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.
A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and would run his father-in-law's dojo for a time. He later moved to Los Angeles where he continued teaching aikido.
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.
He holds the rank of 10th Dan in Chun Kuk Do (which he created), 9th Dan in Tang Soo Do, 8th Dan in Taekwondo (the first westerner to be awarded the rank), a 5th-degree black belt in Karate, and a 3rd-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
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.
How Many Black Belts Does Steven Seagal Really Have?
What ended Steven Seagal's career?
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.
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.
Norris has received many black belts. These include a 10th degree black belt in Chun Kuk Do, a 9th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, an 8th degree black belt in Taekwondo, a 5th degree black belt in Karate, a 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from the Machado family, and a black belt in Judo.
After entering the film industry, Chan along with Sammo Hung got the opportunity to train in hapkido under the grand master Jin Pal Kim, and Chan eventually attained a black belt. As a martial artist, Chan is also skilled in multiple forms of Kung-fu.
When he returned to Memphis, Elvis earned his first-degree black belt in 1960 under Chito-Ryu stylist Hank Slemansky. Later, he trained in a Memphis dojo under Master Kang Rhee, who bestowed upon him a seventh degree black belt in March of 1973 and his eighth in September of 1974.
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.
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.
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 began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a Shōtōkan karate school. His styles consist of Shōtōkan Karate and Kickboxing. He eventually earned his black belt in karate at 18, and earned the rank of 2nd-dan black belt.
He is well known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons and innovative stunts a lot of which he performs himself. He is a Black Belt in Hapkido and trained in other Martial Arts styles such as Karate, Judo, Wushu Kung Fu Taekwondo and Jeet Kune Do.
Norris further proved his devotion to martial arts by creating his very own fighting style, known as Chun Kuk Do, and in true “Chuck Norris fashion”, he also has a tenth-degree black belt in Chun Kuk Do.
Unlike the biggest actors in the martial arts genre, Lee never had a black belt and only spent a very short period as a student in a martial arts school. Despite that, Bruce Lee is still renowned as a kung-fu legend and one of film's greatest martial arts actors.
He has a 5th degree black belt in Shotokan karate and a 2nd degree black belt in Hapkido. He has also trained in Capoeira under Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other disciplines including Kung Fu at the USA Shaolin Temple and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing.
Once a student has been awarded a black belt level, further stripes can still be achieved through merit and life long commitment to the martial arts. Once all further stripes have been achieved, the Master will receive a red belt. This is the highest level that a Master can achieve.
For a period of about two years, Lee and Norris trained and worked out together in Norris' backyard. According to Norris, their training together never involved an actual fight, but he has admitted in the past that some “sparring” did occur in their training – so did Bruce Lee vs.
In a Warner Brothers press release, Cruise is quoted as saying, "I worked for eight months to get in shape for this picture. I learned kendo, Japanese martial arts, all manner of weapons handling. I not only had to ride a horse, but I had to effectively fight while riding.
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.
But have you ever heard of Ip Man, the man who taught Lee how to fight? In the first half of the 20th century, in in the village of Foshan in Guangdong Province, Southern China, there lived a man known as Master Ip, or Ip Man.
