I know bad things happen, but I never taught to had to write about a final farewell to Brad Allan. Born to be an athlete, Bradly James Allan managed to fulfill his wish to become one of the best stuntman on earth. The Australian martial artist was trained nothing less than the legendary Jackie Chan, spreading his knowledge in more than forty movies. This versatile professional passed away last Saturday, at the age of 48.
Born for this
Brad Allan starts his impressive journey to the martial art world at a very young age with boxing and karate. He studied wushu and gymnastics shortly after, at the age of 14, under Liang Chang-xing and Tang-wei, members of the Beijing Wushu Team. Very interested in the Chinese culture and language, the young Australian talent learned Mandarin at the Shanghai Institute of Sport. During that time Brad Allan passion for combat drives him to know more about other martial arts, among them: aikido, hapkido, taekwondo, wing chun and kickboxing.
The stuntman
In 1997, Brad heard his hero Jackie Chan was filming Mr. Nice Guy in Melbourne, so he took the opportunity to approach him on the set. Jackie was impressed by the language knowledge of the young man that want to give him the opportunity to test his skills as martial artist too. Brad proved his value and Jackie offered him an appearance in the movie, followed by a work as stunt performer in Jackie’s new upcoming movie Who am I? After this work experiences, Brad became a former student of Jackie and the first non-Asian member of the Jackie Chan’s stunt team.
Making history
Over the years Brad Allan continued to be one of the talented Jackie Chan’s stunt member, becoming team leader and starting to participate in Hollywood productions, following Jackie on the set of Rush Hour, Shanghai Knights and The Medallion. After the experience in the USA, the Australian martial artist started participating as stuntman in big production without his mentor Jackie, performing in movies like Pacific Rim, Wonder Woman and Solo: a Star Wars Story. Brad Allan skills were noticed also as stunt coordinator and 2nd unit director among which stands out the Kingsman movie series.
A last goodbye
The bad news of Brad’s death leaves all the people that loved this incredible man to grieve. A thought goes obviously to Brad’s family, his beloved Jackie Chan’s stunt team and his sifu Jackie, considered to him a mentor, a friend and a father, and reciprocated by the Hong Kong’s star. I invite you to give a final farewell to Brad Allan watching his last two upcoming movies: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and The King’s Man, both launching this year.
Train hard. Stay fit. Keep Learning.
Brad Allan