Manila Times- October 2nd, 2007

Go to this link to read this article on the Manila Times website.

Full Text below:
American martial arts champion teams up with Ronnie Ricketts
BURTON RICHARDSON is touted as the legendary Bruce Lee’s third man in the world of martial arts. The world champion is in Manila to promote his upcoming movie One Percent Full, in collaboration with local actor Ronnie Ricketts.
Known to those in the world of martial arts, Richardson is considered one of the leading mixed martial arts most sought-after coaches. A black belter in Brazilian jiu jitsu, jeet-kune-do and arnis, Master Burton (as he is fondly referred to) has trained and worked with a lot of Hollywood stars and top martial arts experts like Steven Seagal, Keannu Reeves, Randy Couture, Dan Inosanto and Bruce Lee’s son Brandon.
Being a seasoned martial arts expert, he wanted to know more about the art of arnis, which originated in the Philippines. So in 1979, he flew to Manila where he trained with the senior local masters of arnis. “I was not only satisfied with what I learned and discovered about arnis but I was also well pleased and amazed with your people and your country,” he shares. Although he did not marry a Filipina (he’s married to someone from Reunion island), Richardson reveals that he has been swept by the beauty and the charm of the Filipina. “I guess most island girls are gifted with this unique charm and innocence, and of course, of that famous Filipino smile.”
It was during one of his trips in 1999 when he had another training with Christopher Ricketts, the head instructor of Bakbakan International, which is known for its exceptional techniques in street fighting and one of the top mentors of arnis in the Philippines. “That was the time I was introduced to Ronnie and we hit it off right away. That was when we planted the seed of this movie,” Richardson recalls.
The last time a good action film was produced and shown locally was almost six months ago, by way of the courageous efforts of producer-actor Derek Dee. Ricketts admits that producing an action film is a big risk nowadays when low-budgeted indie flicks are a dime a dozen. “But we have to take risks. It’s kinda sad that it had to take a foreign producer-director to believe in the potential of Filipino actors and to make the move to invest here in our country, not only to give jobs to the people working on film but more important, to showcase what the Filipino can do.”
The movie was also shot partly in Hawaii and stars some local actors like Andrea del Rosario and Niño Muhlach. One Percent Full will have its red-carpet premiere on October 7 at the SM North EDSA Cinema 6 and will start its commercial run on October 10.