Comments - FYI

I just realized that only people with google accounts can comment on the blog. I did some tinkering and now anyone can post comments without registering a google account.

Xtreme Classes

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to remind you all that Excel is hosting a few free Xtreme Martial Arts Classes that I will be teaching starting at 1:30. There is one class for beginners and one class for leadership students. I can't remember which one starts at 1:30 and which one starts at 2:30. Either way, I would love to see you guys and it will be a very fun class!

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Action Unit!

Friday and Saturday we filmed action scenes. Wow, that was fun. Matt Mullins and I had some really cool fight scenes and they turned out great. I got to show off some tricks and it was awesome working with the director Steve Wang and Matt Mullins. It was also special because Mrs. Moh got to visit me on set yesterday.

Well, tomorrow we fly to MN. If I don't see you guys, happy holidays and happy new year!

Wardrobe

Ok here's some more...

Ok so here's some more stuff to blog about regarding Day 2 of shooting on KRDK.

One of the scenes involved me and my on screen brother stealing a pair of motorcycles in an alley. A security guard catches us and my big bro gives me the nod to knock him out with a swift kick. Thankfully I knew a little bit about kicking so the director said, show me a cool kick. The script said that the Cho brothers would do a double kick at the guard but since the actor that plays my brother doesn't know martial arts I got to do the kick myself. The director wanted a side kick and I showed him a jump 360 side kick and he liked that. We got the kick from a few angles and then I had to kick the actor that was playing the security guard right in the gut. Luckily he had a pad because the stunt coordinator wanted me to kick him pretty hard! The catch was... I can't kick too high or else I would kick the microphone that was planted on his chest, and I can't kick too low or else the kick would not match the other kicks they filmed from other angles. Basically, I had to kick him perfectly in the chest and I really only had 1 shot because after I kicked him once the dirt from my shoes would stain his shirt. I envisioned doing a board break on his chest and I nailed it on the first try! My many years of breaking boards definitely helped me out on that one.

Another scene involved the Cho brothers being confronted by the evil general Xaviax. He wants to recruit us for his evil army. Right at the beginning of the scene we are taking parts off of the bikes we stole and he sneaks up behind us. The script called for us to turn around and raise our wrenches as if they were weapons as he starts talking to us. We did a rehearsal a few times and in between takes I was playing around with my wrench as if it was a kama. I started twirling it around my index finger just like I would do a finger roll on my kama. One of the producers of the show saw me doing it and told me to roll the wrench around my finger as I turned to greet Xaviax. Hopefully they use that shot because I think it will help me to look "cooler" :)

Just thought I would share those stories before I forgot about them! Also, so you guys realize that a lot of the things you have worked on or will be working on in your taekwondo classes can come in handy in the future!

Also another bit of news, Richelle and I are coming to MN from the 24th to the 30th. I think Ms. K is planning a free XMA class for me to teach on Saturday so if you are around, please sign up so I can work with you guys again!

Congrats!

Congrats on all of the students that earned new belts this weekend!

Alex, I wish I could have been there for you man! Nice work sir:)

Rielly- I am a bad guy :) Just like I am in real life right!?

Mizelle- You have already scored my baskets than I ever have in a real game! Way to go!

Update

KRDK Day 1, (Friday, Dec. 14th)

Woke up at 4:00am today. Got ready. Drove 45 minutes to Cheyenne Studios in Castaic with no traffic for a call time of 5:30am. Don't remember exactly everything but I will try to recount it as best as I can.



Arrived at set, it was FREEZING cold. Note to self: bring winter jacket next time. Ate breakfast at the catering trailer. Reported to the 2nd A.D.'s Rob and "Cheese". Was taken to my trailer.... YES, my very OWN trailer! Was then taken to hair and makeup, then to wardrobe. They want me to look like I am from the movie Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. It worked :) Met my on-screen brother Tony. Nice guy.

I then went to set and introduced myself to most of the crew and cast. Everyone is very very nice. Some nicer than others, some crabbier than others. I think to myself that hopefully when people meet me I am always considered one of the "Nicer" ones no matter how I am feeling that day. Today we are filming just one acting scene inside of a studio made bookstore. The Cho Brothers(that's me) confront the good guys in a bookstore and have a standoff.

It's amazing how long it takes to properly shoot just a 2 minute scene with multiple actors. We had to do the scene many many times to get coverage for everyone's angles and the crew made sure everything was cohesive for a good final edit. There was a lot of downtime when my character wasn't needed so I spent a lot of the time getting to know my new coworkers. I made sure to open up and be myself and that actually helped me to get rid of any of my on-screen nerves.

At the end of the day we wrapped up at about 5pm. Wow. Long day, but a great one. Back at it again on Sunday at 5:30am.

KRDK, Day 2 (Sunday, Dec. 16th)

New location today. College of the canyons in Santa Clarita. Got there at 5:30, ate breakfast, got dressed, got my hair and makeup done. Today I saw the suit of the "Rider" I turn into when I transform. IT IS AWESOME!!! Sorry I can't tell you guys too many details but once I know it's okay to share with you I will tell you everything I know!

On Friday, we shot scenes for episode 19, today we shot scenes for our first appearance in the series, episode 17. Had another great day of shooting and I even got to showcase my kicking and "weapons" skills :) More on that in another posting.

I wrapped early today at about noon because all my scenes were shot right away in the morning. Next week I film my first action sequence. Can't wait for that. Wow, I wish i could write more but i am just too tired!!

Oops...

So I got the wrong info, I start filming TOMORROW!!! Yesterday I got the scripts and I am not supposed to say anything but... I will say that this show is going to ROCK! I will for sure be in at least 3 episodes so that is good news and most likely more. I will also say that my name is Danny Cho.

I will try to upload lots of pics in the coming days :)

Can't wait!!

Alright, first off thanks for the comments everyone! There is no better motivation in the world than to read such kind comments from you guys. I feel like I already have a mini-fan club back in Woodbury that is rooting me on to success!

Today I had a callback for a Hormel commercial. I can't remember if I wrote about the first audition I had for it about a week ago but I basically ran around a room and pretended I was being chased by bees and then ultimately I pretended to dive into a fountain of water. Pretty fun stuff. I also got a call from my agency today that my first day of work will be on the 17th, which is this upcoming Monday. I can't even tell you guys how excited I am. I should be getting more info about my character soon and although it would be nice to have a big role I would be happy with just a few episodes!

Hopefully filming doesn't go too late into December so we can come back and visit again!

Promo Trailer for Kamen Rider

KRDK "Callbacks"

What a great experience. I just got back from the callback session for Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. I was there to read for the part of one of the brothers and since I was already cast, I was there to show the directors/producers how I interacted and fit with each of the other 7 actors that were competing for the role of my brother. Confused? Me too. This all went down in Castaic, where the show is shooting. It all took place at Cheyenne Studios, a huge lot with lots of studios and soundstages. It was awesome.

All 7 actors did a great job but a few stuck out in my mind as really fitting the part. I am excited to see who they hire! One of the guys was an actor I actually look up to as an actor. His name is Parry Shen and he was the lead role in the movie: "Better Luck Tomorrow". He did a great acting job. It was awesome to be inside the room during a callback. It's kind of like judging at a TKD tournament. When you're the one judging and not performing, it gives you a whole new perspective on your own performance.

I also got a chance to meet to bosses of the show: Steve and Mike Wang. They have accomplished a lot in Hollywood as directors and also as creature creators and make-up effects for film. I am so excited to work with the entire crew. Don Pemrick, the casting director that conducted my first audition was also there and at the end of it all he said that he would complete my contract with my agent Eddy tomorrow and I will know when I'll start shooting!

The transition from full-time martial arts instructor/competitor to actor has been a very tough and humbling experience for me but I really believe that growing up in the martial arts world has been perfect preparation for the competitive world of entertainment. Now that I think of it, martial arts experience is great for any profession you aspire to be!

