No stunt doubles were used for any of the fight or sparring scenes.
The location used for the Karate school was Esteem Jiujitsu in Petaluma, CA. When Mickey is first seen teaching, his student is an actual student from the school. "Paul" showed up one day, having no idea the school was closed due to the shoot, and the director asked him to be in the movie.
The Dubai desert shots were filmed in Merzouga, Morocco.
The Dubai fight tent was built inside the gym at Tomales High School in Tomales, California.
SPF holds both a black belt in karate and BJJ.