Interview with Matt Mullins
November 2004 (Los Angeles, California)
First of all, why did you start Sideswipe and what's its philosophy?
Sideswipe started unexpectedly. I was training in a local gym out in LA and one of the teachers there was a choreographer and she asked if I had some friends who could do the things I could and if we would be interested in performing in a show. I said yes, I got a few friends together and we performed for diesel clothing. To us it really did not seem like that big of a deal, it was the same thing we had been doing in competition and training for years, but to the general public who really had never seen martial arts performed in that manner, were blown away. So the philosophy became to begin to change people's perspective on martial arts. That it is not all about belts, breaking boards, and fighting. We want people to see that there is an expressive and entertaining side to martial arts.
What other talented martial artists have performed with Sideswipe to date?
Sideswipe has been privileged to work with a number of talented individuals: Jonathan Boyd, John Liscar, Chris Deveria, Chris Balualua, Steve Terada, Joe Gacayan, Hoi Le, Ben Brown, Laura Christian, Nick Batman, Danny Elman, Aaron Toney, Micah Karns, Geo Corvera, Jeff Ikijiri and Cody Hackman.
What are martial arts tricks? And what are your favorite tricks?
Tricks are a hybrid of a number of different martial art techniques mixed with jumps, flips, spins or twists.
Trick 1: Side Flip
My personal favorite move is a Side Flip (also known as a Double 540). You step forward, jump straight up in the air, and you bring your legs from one side to the other (kind of like a windshield wiper)
Trick 2: Butterfly Twist Round
Doing a horizontal full twist and round kicking as you land
Trick 3: X-Out
Back flip kicking out both legs
Lets talk more about tricks. How and where did you learn them?
Each trick has its own story of how they came to be. For the most part when a person has an idea for a trick they try to break down the steps to accomplish the move. Also a lot of tricks have similar mechanics to them so you do similar steps to get from trick to trick. Cool tricks also come from mistakes or just thinking out of the box.
How long did it take you to go from traditional to Xtreme?
There is never really a place where traditional stops and xtreme begins. It has to coexist other wise you won't be doing martial arts. Xtreme Martial Arts is always changing too, so I'm trying to still learn and change with it.
With so many shows and performances every month I wonder what would be your diet in a normal day and on the day of a show?
Diet is something that always switches. Because when you are training, you are able to control what, how much and when you eat. When you are performing shows, you are on the show schedule most of the time, so it is hard to maintain a perfect diet. But we do our best!
Have you ever felt scared or really nervous before going on stage? If so, how did you deal with it?
I really have never felt too nervous or scared, but that is mostly because I trust all the guys I'm performing with. We work together so well, I know we will always put on a great show. One time at a Dallas Mavericks Half time show, our music did not play. There where 20,000 people looking at us and we had to just start, but we all where in perfect unison without the music and it came out great.
When is your favorite time and place to train?
I always like to train, and the best place is always with friends, because you push them to do better and they do the same for you.
What's next for Sideswipe? Are you thinking on having girls or children on the team as well?
Yes, we auditioned for Sideswipe children, girls and boys, last October in Chicago. Over 30 kids showed up and most have great potential. We plan on forming the Sideswipe Kids Team soon!
