Martial artist to instructor to stunt woman.

Let's hear all about it.

Welcome to the Ata Nation podcast.

Ata Nation.

Welcome back to another episode of the Ata Nation podcast.

This is episode 183.

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Now, today we have a great show for you.

Not only do we have our awesome athlete of the week, but we have a ATA martial artist who is now gone into the stunt world to do stunts for movies.

This was such a cool conversation.

I saw this has been a somebody I know been following on Instagram and checking out and I saw that she was recently got to do a little tiny stunt work on Stranger Things.

And I don't know about you, but I spent the holiday seasons watching some stranger Things.

So I wanted to get her on right away and talk about what it was like to go from the stunt world or from martial arts to the stunt world, what kind of things that she benefited from having done atm martial arts and things like that.

So let's get right to that interview.

ATA Nation.

I'm super excited to have with us an awesome ATA member that I might have not seen around recently because she's gone on to do some exciting things.

Can you introduce us for ATA Nation?

Hey, ATA Nation, My name is Bethany.

Knox and I know you back from years ago at the Newberry School in Illinois, right?

Yes, absolutely.

I started at the Newberry School when I was 6 years old and stayed with them until I was 22, and then I moved on to do stunts.

Yeah, that's the thing.

That's what I want to talk to you about.

So you moved on to do stunts.

What was the.

Because you were teaching for them, working for them, you'd done it forever.

What was the thing that made you go, you know, what stunts?

I think I might want to go, you know, get, you know, thrown up on harnesses and shot and all these kind of things.

That's a great question.

I. I loved teaching.

I loved pouring into the next generation and that fulfilled so such A beautiful thing in my heart that I will always keep with me and take.

But I wanted to step out into something that was really scary.

I wanted to step out into something that I had never tried before.

Martial arts became comfortable for me, and I wanted.

In my early 20s, I wanted to step out and do something that I was terrified of.

I had seen so many people from the open circuits and just people that I admired that tried stunts, and I was like, you know, I love performing, and I love the energy that I get from performing and teaching is so wonderful, but I can do that even on an even bigger scale.

I can have an even bigger impact on a bigger scale.

The things that I love the most was just be playing a small little part in something that's so big.

And I loved the idea of that.

And I also thought that stunts was one of the most humbling careers because you have to put your body through crazy amount of stuff, and you're.

You have to hide your face and you have to conform to what the actor, actresses, the movie, the projects need you to be.

So I thought, you know, in this crazy world of film, what a better place to one use the martial arts, but also have a humbling experience all the way through it.

First, I got so many questions first.

Were you inspired at all by the.

The other people?

Like, I know XMA World headquarters was a thing back then, and they had the stunts training there.

You know, there were a lot of people coming out of there that were doing stunts and stuff.

Were there martial arts people that you were watching that were like, that seems pretty cool.

I want to do that.

Yeah.

There were people within.

Within our circuit and on the outside of our circuit.

One that is near and dear to my heart is Rissa Kilar.

She was one of my best friends going through the ranks of competing.

I saw that she had done log.

You know, I.

She was one of the biggest ones that I looked at, and I was like, wow, she is not only an amazing person, but she is pursuing something in this big world.

And I'm like, wow, maybe if my friends, some of my friends can do it, maybe I could do it too.

I also looked at people like Mark Canonesado.

He was a little bit in the ATA world, but went to open circuit mainly.

And some of the open circuit guys like Micah Carnes and Kyle Potter and some of the Justin Chang as well.

I watched them growing up and they were always on my YouTube, YouTube videos that I was watching growing up.

And so seeing them transition into the stunt world, I was like, wow, maybe I can do that.

And just being able to watch, you know, my heroes in martial arts transition into that world, I was like, wow, maybe I can do it too.

That's super cool.

Okay, so before we get to.

I'm going to want to know more about just the stunt world.

But how have you seen what you did for all those years in Taekwondo?

How has that helped you in moving to something else?

Gosh, that's a good question.

And it.

It has indefinitely.

You know, a lot of people think stunts is you just doing all the crazy things, which you are, but you also have.

You also have to be a teacher as well.

