a world-famous fight choreographer and martial artist focusing on the art of Wing Chun sheds light on his journey from the Las Vegas valley to Hollywood.
Eric Oram uses a wooden training dummy when teaching. It’s a unique tool that has helped to train some of Hollywood’s biggest stars for some of their most iconic roles. For instance, the slow-motion, bare-knuckle brawl from the film “Sherlock Holmes,” in which Robert Downey Jr., as the titular detective, predicts his opponent’s moves, perfectly illustrates what Oram has been teaching for decades.
“By the time Robert came into my academy and wanted to train, he had some very public issues at the time and wanted very much to not continue on that path,” Oram said. “I told him at the time that I was going to help him get addicted to something that was going to be healthy, that was going to be very positive.”
Downey Jr.’s personal struggles were well known then, but he has since credited his martial arts training for turning his life and career around. The actor has openly praised Oram in multiple public statements.
“I give all the credit in the world to Robert that, from where he was at that time, he had made his mind up, and he was determined, and he did the work,” Oram said.
Oram’s book, “Modern Wing Chun,” includes a foreword by Downey Jr., who ensured that the martial arts master was at his side for the production of multiple blockbuster movies, including four of Marvel’s biggest hits. Oram designed and choreographed fight scenes for both of Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes films and has been a stunt performer and actor in a long list of other movies.
Oram’s martial arts journey began in a modest west Las Vegas valley home.
“I was getting picked on as a kid,” Oram recounted. “When I was 10, I finally got pretty frustrated, and I had come to my dad and said, “I have this bully situation, and what do I do?”‘
His father, a martial artist and competitive shooter, looked into the best self-defense disciplines. He settled on Wing Chun, the same system Bruce Lee trained in. Oram eventually trained from of Lee’s own masters and eventually became a master himself.
Christian Bale, who, preparing for his role as Batman, became Oram’s first celebrity student. The master went on to train clients worldwide. While his book serves as an illustrated guide to offense and defense, Oram said Wing Chun is about more than simple physical combat.
It’s affected [clients] emotionally, their relationships, their professional experiences,” Oram said. “The system and the training had all these different overlaps and life benefits.”
