Infobox actor
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = Birth date and age|1958|9|23|df=y
birthplace = Hollywood, California
deathdate =
othername =
occupation = Film actor, film director, film producer, author
website = http://www.scottshaw.com/
Scott Shaw (born 23 September 1958) is an American author, journalist, actor, film director, film producer, musician, and a well-known martial artist.
Background
Early life
Shaw was born in Hollywood, California. He spent his early years in South Central Los Angeles and then returned to Hollywood for his adolescence. He became involved with both the martial arts and eastern mysticism at a very early age. Both of these subjects have come to define much of his life.
Career
Shaw has had an extensive career in both the arts and the sciences. He first became noticed as an author when his poetry and literary fiction began to be published in literary journals in the late 1970s. [ " [http://www.poemhunter.com/scott-shaw/biography/poet-210827/ Biography] at Poetry Hunter.com"] Beginning in the mid 1980s Shaw's writings also began to be published on the subjects of anthropology and the social sciences. Though his writings have span many genres, Shaw is perhaps most well known as an author on the subject of the martial arts. This is due to the voluminous amount of written work he has composed on the subject. Over three hundred of his articles on the martial arts have been published and he is the author of several books on the subject.
The foundation for Shaw's writings on the martial arts began when he was six years old. This is the point when he began his study of the Korean martial art of Hapkido. [ [http://www.completemartialarts.com/whoswho/halloffame/scottshaw.htm "The Complete Martial Art Hall of Fame"] ] Shaw initially studied Hapkido under the direction of Duk Hyun Son. He later went on to study with Sea Ho Choi, Hee Hwan Yoon and Sung Soo Lee.
Shaw studied and taught Hapkido and Taekwondo until in 1987 he was the first American to be awarded the 7th Degree Black Belt in Moo Duk Kwan Taekwondo. In 1988 he earned the rank of 7th Degree Black Belt in Kumdo. In 1996 he was the first non-Korean to be promoted to the rank of 7th Degree Black Belt by The Korea Hapkido Federation. [ " [http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0644/98009214-b.html Biographical Record] at the Library of Congress"] Previous to this he had been certified a Hapkido 7th Degree Black Belt in Hapkido Moohak Kwan. [ "Inside Kung Fu, October 1996" ] Since that time he has been promoted to 8th Degree Black Belt in both Hapkido and Taekwondo.
Shaw has also written numerous articles and several books on Zen Buddhism, Yoga, Eastern Religion and Asian culture. These writings are based in the fact that from his youth forward Shaw has been involved with eastern meditative thought. He was a direct disciple of Swami Satchidananda. In addition, he studied with such teachers as Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and Thich Thien-An. By the age of eighteen he was a certified instructor of Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga. At this point in his life he travelled to India where he was initiated into various Buddhist, Hindu and Sufi sects and became Sannyasa. Shaw is also a Frater Rosae Crucis of the Rosicrucian Order. He is known to frequently travel in East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia documenting Asian Culture in words and on film. [ " [http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/author.php?id=43821 Biography] at Llewellyn.com"] He lives much of every year at his home in Kamakura, Japan. [imdb|0002396] ]Filmmaking
