Hollywood star Keanu Reeves accused of grappling theft as coach Firas Zahabi fires back at the actor

Time of India

02-05-2025

Keanu Reeves (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images) and Firas Zahabi (Photo via Tristar Gym)
The Tristar gym in Canada has produced some of the greatest UFC champions ever, including Kevin Lee, Robert Whittaker, Alex Garcia, Vitor Belfort, and Georges St-Pierre. Trained under the main coach,
Firas Zahabi
, these fighters have achieved commendable heights throughout their careers. However, Zahabi's influence seemed to have extended beyond the Octagon and left a mark on the world of Hollywood as well. In a recent video, the coach
accused
Hollywood star
Keanu Reeves
of
stealing
Zahabi's movie and copying it in the famous franchise, John Wick.
Tristar gym coach Firas Zahabi explains the web guard while accusing Keanu Reeves of stealing his signature move
Keanu Reeves has made a successful career for himself in the world of cinema, especially through the franchises John Wick and The Matrix. It is also said that the actor had gained some form of training in martial arts for these movies in order to pull off certain stunts himself. The results of his hard work can be seen on screen, with success coming from each of these movie franchises.
However, in a video uploaded on the official YouTube channel of the Tristar gym, coach Firas Zahabi could be seen accusing the actor of stealing the coach's moves in one of the John Wick movies. Zahabi, a few weeks ago, found out, while training with a student with the same name as Keanu, that the actor was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Following this revelation, the coach was surprised as he realised that a fellow Lebanese had copied his movie, for which he had not been compensated yet.
'It was a great move; it's called the web guard.' Zahabi explained his move, 'I used to call it the web guard. I used to rush people, punching and kicking, and then whenever they would grab a hold of me, if they grabbed me with an underhook, I would jump web guard. If I grab them with an underhook, I could also do it, so it didn't matter to me, which is what I loved. As soon as we tied up, I can get the fight to the ground.' He demonstrated the move through a tutorial video before moving on to showcasing the exact scene where Reeves had done the same move. The coach stated the major reason why he stopped doing that move was the opponent's knee getting bent, and there was a risk of permanent damage.'
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Undo
That time Keanu Reeves stole my jiujitsu move
'I put this move out of circulation. But then a man by the name of Keanu Reeves, the man actually dared to rip me off. Now, I'm used to the white man stealing from me, but if he's a fellow Lebanese, that's the problem.' Zahabi continued, 'Now that I know he's a fellow Lebanese, I must insist that I collect from him. When the white man steals from me, I'm not so upset. I expect it! But a fellow Lebanese? This cannot go unpunished. He jumps web guard in the movie. Long story short, Keanu, you owe me massari. I am coming to collect'
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While the movement in both clips, as seen in the video by Zahabi, looks similar, there has been no response from Reeves to the video as of yet. Only time will tell if the coach will be compensated for the move or if the accusation will be gone unheard.