I am so excited about this opportunity but at the same time I am hesitant to tell all of my friends and get too excited because I really shouldn't get that excited until I am actually on the set working. I almost waited on sharing this news with you guys in my blog but I was too excited and had to share to a few people :)

:)

So I've got some news... I didn't get the priceline commercial. I was pretty bummed about it but I realized that in showbiz anything goes and you can never predict what's going to happen. Today I went to Samuel French Bookstore (the place where all the actors in Hollywood go to pick up acting books and different guides) to buy a book of monologues because this weekend I am going to an open audition for a new movie that is a remake of the old Kung Fu series starring David Carradine. I will be demonstrating martial arts and a 1 minute monologue. I have the martial arts part down already but the monologue needs to be worked on!

Anyways... on my way to the bookstore I got a call from Donald Pemrick, a casting director at Pemrick Fronk Casting. I saw him almost 2 weeks ago when I auditioned for Kamen Rider. Since I hadn't heard anything I assumed I didn't get the part. Today he told me that I got a part on the show! I will be filming sometime in mid to late december. I cannot tell you how excited I am. It's not official yet because my agent and manager need to finalize the contract but I just wanted to share with you guys! THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!!!

Have a great weekend everyone and I will keep you posted!

Update

Okay so here's the update since getting back from MN. It was GREAT seeing all of you at Excel. It really made our weekend that you guys would take time out of your weekend to come see us! Thank you all!

Monday I had my callback for Priceline. Wow.. what an experience. I got there and there were already about 10 people there practicing their moves outside. Some of the top martial artists in the world were there. The guys from Sideswipe (of america's got talent fame) were all there and a few other working stuntmen in Hollywood were there as well. Our job was to learn a short fight scene to perform in front of the casting directors. When it was my turn to show my stuff, I went into a SMALL room with a camera and a table with 4 very important looking people waiting to see how i would do. Talk about nerve racking. I have performed for over 10,000 before but that's nothing compared to the pressure of a big budget commercial callback. I nailed my fight scene and they seemed very pleased. I left the callback with no regrets knowing that I did my absolute best. Now I await a call to find out if I booked it. If I didn't I won't hear anything at all. The hardest part is waiting and being at the mercy of the "suits" that make the final call. Sometimes it comes down to the smallest of details. Hopefully I have the right look for the commercial. It's wednesday and usually by now I would have heard something so I am assuming that I didn't get it but I can't be sure of that until Friday because the commercial starts shooting on Monday.

Today I worked on a student film for a few hours as "scorpion" from mortal kombat for a short greenscreen scene that I filmed with a friend of mine that was "sub zero". After that I went straight to a taco bell audition. I have always wanted to audition for a taco bell commercial and I got my chance today! It was a lot of fun and the commercial will end up being really funny.

Lemays- thanks so much for the kind words. It's always uplifting and motivating to read comments like yours!

More to come everyone :)

Home sweet home

We're back in MN. We are relaxing in Mora with Mrs. Moh's family. It's very nice to see them again. Tomorrow we head back to the twin cities to visit some friends. On sunday we'll be at Excel working with the demo team. If you're around please stop in around 4pm and say hi!

The waiting game

Audition went great. I am doing my best to forget about it so I don't work myself into a nervous wreck.... FORGOTTEN. okay. We're heading home tomorrow. Excited to go back. I hope you all have a great thanksgiving and i hope i see some of you while we're there!

Wow.

Okay. So i had the priceline commercial audition today. It went GREAT. I heard they are seeing over 200 martial artists for the roles so I am crossing my fingers for a callback.

I got an unexpected call this afternoon from a casting office that wants to see me tomorrow afternoon for an audition.... for a TV show!! This is the show I was hoping to get a chance to audition for. It's called Kamen Rider and it's a darker version of power rangers. This show is going to be airing evenings on cartoon network. I am just excited that I have an audition, I am not expecting anything out of it but it would be awesome to be on it!

WISH ME LUCK :)

Moh-mentum

Hey everyone, sorry for the long delay. I have been very busy with work among other things. I think I have started to gain a little momentum out here in Los Angeles. I am making a lot of great connections through people I meet at XMA that are working actors, stuntpeople, and directors and stunt coordinators. I have been teaching a lot at XMA and I almost forgot how much I love teaching martial arts and working with people. Although the XMA studio is pretty cool, the students at Excel can never be beaten out in my mind. I wish I could still work with all of the excel students!

I had an audition for a cars.com commercial that was looking for a "karate guy". It sounded perfect but they needed someone tall so I don't think I didn't get a callback. However on Monday I am auditioning for a priceline.com commercial where they need real Taekwondo martial artists. That should be a good audition for me. I will be working on a student film as Scorpion from the mortal kombat game in a short fight scene in a comedy. That should be pretty fun because it will be done in front of a green screen.

I have also started work on the movie "The Legend of Zu" that will start filming in January. I have been helping the cast with some martial arts training and the director of the film is possibly going to use me for another film he's doing next month. The Legend of Zu is a non-union film but the other one he's doing is a union film so he said he might be able to "Taft-Hartley" me into the screen actors guild (SAG- "The Union"). That just means that the director can write a letter on my behalf to join SAG, which can take many actors years and years of trying to do. If that happens it would be a GREAT thing!

Richelle is rockin' and rolling at her job. She is heading to London for work in a few weeks. Luckily she gets to go with her dad so she won't be alone like she was in China a few weeks back. We are so excited to finally head back home to MN together. I know that a lot of you will be out of town but if you're in town we will be at Excel all day working with the demo team so please stop in and say hi! Stevens and Hornilla family we are so bummed we'll miss you guys. We hope you guys have a great break!

Tickets Booked!

Okay, we weren't sure of it but now we have booked tickets. We will both by back for thanksgiving! I know a lot of you will be gone but it was the only time before Christmas that we could make it.

Sometimes it goes well, and sometimes you fall on your bum.

The latter part of the title happened to me today! I got an audition call for a panasonic commercial that shoots in Japan and they were looking for "gymnasts". I was never a real gymnast but I faked it and everything went well until they asked me to show something gymnastic-ey without flipping. At that moment I said to myself "uh oh i only know how to flip" so i just did a handstand, rolled onto my shoulders and did a kip up. It would have worked perfectly, except for the fact that the carpet under me slipped and i ended up on my bum. I shook it off like nothing happened and I was on my way.

As much as I always want things to go great, I know that sometimes you fall on your butt and there's nothing you can do about it. I just chalk it up to another funny story I can tell and I feel grateful that I had the opportunity and will get another chance to audition for other jobs.

Please let me know how all of you are doing! I love reading emails/comments from you guys to find out how you are all doing.

Auditions Again... thankfully

Mrs. moh is back! It's so good to have her back. Cheech is very happy too :)

Today I had an audition for an Apple computer print ad. I have another audition tomorrow for a print ad for 24 hour fitness. It's always tough for me to go out on print auditions because it's all about how you look and I definitely did not come out here to be a model! On the other hand, it's just good to finally get more auditions from my agent. I was thinking they had forgotten about me!

Corey- I am so glad you liked the pictures! Congrats on your 2nd degree!

What's a man to do?

Without his wife that is...

The Mrs. is in Hong Kong until Tuesday for business. She is there on a very important trip for work and she will be meeting with important business people and going to expos. Wow, she's good at everything!

That leaves me and cheech all by our lonesome. We were actually supposed to be in MN this weekend until her trip came up last second. Bummer :( We were hoping to be there for the Excel halloween party! I am going to stop saying when we think we'll be back because I always let myself down when something comes up and I can't go back.