You know, you are the coach for the actor.

You know, you have to not only watch what they're doing, but they have to watch what you're doing, too, so that when they cut everything together, you guys look similar.

And so, you know.

Learning how to teach from the Newberries.

The Newberries poured in so much time with me and the other instructors on how to teach, how to teach properly, how to teach effectively, how to work with a big range of people from all different walks of life, and how to use teamwork.

Because it's not just about you.

It's about everybody.

Every single department, from the camera to the grips to.

To the background people.

You know, you have to learn to work as a team and really show value or give value and respect to every single department.

I think that's the biggest thing.

People are like, oh, the actors and the stunt people.

But it's like, no, we're just a small, tiny cog in the machine of filmmaking.

And it's learning that teamwork and that resilience as well on how to stick to it.

Oh, my gosh.

I could go on for an hour.

That's what I learned about, like, the resilience, some of that.

I'm sure you didn't, like, move to Atlanta and be like, I have all the jobs now because I don't think any kind of anything in front of a camera or dealing with Hollywood and those kind of things.

You know, I think everyone knows that there's more people, like, serving meals that are trying to be actors than actually in acting.

So how did.

How did that process go?

And how did, like, the perseverance and stuff you've learned from martial arts help you with getting started?

Well, that.

I love that question because, you know, especially in this time of life, I've been in it for about four years now.

I've had a lot of time to reflect.

And so at the beginning of my career, when I Came to Atlanta, I had no idea what I was doing.

I was like, let me just grasp at straws, go to these random gyms.

Let me figure out what this world is about.

Because I had no idea I was walking into something with.

I had a plan, but it's like a loose plan because you don't really know what you're really walking into.

And so something that I learned was in the Newberries had really taught me what is meant for you is meant for you.

And all the no's that you receive, that is like a sign that it's not meant for you, it's not working.

So I think every single no that I've gotten, which have been a lot, is I've gotten more no's than I have yeses with all of that, you know, you just learned that it's not about you, it's not about your worth.

It's.

It may be a reflection of areas that you need to grow in.

It may be reflection of, you know, things that might be needed.

But sometimes you just.

You can't take it personal.

It's not personal.

Especially in film.

You know, I'll go up for doubling jobs and.

And they pick somebody that I'm like, oh, well, I have those same talents too.

But you also have to remember they might look a lot more like the actor than do, you know.

Oh, yeah, I'm sure there's so many.

Yeah.

Things that come into play with it that you just are like, what.

What was it this time?

And I'm sure that's hard to get.

You know, we talked to, you know, Mike Chat, or.

Excuse me, not Mike Chat, Mike Mo about his acting and stuff.

Like, yeah, all the mics and.

And, you know, you get no's.

You get told you can't do this or.

Or whatnot.

It's just that perseverance in it.

So.

Okay.

I want to ask a little bit about just the world of stunting.

Did you go down.

Is there like a.

Like a stunt school that you had to go and do?

Or you just go and be like, hey, somebody punch me.

And how did it start for you?

Well, everybody's world is different.

Um, I. I'll be honest.

I started at a stunt gym that I'm not going to name.

Cause I.

It's not really a great stunt gym.

And I learned that very quickly going in.

Um, you know, learning some things, getting some injuries, and you're like, oh, this isn't normal.

Right.

So it's a lot of trial and error, but a lot of the way and Everybody's path in the stunt world is different, so this is just mine.

But I was able once.

I. I kind of left that gym after a month because I'm like, okay, I don't know much about stunts, but I know this ain't really it.

After I did that, I went to a.

Believe it or not, a trampoline gym for kids.

Like, one of.

It's called Defy or like, one of those.

And a lot of stunt people happen to be just, like, meeting there.

And I met this guy, Jefferson Lewis and Van Stokes, they're good friends of mine now who are also in the stunt world in Atlanta.

And they were so kind to kind of take me under their wing and be like, hey, this is how you fall on camera.

Because in martial arts we learn how to fall, but you have to make it look cinematic now, and you have to fall on purpose.

So they took me under their wing.

Jefferson Lewis, he.

He.

He's in the tricking world.

He was.

