With a combination of judo and boxing, Cagney fights. Cagney, a skilled boxer, learned judo from John Halloran, who plays Captain Oshima. Together they choreographed all the fight sequences. Cagney was no stranger to choreography, he had choreographed almost all the dancing and boxing sequences in his previous films. Cagney earned a black belt in judo, but progressively worsening back problems forced him to stop practicing the art. This scene is irrefutable proof that neither "The Manchurian Candidate" nor "Billy Jack" were the first American films with an American actor using Eastern martial arts.