Vid of Fire

Hey guys, here is our view the morning that the fire started. Keep in mind it had JUST started and got much worse but here it is:

Safe and Sound

Just wanted to let you know we are back home after being evacuated for a few days. The fire missed us completely so we feel lucky to be back home :)

Fire Drill

This morning we were abrubtly awakened by flashing lights, honking horns, and the repetetive rings of the telephone. Why all this commotion at 5 am?? At first, we thought we were being robbed or pranked or something like that. After realizing that the energy had gone out and this was serious we realized that there was a wildfire quickly spreading throughout our neighborhood. The family gathered outside to see what was going on and in the horizon on top of the hills we saw a huge orange blaze lighting the sky spreading an amazing amount of smoke. By this time the fire department was in full force trying to assess the situation. All we could do is find flashlights and start gathering all the animals to make sure they were safe.

Eventually the power came back on and we were watching the news for alerts and for further direction. A little before lunchtime we were given the news by a police officer that our neighborhood was under a mandatory evacuation. Richelle and I are at a Ramada a few miles down the 101 highway with 3 of her siblings right now. We are safe and we should find out tomorrow whether we can return home or if we must stay away for another day.

It's been such a long day I can't even remember what all happened. It was pretty intense and scary during many parts of the day thinking about leaving all of our valuables behind. It is these situations that force you to think about what is really important to you. Electronics, toys, cars, and luxury items like these can all be replaced but things like photo albums, legal documents, and pets are things that cannot be replaced. We are getting word that the fire is dying down and hopefully the house won't be affected but much damage has already been done. The church that Richelle's dad is actively involved in has burned down completely along with several other homes. To think that one match, cigarette, or downed powerline could have caused all this destruction to not only property, but people's livelihood is truly humbling.

While we were gathering up the things we needed before we evacuated we had to leave behind a lot like my car but all that mattered was that we get to a safe place. Luckily we are out of harm's way now and all signs point to the fire dying down so hopefully our lives will go back to normal soon! I can't imagine how people dealing with much larger-scaled disasters (Hurricane Katrina to name one) have been able to cope with the drastic change in their lives. I guess what I am trying to say is that we are all pretty lucky to have it so good!

I hope you guys are all doing well and can't wait to hear from you all!

PS. On a positive note, I booked a role in a full length independent feature film that will start shooting in January! I will be playing the role of a Ninja! I also signed with McLachlan Talent Agency for theatrical representation last Friday.. here's to hoping I get some auditions for some big time tv shows and movies!

WILD!

Congrats on your new belt Abby! I am so proud of you!

Hey guys, the link is up from the last post so check it out! Tonight we are going to the wild game! They are playing the LA Kings so we will make sure to cheer loud for all you MN'sotans!

Here are a few random pics... i just had some facial reconstruction!

New post! FInally!

Hey everyone. Long time no post!

Anyways, I thought I would share some stuff with you guys! Here are just a few pics of the XMA world HQ. I will get some more pics up of the outside some other time.

Here is a link to the director reel of the director I worked with a few months ago in Chicago. See if you can see me in a few of the shots! (There is another asian guy that kinda looks like me so watch close)

http://www.sweatshopoutfitters.com/imbusy/demoreel.mov

Mrs. Moh and I hope to be back in MN for halloween. I know i have said this a few times before and things fell through, but it's worth another shot!

Good news... but not great

Ok, first off Mrs. Moh wanted to apologize for not being able to make it into the school this past weekend. There were a few things that popped up that prevented her from going. Cam, she LOVED the card you made her she thought it was so sweet.

I filmed a student project done by the LA film school this weekend (the reason why I couldn’t be in MN last weekend). It was a story about a japanese teenager (me) that had just moved to a small Midwestern town and he is dealing with racism and feeling like an outcast. Only after falling into a dream sequence where a samurai give him a brighter outlook on life can he continue to deal with the continuing changes in his life. The film was for a project that had to be based on a fable. This particular story was based loosely on the Ugly Duckling…. Yes, I was the ugly duckling. Haha.

The first day of shooting was very unprofessional and unorganized but I never let that frustrate me because I realized that the filmmakers were just students and I realized that I am still a “student” of acting. It’s a project that we are all learning from and gaining valuable experience. The second day went great and I think the film will turn out very good. It will be yet another project that I can use for my acting reel in the future. I think this weekend was a good reminder for me that change in life is inevitable. The people that can deal with change and adjust the best are the people that are the most successful. I read a book last year called “Who Moved my Cheese?”. Good read for those of you that like … cheese? Anyways, it’s a great book about dealing with change. So next time something happens to you that is unexpected, just remember not to waste any energy complaining about something you can’t do anything about and just deal with it the best way you can.

Ok so now on to the big news. Last week I auditioned for an AT&T commercial. My agent called and said that I should be ready to portray an 80’s style breakdancer…. Okay, well I don’t really breakdance and I don’t own any 80’s attire. So I went in with what I could and I had fun with the audition. Instead of breakdancing I did some tricks and flips and did a few goofy dances after admitting to them that I don’t breakdance but I had just gotten a quick 2 minute lesson on a few moves by the real breakdancers in the waiting room. I chalked that audition up as one for experience and I pretty much forgot about it.

On Monday, I got a call from my agent asking me if I was free from Thurs-Saturday. This confused me because they’ve never asked me that before. I said yes and he said that I was put “on availability” for the AT&T commercial. For a second I had to think about what the AT&T commercial was and then he told me that he would let me know if I booked the job. For this particular commercial shoot they skipped the callback round and went right into choosing talent for booking (the people that will star in the commercial). I was excited because when you are put “on avail” for something that means that they really liked you and they have narrowed down the finalists to a few people for the clients (AT&T in this case) to make the final decision.

It’s been a few days so I am pretty sure I didn’t book the job seeing that I was asked if I was available starting tomorrow. Although it would have been AWESOME to book the job and get my SAG card I still take it as a positive because it just shows my agent that I am marketable and any day now I will hopefully get sent out on auditions more often. Besides, I am not even a breakdancer and I got all the way to the final selection process!! Maybe I should start learning just in case I get another call for a breakdancing commercial...

I have been pretty busy as of late since I have started working at XMA. It’s nice to be working steadily again. I really miss all of you and I wish I could just move Excel and all the students along with it to California. Then I could have the best of both worlds!

Well I hope you all have a great weekend and thanks for reading!!

Update coming soon

I've got some potentially great news to share, or it could also be not so great as well!! 50-50 chance! Update coming as soon as I learn more.

Well I called Suncountry tonight to cancel my flight. It bums me out that I don't get to come back home and see all of you guys because I miss you all so much! But someone once told me that sometimes you have to sacrifice one thing to achieve another. Thanks Alex F. for the great advice! The good news is that I am sending the better half of the Moh family to see you all!

The good news is that I got a credit for a future flight and my goal is to visit either around Halloween or Thanksgiving at the latest. And as you all know, a goal we set is a goal we GET! So while Mrs. Moh gets to see everyone and our friends and go see the vikings, I will be working all day saturday and sunday on the film. I will tell you guys all about it this weekend.

Right now I should take my wife to the airport so here are my last thoughts...

Eric H., you are hilarious and it sounds like you're doing awesome! Alex H., you are equally hilarious with a tinge of craziness about you (in a good way).

Cam, if you're reading this.. I miss you too buddy! I will have Mrs. Moh give you a little something from me if you see her this weekend... just remind her if she forgets!

Small Step Backwards

Ughh, okay so now I have quite the dilemma. I got a call today from the director of the student film I got the part for and he told me that they are shooting the film THIS weekend. That is bad because I am supposed to be in MN THIS weekend. Part of me wants to forgot about the movie and go back to MN. The other part of me says that I need to honor the commitment I made to the film when I auditioned for the part. I know that it's only a student film but who knows it could turn out great. AHHH!

