Kickin' it with Britney

Man teaches karate when not performing with pop star

May 26, 2009
By ASHLEY JOHNSON For The Sun

When you hear the term martial arts, you probably think of breaking boards or sparring -- not Britney Spears.

That is, unless you've seen Naperville resident Brendon Huor bust a move on Spears' "Circus" tour.

When he's not on the road with the pop star, the 21-year-old Huor teaches at Sharkey's Karate Studio, 2916 W. Ogden Ave.

He landed a spot on the tour after Matthew Mullins, a five-time world champion martial artist, asked him to help teach martial arts choreography to Spears' dancers.

"It turned out the dancers couldn't pick up the martial arts number fast enough," Huor said.

So Huor and two other members of Sideswipe, Mullins' extreme martial arts group, were hired. They perform before the show and during a transitional number between songs. Huor described the routine as "traditional martial arts fused with acrobatics."

Huor has been studying martial arts since he was 3. While growing up in Iowa, he traveled to Naperville to train with Mullins. At 15, he spent two years in China learning the national sport of wushu, which is based on fluid circular movements, in contrast to karate, which uses straight line techniques. Huor's unique style integrates elements from each.

"My ability to combine the two is really not something that most people can do," he said.

Performing the same routine over and over on tour could get boring, but not for Huor.

"There's always something new to learn," he said. "The talent on the tour is just phenomenal. There's always someone to train with."

And when the crew occasionally parties together, Huor gets to trade moves with the best dancer of all.

"We get to shake it with Britney," Huor said. "She's really nice."