He was a martial artist, but he was big in the tricking world.

And they took me under their wing and they started, like, filming for me, filming little snippets of videos.

And I was like, oh, this is the way I can do it.

I can create videos and meet people this way.

That way I can kind of show my worth.

Because when I got to Atlanta, you need a stunt reel.

You need something to share with coordinators and things like that to see what you can do, what you can't do.

And so I'm like, ah, the first thing I got to do is get a good stunt reel.

So that means I got to try everything.

And so I was very lucky to get my start and meet them as great friends.

And then as I kept going, you know, we.

We went to different gyms.

So it's not there anymore.

It's temporarily closed.

But there was.

There's a jam la.

And they had opened up a jam in Atlanta for a little bit.

And so there was.

So, yeah, so I went there for a little while.

There is another stunt gym.

They've changed the name a few times, so I'm not really sure what it's called now, but there was a stunt gym down in Fayetteville that.

That people used to.

To go to.

So you would just kind of go all over, meet friends in a park and train my roommates.

When I first moved, there were actors, and then I ended up living with stunt people later.

And so it kind of became a little stunt house.

And we would film videos for each other and do boxing drills and Just all these different things to gather new skills and new things.

Rock climbing, boxing.

I would teach, you know, kicking classes every now and again.

You know, just anything to connect with the community and be more involved in the community, because that really are the people that are going to help set you up for success.

And then.

So you're building these skills, which you probably are.

Are.

I'm.

I'm guessing most of the people have some sort of martial arts background or some kind of physical skill background.

Yes, sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I mean, we have in.

In stunts, there's people that are football players, some people that were just actors that turned to want to do stunts.

We have people that are martial artists or trickers.

We have a lot of gymnasts as well.

And so we have even like, some lacrosse players and hockey players.

You know, it's just a whole spectrum, and it's up to them if they want to expand on their.

On their skills.

So their background might be ice skating, which is cool.

Sometimes you need ice skating in movies, Sometimes you need hockey players in movies.

So everybody's little skills definitely add up and the more that you can grasp onto.

Like, that's why I'll sometimes teach kicking classes every now and again, so that people that don't come from a martial arts background can.

There's boxing classes that are taught the.

There's even, like, creature movements, people that are, like, super bendy and crazy.

And that way they teach those kind of classes so that you can just expand on skills.

Because not everybody comes from those kind of backgrounds.

Oh, that's so cool.

So you're learning a lot, I'm assuming, then, like, do you get an agent?

Do you do tryouts?

What.

I mean, you're in an environment.

If you're someone who wants to do stunts, obviously you're not going to sit in, you know, Podunk, Indiana or whatever.

You got to go to Atlanta, or you got to go to L. A.

Or you got to go somewhere where that's a thing.

How do you.

How do you get your first job?

Well, that's a good question.

It's, you know, how people say it's all about who you know?

Yeah.

Um.

It's a lot.

It's a lot like that.

Like, your.

Your skill needs to match it.

But the Newberrys one time, or they said it actually a million times, you're the sum of the five people you hang around the most.

And that is really, really important in this world to surround yourself around people that are not only looking out for you, but are good people of Course.

Um, and that's of course, in any line of work that's hard to find.

But I was lucky enough to find some very good friends and make true connections and friendships.

And when my friend.

I actually started, before I did my first stunt job, I was a stunt assistant.

And what that is, it is.

It is the assistant to the stunt coordinator.

So it could be as simple as going to get them coffee or at the higher range, taking notes during budget meetings or on the even higher range too, like being the liaison between all of the different departments of who needs to helping the coordinators find.

Hey, we need a guy that's 6, 3, 2, 10, has this build.

Go find out.

Go find him.

We need somebody that looks like this.

So it's a range of all different things.

And I had a very wonderful friend, Brooke, who was assisting Heidi and Renee Moneymaker that were stunt coordinating the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

And they had a project that they were working on, Fly Me to the Moon.

It was with Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson.

And Heidi Moneymaker is actually Scarlett Johansson's double for all the Black Widow things, everything like that.

And so she does a lot of movies with her.