In association to his writings, Shaw is also an active actor and filmmaker. In 1991 he developed a new style of filmmaking that he titled Zen Filmmaking.[ In essence, this style of filmmaking is defined by the fact that no screenplays are used in the creation of the film. In an interview in Variety (magazine) Shaw explained, "In Zen filmmaking the spontaneous creative energy of the filmmaker is the only defining factor. This allows for a spiritually pure source of immediate inspiration to be the only guide in the filmmaking process". ["Variety Magazine, February 1998" ] ]Books
*"About Peace" (ISBN 1-59003-003-6)
*"Advanced Taekwondo" (ISBN 0-8048-3640-X)
*"Bangkok and the Nights of Drunken Stupor" (ISBN 1-877792-06-3)
*"Cambodian Refugees in Long Beach, California: The Definitive Study" (ISBN 1-877792-02-0)
*"Chi Kung for Beginners: Master the Flow of Chi for Good Health, Stress Reductions & Increased Energy" (ISBN 0-7387-0419-9)
*"E.Q." (ISBN 1-877792-07-1)
*"" (Contributor)
*"Hapkido: Essays on Self-Defense" (ISBN 1-877792-42-X)
*"Hapkido: Korean Art of Self-Defense" (ISBN 0-8048-2074-0)
*"Junk: The Back Streets of Bangkok" (ISBN 1-877792-05-5)
*"L. A. Tales from the Suburban Side of Hell" (ISBN 1-877792-18-7)
*"Last Will & Testament According to the Divine Rites of the Drug Cocaine" (ISBN 1-877792-00-4)
*"Los Angeles Koreatown: An Urban Geographical View of the Factors That Lead to Its Inception & Its Current Urbanization" (ISBN 1-877792-09-8)
*"Love Lived Too Long" (ISBN 1-877792-21-7)
*"Marguerite Duras And Charles Bukowski: The Yin And Yang Of Modern Erotic Literature" (ISBN 1-877792-45-4)
*"No Kisses for the Sinner" (ISBN 1-877792-12-8)
*"Nirvana in a Nutshell: 157 Zen Meditations (ISBN 1-59003-017-6)
*"Sake in a Glass, Sushi with Your Fingers: Fifteen Minutes in Tokyo" (ISBN 1-877792-22-5)
*"Samurai Zen" (ISBN 1-57863-104-1)
*"Sanskrit, the Language: Inception and Modern Day Ramifications (ISBN 1-877792-10-1)
*"Scream: Southeast Asia & the Dream" (ISBN 1-877792-01-2)
*"Shanghai Whispers Shanghai Screams" (ISBN 1-877792-26-8)
*"Siam Tracy" (ISBN 1-877792-25-X)
*"Simple Bliss: Nirvana Made Easy" (ISBN 1-86204-850-9)
*"Suicide Slowly" (ISBN 1-877792-14-4)
*"Taekwondo Basics" (ISBN 0-8048-3484-9)
*"The History of the Hmong"
*"The Ki Process: Korean Secrets for Cultivating Dynamic Energy" (ISBN 0-87728-879-8)
*"The Little Book of Yoga Breathing: Pranayama Made Easy" (ISBN 1-57863-301-X)
*"The Tao of Self-Defense (ISBN 1-57863-190-4)
*"The Most Beautiful Woman in Shanghai" (ISBN 1-877792-24-1)
*"The Passionate Kiss of Illusion" (ISBN 1-877792-04-7)
*"There Is No Wind Through the Trees on a Treeless Beach" (ISBN 1-877792-11-X)
*"The Warrior Is Silent: Martial Art and the Spiritual Path" (ISBN 0-89281-668-6)
*"The Zen of Everything" (ISBN 1-877792-40-3)
*"TKO: Lost Nights in Tokyo" (ISBN 1-877792-08-X)
*"War" (ISBN 1-877792-17-9)
*"Wet Dreams and Placid Silence" (ISBN 1-877792-19-5)
*"Wo' Ton of the Blue Vision" (ISBN 1-877792-16-0)
*"Yoga the Inner Journey" (ISBN 0-595-16549-4)
*"Zen Buddhism: The Pathway to Nirvana" (ISBN 1877792365)
*"Zen Filmmaking" (ISBN 1-877792-47-0)
*"Zen in the Blink of an Eye" (ISBN 1-877792-4-11)
* "Zen: Tales from the Journe" (ISBN 1-877792-43-8)
*"Zen O'Clock: Time to Be" (ISBN 1-57863-124-6)
*"Zero One" (ISBN 1-877792-20-9)
Filmography
*"Blade in Hong Kong" 1985
*"Guongdong Province, China: Poverty and Promise" 1990 (Documentary) (Director)
*"Long Feng cha lou" 1990
*"Sunset Beat" 1990
