IN A sheltered life based largely at a desk, I have managed to avoid any sort of scenario in which head-butting seemed like a good move. Now I’m being asked to do it with conviction. And it feels so weird that I’m struggling not to laugh.
The stakes are high. I’ve been taken hostage by captors unknown and am being frogmarched towards an uncertain fate. As a menacing man approaches, I kick him in the stomach. And so begins the fight choreography that I’ve been trying to memorise.
I turn to the baddie to my left and – WHAM! – toss her to the floor. Now I turn to the right and – BOSH! – I swing my head at Nikita Mitchell, a 34-year-old former dancer, who was recently Margot Robbie’s stunt double in Barbie. But being much taller than her and lacking physical finesse, I feel like one of those fighting giraffes on David Attenborough’s Africa series.
“Cut!”
Ian Pead pauses the melee to offer some head-butting advice. He knows his stuff; the wiry, 46-year-old former martial artist has worked as a stunt performer and coordinator for more than 20 years. He wants me to adopt a wider stance and move my whole body into the head-butt rather than just thrashing my head. I should also angle my face towards the camera.
I manage a slightly more composed head-butt before I take on more assailants. None of the blows connect, but when the camera position is right, the viewer sees no gap between fist and face. With each hit, stunties, as they call themselves, fall away, grunting and groaning with total commitment to the scene.
Denne historien er fra 23 May 2024-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 23 May 2024-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT
The unusual relationship between an heiress and her husband has taken a sinister twist
HOW TO MAKE A SUPERBABY
Noor Siddiqui says her company can test embryos for hundreds of conditions from diabetes to Alzheimer's. Critics call it social engineering but she insists she's just giving prospective parents the means to avoid a lot of future heartache
THE GROWN-UP BRAIN
If you think your brain deteriorates as you age, think again!
THE eyes HAVE IT
They're the windows to our soul - and the first place to show the stresses of everyday life. Juliette Winter reveals expert tips to de-puff, brighten and smooth this delicate area
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
It hasn't been an easy road but now this bodybuilding couple are making waves in the industry
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER!
Annetjie's about to get effective treatment for the skin condition that has blighted her life and she's looking forward to hitting the shops and facing the world
'SHE NO THREAT TO ANYONE'
When SA boxer Chris van Heerden's Russian girlfriend went to visit her parents she was thrown in jail and accused of treasonnow he's in a fight to free her
SUNK IN 16 MINUTES!
A sun-drenched holiday turned into a living nightmare for those aboard this luxury vessel
READY TO SMILE AGAIN
A groundbreaking surgical procedure will restore this Limpopo teen's badly damaged jaw and teeth
HARRY AT A CROSSROADS
As the prince turns 40, royal experts paint a picture of a troubled soul- isolated, homesick and struggling to find a purpose in life