And my friend Brooke was moving on to other projects and kind of leveling up from being a stunt assistant.

And she had put my name in to be their assistant.

And so that's how I got my first job as a stunt assistant.

From there, I met one of the riggers on the show Noon or Saadi.

He is one of the all time OG coordinators over in LA.

He was part of the founders of 8711.

It's a big group over there that are now doing John Wick movies and all of that kind of stuff.

They were partially responsible for the fall guy or the fully responsible for the fall guy.

Excuse me.

And so he was one of the founders of.

That is now living in Georgia and he was just on the show as a rigger.

And those are the guys that like pull the wires for everybody.

And I became really close with Noon.

He became like an uncle to me or, you know, a really great mentor.

And he was the one to actually Taft me.

Tafting means that they.

The coordinator has to sign off on why we should allow you into the SAG AF reunion.

Okay.

And why they need you for this specific show.

And so he was working on a show with Will or a movie with Will Farrell called you're cordially invited on Prime Video and go check it out.

Yeah, go check it out.

And that was actually my first stunt job.

Ever.

He tafted me on that one.

I was able to work with him on that.

And then afterwards, that's when we did Bright Hard together.

And I was the stunt office coordinator.

I was the double for Anna Camp.

I was the double for Anna Chlemsky.

And then I got to do a stunt acting role in that one too.

So that was a busy movie for all of us.

That is so cool.

So it really is.

I mean, one knowing the right people, being the kind of person who wants to be known by other people, you know, like that you're.

You have to be the kind of person that somebody wants to build a relationship and whatever.

And I'm sure that your time in martial arts and those kind of things has helped with being that kind of person who will go out and be like, hey, I'll do this job because it needs done and I'm happy to do it.

And I'm honest and, you know, goal oriented and have respect and discipline and all these kind of things as well.

Absolutely, absolutely.

I mean, the, the part that's most important is genuine.

My friend Brooke, that was Heidi and Renee's assistant.

I didn't know she was her assistant.

That's not why I became her friend.

That's not why.

We were just in a boxing training class together and we bonded.

And one day I had told her I was like, you know who I'd really love to work for one day is Heidi and Renee Moneymaker.

And she's like, oh, that's so funny.

I'm their assistant.

I was like, wait, what?

You know, and it was a setup.

You weren't like, oh, yeah, I didn't know.

Yeah, it wasn't.

It fully was not.

Yeah.

I had no idea who their assistant was at the time.

And I think leading with a genuine, A genuine heart.

You know, there's so many people that want to get into the movie business.

I mean, there's so many people.

There's Tiktokers, there's Instagrammers, there's, hey, guys, welcome to the.

You know, and there's a lot of ingenuous.

But you, you have to be somebody that somebody wants to spend 12 hours on set with.

Somebody that doesn't mind going to get coffee every now and again.

Someone that doesn't mind put in the extra hours being flung around for hours on wires.

Like, you know, there has to be a no ego kind of business in it.

And you really.

It is genuine.

Like people say it is all about who you know.

And I, I personally believe the reason why and I believe the Reason it should be is stunt coordinators are putting their job on the line by hiring us.

You know, like we, we have to be the ones responsible for making them look good too.

And so of course they'll, they want to know who they're hiring.

Of course they want to like who they're hiring.

Of course they want somebody that represents the same things that they do.

And so, yeah, it should be about who, you know, in our business, you know, it kind of stinks sometimes when you're like, oh, I don't, I haven't met that person yet and I really want to work on this.

But your time comes, you know, and you have to be open to building those connections and open to not receiving anything in return.

You know, you have to be.

Yeah, that's great advice.

I mean, just for any position, not just stunting, if I want to do that, but I think that's a good, I mean, and that's what, you know, we talk in, in the ATA about, you know, going beyond the belt, you know, being a champion beyond the belt.

And that's that ability of being a real person, you know, discipline, respect, confidence, all these kind of things.

I could ask you a ton more questions about stunting and maybe I'll have you back again.

But I've got to know.

The thing that reminded me that you were out there stunting and whatever was this picture you posted where you got to stunt for a little bit.

Nancy Wheeler.

How did this happen?