*"Just a Moment That Passes in Time" 1990 (also Producer/Director)
*"Zhi zai chu wei" 1991
*"Wu fu xing chuang gui" 1991
*"The Roller Blade Seven" 1991 (also Producer)
*"Long mao shao xu" 1991
*"The Divine Enforcer" 1991
*"Capital Punishment" 1991
*"" 1991
*"Palomino 1991"
*"Samurai Vampire Bikers From Hell" 1992 (also Producer/Director)
*"Nu hei xia huang ying" 1992
*"The Player" 1992
*"The Naked Truth" 1992
*"The Legend of the Roller Blade Seven" 1992 (also Producer)
*"Jing ling bian" 1992
*"Return of the Roller Blade Seven" 1993 (also Producer)
*"Samurai Johnny Frankenstein" 1993 (also Producer/Director)
*"Atomic Samurai" 1993 (also Producer/Director)
*"Samurai Ballet" 1994 (also Producer/Director)
*"Exploding Angel" 1995
*"Hell Comes to Frogtown III" 1995 (also Producer/Director)
*"Cambodia: Living in the Killing Field" 1996 (Documentary) (Director)
*"Toad Warrior" 1996 (also Producer/Director)
*"Shotgun Boulevard" 1996 (also Producer)
*"Hollywood Cops" 1997 (also Producer/Director)
*"Guns of El Chupacabra" 1997 (also Producer)
*"Guns of El Chupacabra II: The Unseen" 1998 (also Producer/Director)
*"Armageddon Boulevard" 1998 (also Producer)
*"Ride with the Devil" 1999 (also Producer)
*"Ghost Taxi" 1999 (also Producer)
*"Quest of the Invisible Ninja" 2000 (also Producer/Director)
*"Pop Beat Killers" 2000
*"Poppugurûpu Koroshiya" 2000
*"Liquid Tokyo" 2001 (also Producer/Director)
*"No Boundaries" 2001 (also Producer/Director)
*"Slip Into Oblivion" 2001 (also Producer/Director)
*"Undercover X" 2001 (also Producer/Director)
*"Sedona" 2001 (also Producer/Director)
*"Hollywood P.D. Undercover" 2002 (also Producer/Director)
*"Max Hell Frog Warrior" 2002 (also Producer/Director)
*"Max Hell Comes to Frogtown" 2002 (also Producer/Director)
*"Hitman City" 2003 (also Producer/Director)
*"The Rock n' Roll Cops" 2003 (also Producer/Director)
*"Vampire Blvd." 2004 (also Producer/Director)
*"Super Hero Central" 2004 (also Producer/Director)
*"Legend of the Dead Boyz" 2004 (Producer/Director)
*"" 2005 (Producer/Director)
*"The Final Kiss" 2005 (also Producer/Director)
*"Dinner and Drinks" 2005 (also Producer/Director)
*"9mm Sunrise" 2006 (also Producer/Director)
*"" 2006 (also Producer/Director)
*"One Shot Sam" 2006 (Director)
*"Vampire Noir" 2007 (also Producer/Director)
*"Yin Yang Insane" 2007 (Producer/Director)
*"Witch's Brew" 2007 (also Producer/Director)
*"Angel Blade 2008 (Producer/Director)
*"A Drive with Linnea and Donald" 2008 (Producer/Director)
*"The Adventures of Ace X and Kid Velvet" 2008 (also Producer/Director)
*"A Little Bit About What's Going On" 2008 (Producer/Director)
*"Naked Avenger" 2008 (Producer/Director)
*"Frogtown News" 2008 (also Producer/Director)
*"Sealed with a Bullet" 2008 (also Producer/Director)
*"The Hard Edge of Hollywood" 2008 (also Producer/Director)
*"Vampire Black Trail of the Dead 2008(also Producer/Director)
Discography
*"Jail House Brew"
*"Nights of Gothic Horror"
*"Ambient Light"
*"Just Zen"
*"Themes from the Zen Movies"
References
External links
*amg name|2:220846
* [http://www.scottshaw.com/ Scott Shaw: The Official Website]
* [http://www.filmreference.com/film/87/Scott-Shaw.html Scott Shaw Biography at Film Reference]
* [http://www.filmspot.com/people/354930/scott-shaw/index.html?tag=mini_view;stars;0&om_act=convert&om_clk=summary Scott Shaw Biography and Filmography at Filmspot.com]
* [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/395482 Scott Shaw Filmography at the British Film Institute]
* [http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/author.php?id=43821 Scott Shaw Biography at Llewellyn Encyclopedia]