So I am gonna take today to think it over. I was so excited to finally come back and see some of you guys! Okay.. time to think.

A step in the right direction

Okay, so this weekend I auditioned for a project called "Fable" at the famous LA Film School in Hollywood. It was like any other student film audition I have been on except for the fact that I had to do a cold reading. A cold reading is where you are given a scene or a monologue and you have to perform it right away without preparation. I felt I did a good job and was on my way.

Yesterday I got a call saying I got the lead part in the film! Now I am hoping that it is not shooting this weekend... because we're gonna be back in MN so I don't want to have to choose. I am guessing it won't shoot that soon so my fingers are crossed. More to come about "Fable".

Alex, I know you're reading so a big high five to you for learning the Btwist. A pretty sweet move huh? I am now 99% sure you are my only regular reader. haha.

Pics of our neck of the woods

At the request of my friend Anthony, here is what our habitat looks like. Maybe next time I will take pictures of all the animals that live here.

We're coming back to visit!

Wow, whenever I post new updates I can't seem to remember what has happened since I last updated... hopefully that just means I have been keeping myself busy and not that I am losing my mind!

Well first bit of news is that Mrs. Moh got a raise at work! I am so proud of her because I know she works really hard and she has made her presence at work invaluable.

This past weekend we took all the kids (all of Mrs. Moh's little brothers and her little sister) to Universal Studios for a day full of rides and overpriced memorabilia. It was fun and it was the first time I had taken the studio tour where they show you where alot of popular tv shows and movies are filmed. I know someday I will be working there as long as I keep working hard.

Another bit of exciting news is that I booked a job on a reality TV show called "Decision House". I went in today to be the "karate instructor" that teaches some moves to a couple. Unfortunately just when they were about to shoot my scene the couple had a meltdown and the wife stormed off the set. They canned my scene :(
Although that's a bit of bad news, the good news is that I at least booked the job, I still get paid, and I got to meet the judge on the show : the people's court..(or something like that).

Today I also met with McLachlan Talent agency for theatrical representation. Eddy is the agent there and we had a great meeting. He liked me and he wants to sign me to his talent list. I am going to follow up with him by Wednesday after I talk things over with my manager. If we decide that the agency is a good fit it will mean that I will have the opportunity to audition for tv shows and movies!

It is becoming more and more evident that my experience in martial arts has helped me in so many ways here in Hollywood. For all you taekwondo students, I challenge you to think of the ways that your training has improved your life in one way or another. I am sure that even one small positive change has made your life and will make your life that much better. I also realize that being a part of this business makes it really easy for me to know my shortcomings. The good news is that instead of letting those things get me down, I try my best to work on them so they can become strengths.

Lastly, if you care to see us again.... We are coming back to MN from the 28th-30th of September. We will be at Excel Friday evening and Saturday morning. Please come out and see us!

One more thing..

Here is a pic the director of Greenside sent to me. Thought I would share with you! Also... tonight Richelle and I are meeting MR. ZILLES for dinner. He is in town for work so we are excited to see someone from MN!

I got a Callback!

Hey guys I will start with the good news: I got a callback for the cisco job I auditioned for last tuesday! I went in yesterday as a stuntman and just stood in front of a bunch of clients from cisco and slated my name (looked into the camera and said my name) and talked about my stuntman experiences. I just basically told them I have worked with Jackie Chan and I would be willing to jump out of anything for the job. It was funny because at the callback there were a bunch of arnold schwarzenegger looking big buff guys and then there was me. Even if I don't book the job it is always good to get a callback. Right after my callback yesterday I went to an audition for Ross clothing stores. Today I went into work with the wife. My new temp job is to make calls to malls to see if they are interested in a certain type of project. It's about as much fun as it sounds... haha. Hopefully by the end of the week I will start working at XMA- I can't wait to start teaching again I miss it so much! I also can't wait to start working out again. The Headquarters is the coolest school I have ever seen so I am eagerly awaiting the opening.

I also found out over the weekend that I will be starring in a student film entitled : Love is. I auditioned for this project a while ago but I just found out this weekend that I will be the lead. Mrs. Moh and I finally went out on the town this weekend. We usually stay home or around town to save $$ but this weekend we went downtown to go hang out at the Roosevelt Hotel. Apparently it's a very exclusive place but one of the guys I will be working with at XMA is a security guard there and got us in for free :)
Anyways we made another celeb spotting. Richelle saw Elliot Yamin from American Idol and said that I should go say hi to him since he is my favorite idol contestent thus far. She didn't think I would go say hi but I just went up to him and said that I liked his music and we talked for a while. He is a really nice guy! Overall it was a great weekend of fun, relaxation, and football! GO VIKES!

Post-Greenside Blog

I AM BEAT! Literally as you can see! after a full weekend of shooting the film Greenside my body is sore from all the fake-fighting! Don't worry the cut is not real, it's just make-up.


I got back from Chicago yesterday and overall it was an awesome weekend. My flight got delayed into Chicago so I didn't get in until after 2am and by the time I slept it was 3am. The bad news is that I started shooting at 8am the following day. I shot a total of 2 days for about 11 hours each day straight. It reminded me of filming on set in Hong Kong except for the fact that this time I was working and not watching most of the time! My character Lachlan plays a major role in the latter part of the movie and I shot a few acting scenes and a lot of fight scenes.

Obviously I was hired on the movie for my martial arts skills but it was really important that I turned in a good acting performance so I can use the footage from the movie to start my acting reel. I had a lot of fun working on the fight scenes and they ended up turning out great! The surprising thing is that I actually had more fun doing the acting scenes! Hopefully they turn out great as well... the verdict is still out on that!

I met a lot of great people working on the film and I am positive a few of them will be really successful in the entertainment business as directors and producers. I was pleasantly surprised with their knowledge and professionalism on set. They used top of the line equipment and even the location of the shoot was top notch. After the shoot we would watch the playback and to be honest the quality looks like it's been done by hollywood pros. Anyways I am excited for them to complete the film so you guys can all see it! I think they said that they are going to put up a trailer on youtube within a few weeks so I will pass that on to you guys.

Mrs. Moh has been very very busy at work and she has already been put in charge of a lot of very important projects at work. She had a relaxing long weekend sitting out by the pool and going to the Malibu chili cookoff with the family.

Well now it's back to work here in Cali. Today I put about 25 headshot/resume packages together to send to various talent agencies for potential theatrical representation. My goal is to secure some meetings with these agencies so I can have an agent that can send me out to auditions for TV and film. Tomorrow I have an audition for Cisco (a tech. company) as a stuntman and then my class for commercial audition technique in the evening. I will let you guys know how the audition goes!

Dominos Pizza

Hello Everyone! Well Richelle and I just got back from our 2nd taekwondo class since coming out to Cali. Mrs. Moh beat me up pretty bad... no joke! We trained at Master Kim's school in Canyon Country (45 mins from us). Master Kim is my demo team coach and was Richelle's instructor when she first lived here a few years back. It's great to be back in an ATA school but it's different because we are only students and not instructors... not a bad thing just a change of pace. The atmosphere at a lot of other ATA schools is quite different. There were many times during class when I just wanted to get the class motivated or excited about being there. There were also times when I just wanted to teach the class myself because I miss it!

Earlier today I met with Mike Chat and the man he hired to be in charge of sales at the XMA HQ. I will also be a part-time sales guy. The school is looking great and should be finished by Saturday. I am excited for it's completion so I can have a place where I can work out regularly. After I met with them I had an audition for Domino's Pizza. It was a fun audition because I pretended to jump out of a window. I always get so excited for auditions because 1) it's just a really cool feeling to get nervous and excited about auditioning and 2) It is when i feel like I am really living the dream of doing the hollywood thing.

