By Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Sports journalist
Icon of French combat sports, Jean-Charles Skarbowsky was able to draw inspiration from action and martial arts films, popular in the 1990s. He was therefore invited to decide between several stars of the genre, including Jean -Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris.
Before establishing himself as a living legend of his discipline, he took his first steps there somewhat by chance in 1991. It was then that Jean-Charles Skarbowsky discovered muay-thai, in which he subsequently made a career with multiple international titles won. And as a young fan of combat sports, he could not help but fall in love with Hollywood action cinema, which was very popular at the time.
JC Skarbowsky resolves the Norris/Van Damme dilemma
Long before becoming one of the stars of his sport, Skarbowsky could already admire the prowess of martial arts specialists on the big screen. Indeed, several stars in this field have made careers in the seventh art, including Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Regardless, the former world champion had to decide between the two men at the microphone of RMC Sport :
Jean-Charles Skarbowsky : I prefer Van Damme. His films are a lot nicer than Chuck Norris's. Afterwards, the appearance of Chuck Norris with Bruce Lee, it was magical. But I was a big Van Damme fan! I was trying to imitate him a little bit with his flipped jump kicks.
With his very ethereal and spectacular style, Van Damme therefore further conquered the heart of the Frenchman.
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That said, the latter was quick to find someone better than his Belgian counterpart, in the person of… Jackie Chan:
Jean-Charles Skarbowsky : Jackie Chan is a real stuntman. He does his stunts on his own, impressive stuff. I love her style! In terms of physical performance, he goes further than Van Damme.
Even more impressive than JCVD, the Chinese actor has not left as indelible a mark as that of two other icons in Skarbowsky's mind:
Jean-Charles Skarbowsky : Sylvester Stallone is my hero. I love it. At the time, he was my biggest movie star. Every time he fell, he got back up. And Bruce Lee, he's the one who got us into martial arts. Everyone who does it today, all teachers over the age of 40, were introduced to it by Bruce Lee. He was the idol of all of us.
Who knows, maybe JC will one day follow in the footsteps of all these big names and also experience global box office success.
Lulled by the action cinema of the great era, Jean-Charles Skarbowsky admits to having been more touched by Jean-Claude Van Damme than by Chuck Norris. This, without forgetting to also salute Sylvester Stallone or even Bruce Lee.
