I have a taekwondo background, but I also try to invent new moves and make sure that when I step into the Octagon, I'm a different fighter.
My mom took me to a taekwondo class, and I fell in love. I was seven years old.
There are a lot of kicks out there in taekwondo that are flashy, so I like all of those. My favourite is probably chop because I'm better at it than the others. But I like a good back kick if I can nail it well.
I've danced my whole life. Martial arts is just fun for me, it's all choreographed a bit like dance. I have done Muay Thai and Wushu, which is cool because it's very fluid dance. I also do Tricking. It's kind of like Taekwondo with the big kicks and flips and showier aspects of martial arts.
Training in taekwondo for eight years and then being able to do it in a film was pretty amazing.
I've been training super hard at the Lopez Taekwondo Academy in Houston, which belongs to my brother Jean. For me, I think confidence is the biggest thing; it's all mental. I train with the best of the best, including my brother Steven, a five-time world champion who won Olympic gold medals.
Not only are we like the epitome of the American dream, we've been successful at the sport for so long that we know the Lopez name will always be part of the taekwondo world.
I think our legacy will always be there. My brothers and I have carved a path for all taekwondo players, not just in the U.S.
I quite like thai boxing. But then I'm not surprised because I did taekwondo and karate and judo and all of that when I was a kid, and then just stopped when I got a bit older.
I started taekwondo at 5 or 6 years old and did a bunch of kick-boxing later, too. Eventually I became a black belt and coached as well. I did some basketball and softball growing up, but most of my activity was martial arts.