I am not putting any pressure on myself to book any commercials ASAP because I know that will only make it harder for me to be myself when i go in for an audition. I have been taking a commercial class on Wednesday nights that focuses on being on-camera so it's been really helpful for me. I know that in time there will be a commercial that will be perfect for me and I will be cast in it, i just have to be patient and roll with the punches. Just like what all of you guys have to do when you're dealing with different situations when it comes to school (starting soon for you guys!!!), life at home, work, or wherever. Just remember that luck = opportunity + proper preparation.

I am sad that we missed our first Woodbury Days in a while. That was always a highlight of the summer for us to prepare for demos and working at the booth and such. I still remember when a lot of you guys would hang out in the booth and break boards and perform demos in the booth for us like Riley and Mizelle last year. I hope everyone that went had a great time!

Well this week i am focusing on preparing myself for the film im shooting in Chicago this weekend. It is really exciting for me and it will be the first time I will be making a good chunk of money to support ourselves since we've been out here. The movie is being produced and directed by graduates of the Univ. or Wisc- madison and they have made some pretty amazing movies and I know that this one will be no different. I am excited because not only is my character in 2 major fight scenes but I also get to act! I better be good so I can use the footage to start my acting demo reel! I fly out on friday night, shoot all day saturday and sunday and fly back sunday night. I will be sure to take pictures and tell you guys all about it.

Alex H.... I went to the Subjection website a few times but I still can't seem to find the trailer.

Avey's- Richelle and I would love to take you guys for lunch or dinner while you're here! Just let us know when you'll be here exactly!

Corey- it was great to read your comment! I wish i could be able to make it to see you test for your 2nd degree but I know you're going to do great. You have been training hard and you deserve it. No matter what happens just remember to do your best and have fun! Keeko sounds like she is a lot of fun and I bet she would get along with our dog Cheech. He's the dog in the picture. I can't wait to visit you guys in Bismarck again, I will have to get in touch with Master Materi so we can work our schedules out so I can come see you guys.

for those of you that miss the cheech...

Long time no post!

Okay where do I start?? It's been over a week and i am finally updating!

Today Richelle surprised me by taking me to a surfing lesson in Santa Monica for my birthday! It was my first time attempting surfing and I was a little nervous because she had already surfed a few times but it turned out to be a perfect day for it and I found a new hobby! The cool thing about surfing is that you are in control... but not really- at the same time. You have to be "one with the ocean" to be successful. I ended up learning pretty quickly and got up on the board within a few tries. It's very tiring to paddle out to the waves over and over but it's also a great workout!

Unfortunately the XMA HQ opening has been delayed due to construction delays but that is to be expected with any new business. So I have been trying to find different ways to keep occupied. Last week I went into Richelle's work a few times to work in the warehouse doing random jobs like fulfilling shipping orders and packing boxes. Very blue collar, it made me feel like a real man :)

XMA should be open in a few more weeks so it will be nice to be making some money again so I can contribute! As far as acting goes.. I will be going downtown to perform for a video art project that will be displayed in a popular museum downtown. They will be using me to get some martial artsy clips. It should be fun. My next step is to land some meetings with theatrical agents so I can start auditioning for film and television in addition to commercials.

Please comment or email me to let me know how you guys are doing! Don't be strangers!

On a Video Roll... have to share this with you guys!

This guy is amazing!!!

Okay... Innovation at it's finest. My first Video Blog.

haha.

Hornilla's: Wow sounds like you guys are busy busy busy! That was an amazing story about your dad! I always knew he still had that enforcer mentality in him! Nice and cuddly on the outside and fierce and protector of the public on the inside :)

Well right now im just starting to really prepare myself for "Greenside", the indie film I am doing in a few weeks in Chicago. Let me tell you, acting is THE hardest thing I have ever done. That just means I have to work harder though!

In the meantime I got myself into another commercial class and hopefully the auditions keep rolling in. Oh yes I almost forgot, I audition for another indie film on Saturday. Anytime I can audition it's a good way for me to learn and gain experience. I was once told in this business: The more failures you experience, the closer you are to breaking through!

Anyways, I hope to be back in MN in early September. I will have to cross my fingers that everything lines itself up for us to be able to come back and see everyone! I think I heard that you guys have a testing and picnic this weekend... GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!

Okay.. another week.

Hey everyone!

Luke, it's great to hear from you sir! Thanks for writing me a message! Helm's, great to read from you guys too! Alex, checked out your heinz commercial.. I loved it man! Also congrats on the Target shoot! You should fly to L.A. and teach ME how to book jobs! haha.

As you guys know I had an audition for a Verizon commercial and I was trying out for the part of a Japanese boy band member. I was hoping that I would get to show some sweet dance moves and sing a song but unfortunately all I did was say a few lines:

"I thought you said you were going solo. That's why we split up the band.. remember!???"

It went pretty well and I had fun auditioning. The funny part was that in the casting office there were like 15 other asianamerican guys my age. It was so odd seeing so many guys that looked like me... I guess they're my competition :)

Tomorrow morning I have an audition for a Microsoft print ad. I am going in for an I.T. guy. Quite a drastic difference from a japanese pop star! Anyways I am just happy to have more auditions! I am gonna have to thank my Agent for working to get me in on all of these auditions.

I'll let you guys know how everything goes! Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading everyone. Only a few more weeks of Summer for you guys so get outside and enjoy the weather while it lasts!!!

Excited!!

Just had to post before I went to bed..

I got a call tonight from my agent and I have an audition tomorrow for a national Verizon commercial spot. The exciting part is that the role i am auditioning for is a Japanese Pop Star...!
This commercial was made for me... well it would have been better if it was a Korean pop star but I am not gonna let that slow me down.

I will let you guys know how it goes!

Also.. gotta give a quick shoutout to the HOvda's for being such loyal readers :) You guys are hilarious.

Putting things in perspective..

So I am sure you're all aware of the bridge incident. First I would just like to say that our thoughts and prayers are with those that were affected by this event. When I first saw the news out here it was pretty scary to think that I have crossed that bridge many times.. It just goes to show that anything can happen at anytime and sometimes you can't control everything that happens to you. Anyways I hope everyone's family's are safe and I will post again soon.

Slowly but surely..

In my endless quest to better myself as an actor I scheduled a private acting class with an acting coach to the stars- Shawn Nelson I will be meeting with him tomorrow morning for an hour to rehearse the lines from Greenside- the short film I will be appearing in during the first weekend of September. Although my role mainly consists of fighting, I do have a good amount of lines so I want to make sure I put in a good performance.

Today I drove over an hour in hideous traffic to an audition for an indie film titled A Battle of Tongues. It's about a group of high school kids that are a part of a debate team in a competition against other teams. My audition consisted of me losing my cool and having a nervous breakdown because our team was losing. I felt really good about my audition and the director and casting director seemed to be happy with my work. I will find out by Tuesday if I landed the role of "Paul". I hope I get it but I have no control over it now so I will just forget about it.

As for Mrs. Moh, she is proving to be a tremendous asset to her company as she is now heading up multiple projects. She's working on some pretty cool new products. My favorite is the Super Flying Monkey.... I'll have to post a picture of one... basically its a stuffed animal monkey that you can fling across a room like a rubber band. It's pretty awesome and I think kids will love it... I mean I love it and I am like a kid so it has to be true!

Spiderman!

Hello reader (s)!!

Sorry it's been so long since I have posted. Not too much has happened since I last posted and actually now that I think of it I can't even seem to remember what has happened. That just means I need to post more often so I don't forget! Well I just HAD to post tonight because we had a pretty scary/funny thing happen to us today. For the last few days, Mrs. Moh and I have had the house to ourselves because the family left on vacation to MN for the next few weeks. To get to the point we were cooking dinner and the Mrs. screams in terror out of nowhere.

