“It’s called a break fall,” said Erik Elle, a senior theater arts major, before falling back and slamming into the mat with a resounding “whump.”

Meanwhile, KT Law, head instructor at the Jade Dragon Martial Arts Academy, does a complex dance with a silver sword, until he stops and reveals the blade to be nothing more then aluminum foil. Ryan Reed and David Ordoñez, a senior English major, both enter and immediately begin fighting each other. It’s just another day of training for their big movie, “Dragon Ball Z: Omega Force.”

Originally planned to be released at the end of this semester, the movie’s release has been pushed back to next winter, thanks to the arrival of the new stunt coordinator, KT Law, who has been in several movies, including “Batman Forever.” He’s been teaching the cast new tricks, and every Thursday and Sunday they get together and practice fake punches, kicks and plenty of falls.

“Dragon Ball Z” is a popular anime and manga series spawning an empire of collectibles and games.

“Omega Force” pays homage to the series and mainly consists of large-scale fighting. However, with a series like “DBZ,” known for its outrageous battles that level planets and crush cities, much of the training is practicing the kind of falls necessary for this kind of action, which will include lots of special effects and even some harness work for fighting scenes.

As the actors practice, Law oversees them, often interjecting to make the actions more realistic.

“Don’t try to kill each other, but you have to connect,” said Law, right before Reed was kicked in the crotch accidentally. Amid the laughter, Law helps Reed get up and they practice the move again in a way to ensure that Reed’s manhood won’t be crushed.

Chuck Miller, who co-wrote and directs the film, is careful to keep his film in tone with the rest of the series.

“I’ve got a couple of friends who know [CGI] effects backward and forward,” said Miller, assuring the film will keep up with the special effects in the animated version.

Miller plans to do several more action-oriented films after “DBZ” and said that he’s always looking for actors to join, e-mail, Miller at [email protected].