A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan where he would become the first American to teach in an aikido dojo. He later moved to Los Angeles where he continued teaching aikido.
The enigmatic Seagal commenced his martial arts training at the age of seven under the tutelage of well-known karate instructor and author Fumio Demura, and in the 1960s commenced his aikido training in Orange County, CA, under the instruction of Harry Ishisaka.
Throughout his career, Seagal has starred in numerous action films and even played a Navy SEAL counter-terrorist expert in the movie "Under Siege" [2]. However, it is important to note that Seagal's portrayal of a Navy SEAL in a movie does not make him an actual special forces veteran.
Ultimately, his biggest downfall took place due to acting. Getting employed became a tough task, not only due to actors speaking out against his authoritarian directing style, but also because of his reputation for sexual misconduct and assault.
For 15 years, until he returned to the United States in 1984, Steven Seagal lived in Japan, spoke the language, studied the martial arts and became a master of aikido. Not only did he have a rare inside look at the Japanese martial arts establishment, but he penetrated it as few outsiders had ever done.
Thanks to his participation in several movies, being a producer and martial arts master, Steven Seagal has a net worth of $16 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth estimates.
Aikido Wizardry and Beyond: Steven Seagal is widely recognized for his aikido skills and holds a seventh-degree black belt in aikido, which attests to his mastery of this martial art form. Additionally, he is the first American to teach aikido in Japan, demonstrating his deep-rooted connection to this art.
In a testament to his remarkable character, Seagal turned down an 8th-degree black belt in Aikido. He is still so really good at it though, that the CIA is rumored to have sent him overseas on missions when an enemy of the state needed a strained wrist.
It has been alleged that at some point LeBell heard about the claim and gave Seagal the opportunity to prove it. LeBell is said to have placed his arms around Seagal's neck, and once Seagal said "go", proceeded to choke him unconscious, with Seagal losing control of his bowels.
Seagal, who became a Russian citizen in 2016, is a seventh-dan black belt in aikido, as well as being the chief instructor within the Russian Federation of this martial art since 2018.
Actor and martial artist Chuck Norris got his start in the martial arts while serving in the military. In 1958, Norris enlisted in the Air Force and was given the military occupational specialty of air police, which today is called Air Force security forces. His goal was to have a career in law enforcement.
He has been commissioned as a reserve officer/deputy in Louisiana and New Mexico, and possibly elsewhere. Steven Seagal was never a police officer. He was reserve deputy for some years in Louisiana. That's basically a volunteer helper who puts in a few hours a week or a few more every month.
After spending many years there honing his skills, he achieved the ranking of a 7th dan in the Japanese martial art "aikido" and was instructing wealthy clients in Los Angeles when he came to the attention of Hollywood power broker Michael Ovitz. Ovitz saw star value in the imposing-looking Seagal.
Van Damme recalls that Peter Guber, the former head of Sony Pictures, wanted to promote a fight between them. “They were having an idea to have a fight between me and Steven at The Mirage [the Las Vegas casino resort],” he says. “Twenty million each. He didn't take the fight.”
“I know five dozen guys who could whip Seagal's hide,” said Wall. “He's going around saying 'No man dares face me' and 'I'll fight anyone to the death'. Well, we want to make it clear to everyone that he's just full of it… There's not just one guy who can embarrass Seagal.
Van Damme trained for 4 years and earned a spot on the Belgium Karate Team. He won the European professional karate association's middleweight championship as a teenager, and also beat the 2nd best karate fighter in the world. His goal was to be number one but got sidetracked when he left his hometown of Brussels.
Before entering the film industry, he was one of the Seven Little Fortunes from the China Drama Academy at the Peking Opera School, where he studied acrobatics, martial arts, and acting. Chan has been acting since the 1960s, performing in more than 150 films.
Although Sylvester Stallone has no formal martial arts training that we know of, we must presume that filming 6 Rocky films would have included a lot of boxing training, and that shows in the movies where he does a great job as Rocky Balboa.
A competent martial artist with a background in kickboxing, wing chun and karate, Statham frequently does his own stunts and, prior to his acting career, toyed with the idea of being a stuntman himself.
Steven Seagal's Japanese is good, in fact, the audience laughs with him from time to time in surprise when he uses natural-sounding Japanese. He moved to Japan around 20 to study Aikido and teach English, where he eventually opened a dojo teaching Aikido, and has spent about 10-15 years living in Japan on and off.