You might ask why... well today we had an encounter with a BLACK WIDOW spider! Kind of scary, kind of exciting :)

Mrs. Moh is pretty scared of spiders so of course it was my job to kill it. For the next 10 minutes Richelle was looking up the Black Widow while telling me how dangerous it was. That only contributed to the growing fear I had over this small creature. I put on some hockey gloves, grabbed a hockey stick and started thinking about how I was gonna do away with this thing. Eventually I gathered the nerve to aimlessly thrash the spider with the blade of the stick and after about 10 seconds it was a goner. Now I am not the kind of guy that likes to kill many things but I felt I had to do this in order to protect my wife :) So now I am the hero for the night.

Ok that's enough of that. We'll try to post the pic of the spider that Mrs. Moh took of it. As far as other things go... Mrs. Moh is busy at work working on projects ranging from creating packaging for toys, scouting new and exciting toy products to sell, and creating new business relationships with toy companies in China.

I am trying to study acting as much as possible, tomorrow I have 2 classes to attend and on Wednesday I am meeting with the producer of the independent film I will be shooting in September in Chicago.

Not too much else going on.. we're staying busy and of course we're always thinking of you guys!

If you ever want to get in touch with us you can either comment thru this page or email us at richelle.moh@gmail.com or..
mike.moh@gmail.com

must get... training!

Hello Everyone!

Well Monday I had my audition for the Honda commercial. It went very well but I realized something... I NEED training in commercial technique! I kind of compare it to going to belt testing without going to class to prepare! Natural talent and skill can only take you so far, you need to be training to see the results you desire. The same goes for Hollywood! I think if I find a few good classes that is what is going to help me get over the edge and get me some callbacks and bookings!

Yesterday I spent about 9 hours at a photo shoot for a professional photographer's portfolio. There were 4 other people there participating in shots that were "lifestyle" shots. The theme was summer BBQ. It was a good experience and met some nice people. Today I am going to pick up my printed headshots and get myself enrolled in a commercial class.

For those of you that went to Fargo for the tournament... let me know how it went!!

Week in Review

Hello everyone,

Since my last post I have done these things...

- Joined the Actor's Network (www.actors-network.com)
This is a place where actors can network, learn the business of hollywood, and learn from fellow actors, casting directors, and agents. This will be a place I will spend a lot of time studying. I was actually referred to the actor's network by one of Excel student Alexander P's relatives!

- Mrs. Moh and I unpacked all of our boxes.
Lets just say that she has more jeans than I have anything... period.

- Selected my final 3 headshots for commercial use.
here they are!


- Yesterday I met with Aqua talent agency and they helped me select these shots. I met with the owner of the agency, Lawrence, who is also Korean. We talked for about a half hour about lots of things and then he had me fill out my info sheets which made me an official client of Aqua! Now my next goal is to book a commercial!

- I got a callback for a photo shoot for a photographer's portfolio. I am going in today to interview with him and if selected I will be used in his portfolio shots (which I could also use for mine).

- Monday I have a commercial audition with Honda. I am trying out for a young asian male officer role. Wish me luck!

Hope you guys are all enjoying your summer!

Lots O' Pix

roadtrip pix...









World's Pix



Supershow Pix

Viva Las Vegas!

Well we got back from Vegas on Friday night but I have been too lazy to post since then so I am doing it now.

We had fun at the Martial Arts Supershow. I helped Mr. Chat teach 2 seminars and for the rest of the time Richelle and I hung out, watched Transformers (WHICH WAS AWESOME!!!), and best of all got to meet Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell of the UFC!!!

Today is.... Monday. Richelle had her first day of work and this morning I followed her there so I could bring back all of our boxes that were shipped there. I had to take Richelle's step-mom's giant superduty truck and let me tell you i felt out of place driving that hunk of beast. Luckily both palets fit in the back of the truck and now we have all of our stuff here!

At 1pm I went to get my second set of headshots done by dennis kwan. (www.dennykwan.com). My agent said that my originals were good but that I should get a few more so I can have more of a range of shots. I met Dennis and was very surprised because he is a 6 foot 7 inch chinese guy. Wow he made me feel really short. Anyways I think we got some great shots and I will show you them as soon as i get them back.

I am now going to upload all my pics from way back when we took our roadtrip and share a bunch of pix with you all!

Feeling Hollywood

Wow. What a day! This morning I got up, prepared my headshots, resume, and demo reel and got dressed for my meeting with AQUA talent agency in Hollywood at noon. I gave myself about 45 minutes to get there and traffic was pretty heavy today so I got there just in time. I met with one of the founding partners of the firm and he told me about the business and how I could make my mark starting out in commercials. AQUA is a commercial agency that is relatively small and new. The meeting went great and they offered me representation. Little did I know that my first ever audition would take place literally an hour after my meeting! My agent sent me to an audition for the new Motorola RAZR 2 phone. I was shocked and excited at the same time. I didn't have time to go back home to get dressed for the part so I just went in what I had on. The audition consisted of me doing a mixture of fluid movements and martial arts so I just did a bunch of tricks and kicks and they seemed to be impressed. They were looking for a young and hip man and woman with martial arts or a dance background to star in this national commercial. I was pretty calm and collected considering it was my first audition. I feel really good about it and although I don't think I will book the role I do think that this was a great first audition that I can build upon. If I do book it, well then I will have a lot to celebrate!

Today was an amazing day running around Hollywood, I look forward to many more days like today! Well tomorrow we head to Vegas for the martial arts supershow for 3 days. I'll update again when we get back!

I miss you guys!

Finally!

After many hours of researching the web, numerous visits to dealerships, and countless encounters with pushy salesmen I finally have a car!

I decided to go with a new 2007 Honda Civic Coupe. I figure it's a nice, economical car that still looks cool and gets great gas mileage. It's great to drive and it when i'm in it it feels like I am driving a space ship. I went a little over my budget for a car so that just means I will have to just work a little harder!

For those that competed this weekend at the in school tournament let me know how it went by leaving a comment or emailing me I would love to hear from you!

Still settling in...

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the comments and congratulations! Well since we returned from Arkansas we have just been trying to relax and get settled in. Although it's been hard because most of our stuff (the boxes we had shipped) is still not at the house so once we get that we can start unpacking.

Yesterday was a fun day for me because Richelle and I went to visit the future site of the XMA World Headquarters where I will be working part time. Mr. Mike Chat invited me to see the new building and it is still a work in progress but once it's finished in 3 weeks it is going to be awesome! It is located in North Hollywood (30 mins from our place without traffic). The energy in Hollywood is amazing and I am so excited to be spending a lot of time there whether it is for work or pursuing my acting career.

I also had a chance to sit down with Mr. Chat so he could give me some guidance on what my first steps are going to be to launch my acting career. We talked for a while and he was very eager to help me out in any way. He even went as far as to give his commercial agent a call to put in a good word for me. A commercial agent is a person that helps their clients find roles in TV commercials and print ads. By the end of the day I had already called his agent to set up a meeting for representation and luckily I secured an interview for next Tuesday! If all goes well I could have commercial representation by the end of next week, but I won't get my hopes up yet. My next step is to start looking for an acting class.

Today Richelle, her Dad, two of her brothers, and myself drove about 2 hours south to San Diego to the San Diego County Fair. It's just like the MN state fair. It was a lot of fun but we are wiped out because we were there all day and night. Tomorrow we will pick up the rest of our boxes and start unpacking. I also need to find a car!! ahh all this stuff is stressful (a good kind though). Not to mention I have to prepare myself for my first meeting with an agent next Tuesday!

Next Wednesday (the 4th of July) Richelle and I are flying to Las Vegas for the Martial Arts Industry Supershow. The supershow is a convention for all sorts of people that work in the Martial Arts Business. I actually found out I was going a few days ago when Mike Chat asked me to go as a representative of the new XMA HQ.

