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Los Angeles Times Magazine
December 9, 2001
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Los Angeles Magazine
July 2000
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Blackbelt Magazine
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The New York TImes
September 2002
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Pocono Record
May 2009 |
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Pocono Record
July 2009 |
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July 2000
Blackbelt Magazine
By Adrienne Lee Bell
Santa Monica, CA - Whether you want to hone your hook kick to perfection or simply tone
your stomach muscles with a little laughter, Chris Barnes is the man you need to see. A
shorin-ryu karate stylist, Barnes has created a line-up of comedy routines that have appeared
on Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld and The Carol Burnett Show, as well as on MTV and
Comedy Central. He has also devoted a significant part of his life to teaching dojo lessons
by day and acting classes by night at his Comedy Dojo.
Barnes has an unconventional method of teaching. His classes offer the Zen of Shaolin along
with the karate of Okinawa, he says. "Chris Barnes teaches karate as improvisation," says
Daniel Weiss, a comedian and writer for Comedy Central. I don't think anybody else in the
world does that.
" Comedy is like karate sparring, Barnes says, because a person will either sink or swim
depending on the quality of his performance. Much of the secret to success lies in being able
to respond to the unexpected. Just as a martial artist cannot always predict his opponent's
punch, an improv performer cannot always anticipate what words of wit will come out of his
partner's mouth or what reactions a routine will elicit from the audience.
"To be a success in both karate and comedy, you cannot yield to anticipation or retrospection,"
Barnes says. "Both are merely an exchange of energies, which call upon discipline, mental
agility and spontaneity. This means you need to be truthful to the moment in order to explore,
heighten and intensify your skills."
For years, the Comedy Dojo has been a crossroads for comics and martial artists. Weiss
came for the improv and stayed for the shorin-ryu. Currently, he is studying both arts. "Barnes
speaks directly to the idea behind improvisation and karate," he says. "This requires
cooperation between human beings in order to work toward an end that is greater than
oneself."
Because two brains are better than one, improv is more dynamic and intense than any
one-man show. Not only is it a mental match for everyone involved, but it's also a physical
challenge - much like the martial arts. "Through the entirety of the improv piece a performer
must give more than 100 percent, " Weiss says. He claims an individual must be mentally
and physically equipped to provide the audience with vivid images and direction.
Adds Barnes: "That is the only way to ensure the audience gets a comprehendible comedy
routine. Just as a martial artist must dedicate all focus in order to effectively execute each
technique, an improviser must be immersed in the moment if he or she intends to establish
a connection with the audience."
Barnes hopes both his improv and karate students will learn enough to be able to unleash
all their abilities whether in acting or sparring. "Regardless of whether the student is stepping
on stage before an audience or walking down the street, it is important that each one has
enough confidence to adeptly unleash his or her skills in the most cumbersome
circumstances." He says. "It is this confidence that I hope my students will cultivate during
training."
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