So I was very, very lucky.

I had my name thrown in her main double, Shannon BE shares on this last season.

She is absolutely wonderful.

I think she might have been sick one day.

I mean, just like regular jobs, you know, people get sick.

People aren't able to be there for whatever reason.

You know, sometimes on our stunt contracts, we're not contracted through the whole show.

And so sometimes, you know, there's things that happen where last minute family emergencies, last minute, you know, whatever.

And so that's also part of just being ready, being ready to take the opportunity.

And I was lucky enough, you know, I think Shannon is the perfect double for Nancy.

I mean, she looks like almost exactly like her in body and face.

She's incredibly talented.

But I was lucky that my name was thrown in the ring to, to be able to be her double for a day.

I didn't do much on that day.

More of a support and things.

But that's what we're there for sometimes.

Sometimes it's not.

You're doing all the big things, sometimes you're there to support the actress.

So that the actress can get the most FaceTime that they can, because the show is about them.

It's not about us, you know, So I think it's really.

It was a wonderful experience seeing the sets built out.

You're like, oh, my gosh, I'm in the Upside Down.

This is crazy.

You know?

So any opportunity to.

To work on such a big show like Stranger Things, it was such an honor.

Yeah.

Do you have.

Are you working on a job right now?

Do you have jobs coming up?

You probably can't say much about things that you are doing.

Maybe dream stunt jobs that you might have.

Give us a little taste of maybe what's coming or what you'd love to happen.

Oh, man.

What I would love to happen?

I.

You know, this year has been really hard for all stunt people as film has gone a lot overseas.

So my goals right now is to get on an overseas team.

I would love to be able to travel more while I work.

So I've been blessed to be able to work in la and I've been blessed to be able to work in Georgia, but I'd love to take it a little bit more global and do some more jobs globally.

That's something that I'm really looking forward.

Looking forward to.

And then also, I try not to put too much pressure on booking the jobs, even though I am lucky that I have booked a good amount of jobs.

But right now, I'm working on my own projects as well, putting on my own different hats of learning how to film, learning how to edit, learning how to do vfx.

So I'm growing in that as well.

I have some projects coming up, some acting projects coming up, actually, so that'll come in May, but we're in audition processes for other things, and I'll be definitely back and forth between here and Atlanta in this early new year, is.

When I can say exciting.

Well, you'll have to keep us up to date.

I know.

I'll be checking out your Instagram so we can stay up to date on what's going on.

First of all, congratulations.

I mean, so cool to see an ATA person, you know, living the dream.

They want moving on, doing some exciting things.

And thank you so much for your time today.

Thank you so much for bringing me on.

It was an honor.

Thanks for thinking of me.

Man.

How cool to see an ATA martial artist out doing, you know, something neat in the film industry like this.

Super cool.

We've got lots of ATA people who have been out there in films and doing some cool things, so check that out now.

School owners, licensees, if you're interested.

Ms. Bethany Knox did mention that if you are interested in doing, like, a stunt seminar or something at your school, she'd be more than happy to come and, you know, do something like that so you can reach out to her online.

I think that'd be super awesome.

Maybe one of these days we'll have her in my area.

Now let's get to our athlete of the week, ATA Nation.

We've got an awesome athlete of the week with us today.

Hey, ma', am, can you introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Adamsa.

I'm seven years old, and I'm being decided, and I represent Integrity Martial Arts in Naples, Florida.

Oh, Naples, Florida.

Good deal.

We just recently had another student from Integrity.

I don't know if he was from Naples, though.

So that is awesome.

Some awesome students coming out of there in Integrity Martial Arts.

The Isaacs are some amazing people.

So I got a question for you.

If you're thinking about, like, tournaments, I saw on the Ambassador corner, you got some cool bling bling.

You like the medals?

What's your favorite event to do at a tournament?

My favorite event to do is weapons.

Ooh.

And what's the weapon that you like to compete with?

The weapon that I like to compete with is the BO staff.

Bo staff.

Oh, yeah, I saw that on the video.

That's awesome.

Okay, so I got a question for you.

You like to do the BO staff.

