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Jean Frenette 1961
The Absolute Best Ever Musical Kata”
Jean Frenette was born in Montreal, Canada in 1961. At the age of 6, he began studying judo and continued to study until he was 8. When he was 10, Jean began to study Sanku-kai karate under Maximin Mazalatran and earned his black belt at the age of 16.
In his teens, Frenette was an avid
competitor. He won many tournaments, both local and national titles in Canada.
He is a member of the Canadian Black Belt Hall of fame. Kyoshi Frenette is an 8th Dan in
Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate.He was a 10-time kata champion in Canada, and 2-time
sparring champion.
He also competed in Europe and in the United States where he won the U.S. Top 10 Nationals and the Boston Nationals. He won the 1st Bermuda Invitational and in 1982 he won the WAKO World Championships in Germany, WAKO in Italy in 1988 and WAKO in England in 1989.
This Goju-Ryu karateka stylist, was one of the most visible martial artists in the world drawing thousands of people to watch his demonstrations and to see him compete. He had a very theatrical style (pre-XMA) and people loved his fantastic kicks. He was a traditionalist, but added great flair to his performances as he matched the beat of music to his kata to give it a completely different appeal and flavor. His gymnastic background helped a great deal as well.
Nowadays he is involved heavily in
the movie business as a stunt co-ordinator and has rolled his martial arts and
gymnastics skills into the film business as one of Hollywood’s biggest stunt
and fight co-ordinators, as well as performer.
In addition to movies, he has premiered several TV series, in both the
French and English languages. As a
French speaker, he was welcomed with open arms in France, where his Sanku-do
International Karate-do organization had a large following.
Frenette’s entry into television movies began in 1977 with exhibitions in Montreal, and in 1981 he started with stunt work. He has authored several books and articles, is affiliated with two stunt groups, and owns the largest stunt rental equipment company in Quebec, Canada. He has never looked back, and his considerable martial arts prowess defines who he is. He is well organized, and known as an exacting and demanding team leader. He is known to run his stunt team exactly like a karate dojo!