Sorry about not getting in pics up yet, all of my electronic hookups and cables are in the boxes that we haven't gotten yet but as soon as i get that i will upload a lot of pics!

To all those competing in the inschool tourney this weekend good luck, have fun, and do your best!

Travel disaster!

Right now we should be enjoying a nice relaxing sleep in California... however that is not the case. We are STILL in Little Rock! Our flight got canceled yesterday and had to rebook for this morning. Hopefully we have no problems getting home today! I will upload pix from the last 2 weeks when we get back for you all to see.

Update from Worlds

Hello Everyone!

Just thought id give a quick update to everyone reading! Thanks to everyone that left comments for us, it is so nice to read them.

Well, I finally won an individual world championship. In fact I won 2! I won the traditional weapons and xtreme weapons world titles. I won the traditional weapons title by 1 point in a very tight competition. I tied for first in xtreme weapons and luckily I had a chance to go again and my 2nd time around was MUCH better and I won the tie break for the title in xtreme. There is a video of some of it on www.arkansasonline.com if you want to see a little. I placed 2nd in xtreme open-hand forms and 5th or 6th in traditional forms. Mrs. Moh had a great competition as well she placed 5th in her traditional weapons competition.

Tomorrow is the start of the new competition year and I am wiped out both physically and mentally. This week I started out with testing (i think i passed!), then went to 2 full days of 13 hour rehearsals for the world demo team performance that we gave last night at opening ceremonies and also my 4 top ten competitions. I guess I will just have to see how I feel tomorrow and decide whether or not to compete again tomorrow for the start of the next season.

I hope you're all enjoying your summer and I hope to hear from you soon!

-Mr. Moh

Road Trip!

havent had internet... here's a long post of the last few days!

Friday, June 15th

Well today was the final day of our XMA Summer Camp. We had a blast with all 20 of the kids and today was the day we screened the short movie we made to all the parents. The movie is called "The Xtreme Showdown". I can tell you this much, I am not a very good cameraman/director. Nonetheless it was a blast working with the kids, editing the movie, and seeing the finished product. I hope that next summer we are able to come back for a few days and hold another Summer Camp!

After all the kids left, the Mrs. and I were off on our 3-day trek across country to California. You should have seen how much stuff Richelle packed into our little car. Wow, I was quite impressed. The first leg of our trip was to Kearney, NE about 8 hours away. Shortly after we started driving Richelle took a look at the scrapbook that the Hornilla's put together for us with pictures and memories of a lot of our students. What a great keepsake for us to remember all of the people that have helped to shape our lives for the better. While she read the entries in the scrapbook, Richelle started to cry and she says that I cried a little too but I don't remember that part.... I guess it hit us right then and there that we actually made a big impact in a lot of people's lives and that made us feel really good but really sad at the same time to be leaving all of those people. If you are reading this, thank you everyone that contributed! Also, thanks to everyone that went out of their way to get us gifts and cards. We appreciate it a lot!! Okay back to the trip. The time went fast and we stopped at a restaurant in middle-of-nowheresville, NE called the Rusty Duck. Just picture a town about 3 miles off the highway with dirt roads and people driving around town in beat-up golf carts. If it weren't for our navigation system we would not even known it existed. Unfortunately it did and we ate a meal that was pretty much 3 times the size of any normal dinner serving. Needless to say we had a lot leftover. It was a very memorable excursion that I was glad we made but I made sure we ate quickly because we definitely did not look like locals and I am pretty sure I was the first Asian person most of those people in the restaurant had seen in person. We finally made it to Kearney which is also where the Univ. of Nebraska is located. We stayed at a Super 8 and were off right away in the morning.

Saturday, June 16th

Day 2 of our trip was our longest leg but also the most exciting part of the drive. Going from Nebraska to Utah was very cool. We drove through the mountains of Colorado and even made a spontaneous pit stop at the grave of Wild Bill. I guess he was a cowboy or something, I don't know too much about history. We continued on our way and enjoyed the scenery as we passed through Vail. Some of the houses in that area are amazing. We drove for a total of 10 hours that day but it was a fun drive and the day went by quickly. We stopped in Moab, UT and ate at Miquel's fresh mex Restaurant. We recommend that restaurant to anyone that ever makes it to Moab! We stayed at yet ANOTHER super 8 and rested up for our white-water rafting excursion that was to come in the morning.

Sunday, June 17th

The last day of our trip was also the most exciting. We woke up really early to go on a half-day rafting trip we had reserved before we even left MN. We shared a 10 person raft with 2 nice families (1 from wisconsin) and had a blast. The rapids weren't as crazy as I was picturing but it was a good introductory course for the next time we go rafting. The rafting took about 4 hours and it was a great break from all the driving. The only bad part of it was that all the rowing tweaked my back a little.. it's getting a little better now though. We continued to drive our way out of Utah and briefly into a corner of Arizona then into Nevada as we drove by the big lights of Las Vegas. Richelle and I have been there many times but it was a cool feeling to think we had driven all this way together. After we passed Vegas we had 4 more hours. Oh wait almost forgot... The most memorable part of this day was when we almost ran out of gas in the mountains of Utah. Leaving Moab we had just a little less than a half tank so I didn't even think to fill up. Little did we know that there would'nt be a gas station for many many many miles. Our car was pretty heavy and going up the steep hills of the mountains wasted a lot of our gas and we soon found ourselves going up and down the mountains with a fast-depleting gas tank. The gas lamp must have been on for over an hour! I prayed and prayed and I also had a few moments of panic in there too. When the meter hit the empty line we were 33 miles from the nearest station. Thank goodness for our navigation system that had all that info ready for us. Luckily for me Richelle stayed calm which helped me out a lot. I cut the air conditioning and started to carefully navigate the mountains without accelerating too fast. Thank goodness the last 20 miles of this nightmare was spend coasting down the mountain or else we would have been in trouble. It was about 104 degrees out and neither of us had any reception on our phones. We made it to a gas station and we didn't care that we were soaked from all the sweat that we built up in the previous hour. Ok... that was a long story. Skipping ahead again we made it into California and finally to Richelle's dad's house in Calabasas right at Midnight. We made it safe and sound to our destination and after 27 hours of driving I'd say we had a lot of fun!

Monday, June 18th

We spent the day unloading the car and taking frequent naps. It was nice to see how excited and happy Richelle's family was to see us. We hung out with Richelle's brothers and sisters and went to bed early because we were leaving for Little Rock the next morning for World Championships.

Tuesday, June 19th.

Somehow, we always seem to be late for our flights. Our flight took off at 5:30am from LAX so we had to get up at about 3:30! We made it to check-in about 40 minutes before our flight and barely made it. Right now we are in Houston on our layover and I finally found some time to write some entries! When we get into Little Rock I have to get to work immediately at 5pm to rehearse for the World Demo Team's performance at Opening Ceremonies at Alltell Arena. This is going to be a very busy and exciting week for the both of us. Richelle is competing for World Champ in Forms, Sparring, and Weapons. I am competing for world champ in Forms, Xtreme Forms, Weapons, and Xtreme Weapons. I wish I would have come a little more prepared but the last few months have been a whirlwind so I am just going to do my best and I believe that I will get what I deserve. Another thing I have going on is that I am testing for my 4th degree on Thursday. I have waited 3 years for this and I am starting to get nervous! I am confident that I will pass and that means I will be moving into a tougher competition ring. This will end up being a good thing because I am motivated by competition. I think I will eventually get much better just by competing with such strong competitors. Ok well we have to catch our flight to Little Rock now and if you've been reading PLEASE leave comments we would love to hear/read from you!

We made it!

Hey Everyone (or you for that matter),

Just thought I'd let all of you know that we made it to California Sunday night at about Midnight. Actually exactly at midnight. Too tired to tell you all about it but we had a blast on the way and I am excited to share pix and stories about it when I am not so tired!