Do you do just the traditional BO staff, or you do you do anything else with the BO staff?

Any extreme or creative events for with BO staff?

Also, I'm gonna start do creating creative this year with the BO staff.

Oh, have you started working on the creative?

I haven't yet.

Yes, I. I started with the farm.

Oh, very cool.

I'm excited.

Has BO staff always been your favorite weapon?

Yeah, it has.

Good choice.

Donatello is the best ninja Turtle, and he uses a BO staff, so you have the correct weapon.

Okay.

Don't let anybody tell you different.

So now another question.

So at tournaments, we've got lots of great events, but sometimes we might have an event that maybe isn't our favorite event to do.

Do you have an event that maybe is not your favorite?

I don't think so.

You like them all?

You like to.

You like to do it all.

Do you like to hit people?

The combat stick?

Definitely.

I love that.

Yes.

You can't go wrong with hitting people with combat sticks.

That's always a good time.

What about.

So you said you were.

Are you a green belt?

Was that what you said.

Getting decided, green decided.

Okay.

So you probably got a testing coming up, you know, not very long.

I mean, it's holiday break, so maybe you haven't.

So do you got a goal to, like, be a black belt sometime soon?

Yeah, I have a go to be a black belt and then become state in district.

Oh, state and district champions you have.

So state and district champion.

You've got a goal for those.

Do you have a specific event you want to be a state or district champion?

Or are you like, hey, I'm going to try for all of them.

I'll get as many as I can.

I want to stress for all of them.

I love that.

It looks so cool to have all those patches on the back of your uniform.

You just want to collect them all, like Pokemon.

I love that.

Good deal.

Have you been practicing a lot over the holidays or you taking a little bit of a break?

Break.

I practice like three to five times a day.

Nice.

Very cool.

You are working hard.

I like it.

That is a champion.

Hey, speaking of champion, what does it mean to you to be an athlete that goes beyond the belt?

I know that's a tough one, isn't it?

Hey, so let me ask you what.

Oh, you know what?

I forgot to ask you this.

Let me ask you this question.

We talk about Taekwondo all the time.

We have things like respect, discipline, belief, self esteem.

When we talk about those, which one is the one that you think like, Ah, that's my favorite one.

I gotta.

I'm working on that.

Do you ever think honesty?

That's a great one.

I love that.

Very good.

Okay, now, is there any of them?

Like, I was just talking to somebody and we were talking about discipline as being the one that maybe we needed to work on a little bit more.

Because, like, I see the chocolate there and I'm like, ooh, I want to eat all the chocolate, and I need to have the discipline to not eat very much.

Do you have one of the life skills that, for you, takes a little bit of like, I gotta work on that one a little bit more.

Yeah, yeah.

Which one is the one that you think like, you know what?

I gotta spend a little bit more time on that.

Like a yes, I can attitude or more honesty or more discipline or discipline?

I. I don't.

You know, you sound like you're probably pretty good at discipline with all the working on your stuff three or four or five times a day.

That's awesome.

Well, hey, I think you are well on your way to being an awesome black belt, being an amazing example athlete out there.

It's so cool to see these athletes of the week that are all different ages and all different ranks.

We've got color belt athletes of the week, We've got black belt athletes a week.

I'm getting ready another week or so.

We've got an athlete of the week that's going to be, you know, he's like a, like a fourth or fifth degree black belt instructor.

And then we've got some that are, you know, green belt decided.

So super cool to have you inspiring others.

Is there any, anything that you would like to say to the, like, the people out there who might be watching that want to be an athlete like you?

What, what's something they should work on?

Maybe push ups.

Ah.

Oh man.

You know what, Master Isaacs is gonna be so happy you said that.

He's just like, push up.

More push ups.

I love it.

Hey, congratulations on being an athlete of the week and great job.

Keep training super hard.

Thank you.

What a great episode to start the new year on the Atnation podcast.

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I would love to hear how you guys are doing, setting your goals.

Shoot us a DM on Instagram.

We would love to hear how things are going for you and what you're planning doing in 2026.

Until next time, make sure you're out there becoming a champion.

Beyond the belt ADA Nation podcast.

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