Until then!

XTreme!

This week Mrs. Moh and I are hosting the XMA Summer Camp at Excel. We have 20 kids signed up and the first day of camp was on Monday. We had a great time working out, playing games, and learning xtreme martial arts. Tomorrow is the next day of the camp. Right now I am writing my first ever screenplay for the movie we will be shooting tomorrow and Friday. Let me tell you it is not easy to write a movie! haha but it is pretty fun to think about the kids doing these scenes. I think it will be a fun way for the kids to remember this camp with us.

We have only 3 more days left in MN. We still have a ways to go and we both feel like there's not enough time to get ready for the move! Today I got a call from Mike Chat (he used to be a power ranger and he created the Xtreme Martial Arts (XMA) Program) and he was excited that we were coming to California. I can't remember if i shared this in my blog or not but he is opening the XMA World Headquarters in Los Angeles and it will be opening in late July. It's going to be the first training center of it's kind with gymnastic spring floors, trampolines, and martial arts workout floors. Anyways, Mr. Chat offered me a position at the HQ a while back when he found out our plan to move to L.A.. I will be working part-time teaching XMA while pursuing my acting career. It won't be like teaching at Excel with all of the well behaved and hard working minnesota kids, but it will be nice to work part-time (3 or 4 days a week) so I can devote more of my time to taking acting classes and pursuing acting opportunities.

Well, better get back to work. Gotta finish this movie tonight, pack about a half a dozen more boxes of stuff i forgot i owned, and also take Cheech out on a run.

No more furniture!

Well today we sold our couches... it reminds me of when Richelle first moved into the townhome. She had no furniture and we would watch tv on the ground. As more and more stuff gets sold or packed up, we are slowly realizing how much our lives are going to be changing. It's scary but at the same it's all very exciting to me. Richelle is more comfortable with familiarity while I like to fly by the seat of my pants but she is excited too. We just wish there was a magical machine that packed and cleaned and moved us the California all by itself.

Just for fun here's a picture of us at a friend's wedding this weekend.

Tonight I said goodbye to my best friends....

... Our 2 HDTV's.... :(

It was their time, they had to go. I put them up on Craigslist a few days ago and they were taken from me tonight. We couldn't take them with us and we can most definitely use the cash to help out with everything. I have a feeling now that the TV's are gone my productivity will see a sharp increase :)

Already missing everyone!

Well tonight the Mrs. and I were unexpectedly called in to the school to teach classes. It was a pleasant surprise to be able to teach again. I had a blast teaching and it just made us even more sad to not be working with all of the students.

It's been so nice to have all of the parents of the students be so supportive of us, yet at the same time sad to see us go. We are going to make it a point to come back sooner than later to visit everyone.

Now it's time to go back to packing up box after box. We are having all of our stuff shipped to CA by palette. That should make it easier to drive across country without having to tow a trailer. If only we could figure out a way to bring Cheech along! Richelle doesn't think he would do well riding in a car for 27 hours... i agree. So that means we have to be without Cheech for maybe a few months! :( The good news is that Cheech won't take all of Richelle's attention from me!

Follow your Heart, Love what you do

I came across this video today and I just thought I would share it with all of you. It is Steve Jobs (founder of Apple and Pixar) giving a commencement speech at the 2005 Stanford graduation.



Over the past few years I have been thinking about how I would like to be remembered when all is said and done. I like to think of myself as a very ambitious person. I believe that for the most part people control their own fate. Growing up I always dreamed of being famous pop singer or movie star. Somewhere along the way my I let my own insecurities and the realities of life get in the way of those dreams. My parents wanted me to be a doctor and eventually we compromised on me pursuing a degree in business. I worked hard to gain admission to the best business program in MN, get a business internship, and find a well-paying job to pay the bills.

A few years back I had an internship working for United Health Care as a Sales intern. It was a great experience with great people and a great environment for learning what the corporate world was all about. The most important thing i learned at that program was that I was not meant to work in an office setting. It just wasn't for me. It was then that I started thinking about the martial arts industry as a career. Ms. K had talked to me about opening a school. That is how I started at Excel, that is also how Mrs. Moh and I started dating. I worked there for over 2 years, learned a lot about the business and more importantly discovered my passion for working with all sorts of people. Although things at the school didn't go exactly as I had planned, I met so many amazing people and realized that I have a career in the Martial Arts industry to fall back on. I also had the amazing opportunity to work on set with Jackie Chan through my martial arts career as well. That experience made me want to pursue my dream of becoming an actor even more.

I guess I understand why dreams often go unrealized. Life is filled with so many uncertainties; it is so easy to get caught up with the day to day grind of life. For me personally, it was my own doubt in myself that had always stopped me from actually pursuing my dream. I always thought that I could never do it, or that people would think that I was crazy for trying. Luckily for me, I married the most supportive and amazing woman that made me believe that I could actually do it. Watching the video of Steve Jobs' speech just reaffirmed what I have just begun to learn that life is too short to dwell on caring what other people think of you and that life has a funny way of working things out in the end if you stay positive and work hard at what you do.

Thanks!

I just wanted to thank everyone that made it out to our little ice cream social today to wish us well. It was so nice to see all of you again and it just reminded us of how much we will miss all of you!

Feeling old...

So today Richelle and I went to Burnsville to work out with our good friend Janelle (she owns the Burnsville ATA school). She has helped both of us with our forms and techniques throughout the years and is just a good training partner. Anyways I must have done something to re-aggravate an old lower back injury I had from gymnastics a while back. I cannot explain the kind of pain I felt today, it was bad enough that I let Richelle convince me to use ben-gay and extra strength tylenol. I RARELY use any medication for stuff like that. Anyways I have been going to the chiropractor and it's been helping I think but now it seems like it was all for nothing. I am hoping just a little rest will calm it down. On top of all that, Richelle just thinks I am a big wimp... I kind of agree :P

Tomorrow we are having our 2nd garage sale to help us get rid of a lot of our things that we won't be taking with us to California. In fact I still need to get a lot of furniture out to the garage tonight. After that I get to work with some of my favorite students at the school for some private lessons. I can't tell you guys how much Richelle and I miss working with all of the kids at the school. We are excited for this weekend's testing to be there to support all of the students testing for their new ranks. I think after Saturday's testing we are gonna have a little ice-cream social to say our final goodbyes to the students. If you are reading this (all three of you?)... please join us!

Well that's it for today, I feel pretty silly just telling you guys about my day but hopefully in the future I will be able to share more exciting things other than my back pain! (like being cast in a feature film!! haha)

Lazy and Unemployed

Well it's been a month and a day since Richelle and I got hitched. Since then I have worked only a handful of hours at excel. I truly miss being at the school all the time seeing students and families but it has been nice not working my body into the ground. Although we are both sad to leave Excel for the time being I think this transition will work out for the better in the end. I hope someday in the distant future I will be able to open up my own school and implement a system that fits my teaching style. But for now, it will be nice to place my focus more on training as a student.

An interesting fact you might like to know is that 95% of all union actors make less than $15,000 a year from acting work. Now, that is not much at all especially in Hollywood where cost of living is astronomical. That is why I need to find a flexible, part-time job that will help us pay the bills and keep me busy. Luckily for me, Richelle is going back to a full time job with a great company so for a while she will be supporting my acting career. I have a few jobs lined up for when I get out there but I will just have to wait and see which one works best when I get out there. They are both part-time teaching jobs which will be nice because it will not be everyday and it will be on a very flexible schedule.

For the next few weeks I may not have to work much but I need to remember that in a month from now I will need to really buckle down and stay as busy as possible. But for now, I am enjoying this time off while it lasts.... today we will be at afton state park with cheech having a picnic and enjoying this beautiful weather!