Celebrities and the martial arts

[Baker]

Not sure if anyone here is into the martial arts, but I have a question about whether or not you’ve heard of any celebrities that may have earned rank in karate, judo, aikido, and so on. I’ve heard anecdotes about, for example, Bob Barker being a black belt, but found no hard cites. FWIW, I have a purple belt in the form of karate known as Hawaiian kempo.

[Snowboarder Bo]

Martial Arts Celebrities (http://www.your-martial-arts-resources.com/martial-arts-celebrities.html)

[thirdname]

Ed O'Neill, TV's Al Bundy, earned a black belt in brazilian jiu-jitsu from the Gracies, although it took him a long time.

al bundy gets black belt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3yjN1KrqfM)

[Simplicio]

Joshua Waitzkin, former chess prodigy, basis of the movie Searching For Bobby Fischer and (current?) spokesman for the Chessmaster computer games is a successful competitve martial artist.

[Baker]

Thanks for the replies!

The primary sensei at the dojo I attend is the son of a nationally known psychiatrist, who is himself a high ranking black belt in karate and was his son's first instructor.

I haven't met him yet, because I've always had a conflict on the times he's visited our city. You know, foot surgery can really mess up your training schedule, and the last time he was here I was not able to get out to the clinic he held. Grrr.

[PlainJain]

Elvis. (http://blog.arrowheadkenpo.com/elvis-the-worlds-most-famous-american-kenpo-black-belt/)

[Fionn]

Martial Arts Celebrities (http://www.your-martial-arts-resources.com/martial-arts-celebrities.html)

That list is fascinating.

Joe Rogan trained in taekwondo when he was a teenager and now does jui-jitsu.

[voguevixen]

That list is fascinating.



It IS! The internets have everything.

I don't recall if he if he "belted" or not but according to his autobiography Bob Barker did indeed study Karate...

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Under Chuck Norris. :eek:

[RealityChuck]

No one mentions Chuck Norris yet? He was US karate champion before going into acting.

[TreacherousCretin]

According to someone who used to know her, Daryl Hannah is proficient in one of the martial arts. Didn't say which one.

[SleepyDuck]

Martial Arts Celebrities (http://www.your-martial-arts-resources.com/martial-arts-celebrities.html)

Christ on a cracker, that page makes the average wikipedia list look like a peer-reviewed Scientific American article. There are not enough [citation needed] and [weasel word] superscripts in the world to salvage that abortion.

According to someone who used to know her, Daryl Hannah is proficient in one of the martial arts. Didn't say which one.

Assuming I'm not being whooshed, you should submit that. It would fit right in.

[Namkcalb]

No one mentions Chuck Norris yet? He was US karate champion before going into acting.
I think it was taekwondo.

Anyway, I don't think it counts if they became celebrities due to their martial arts ability

[11811]

I think it was taekwondo.

Anyway, I don't think it counts if they became celebrities due to their martial arts ability

Tang Soo Do, which was at one time considered Taekwondo's less-sports-oriented (ie, more serious) cousin.

[gaffa]

Kate Bush studied Aikido, though it's not known how far she went with it. Her brother John Carder Bush ran a dojo and she incorporated it into her dance.

[TreacherousCretin]

Assuming I'm not being whooshed, you should submit that. It would fit right in.

Not a whoosh. In a different online forum a while back, David Lindley was rather testily debunking the old story about Jackson Browne having "beaten up" Daryl Hanna. (Lindley and Browne are long time friends and musical collaborators.)

One of DL's points was that Ms. Hannah (who was famously athletic) was proficient in martial arts, and had Jackson Browne ever hit her "she would have kicked his ass."

.

[CalMeacham]

As the liok above notes (and as he himself has confirmed) James Coburn studied under Bruce Lee. Must've come in handy for those Derek Flint movies.

[BMalion]

I believe Chris Farley was a ninja.

[GargoyleWB]

Can't remember which movie right now, but Jimmy Cagney displayed some of his awesome judo skill in a movie fight scene.

Not on the linked list, but Lauren Holly studied Tae Kwon Do (I think). Was always an inside joke amongst my friends that she would always throw a circle kick in any movie she was in.

[Snowboarder Bo]

Christ on a cracker, that page makes the average wikipedia list look like a peer-reviewed Scientific American article. There are not enough [citation needed] and [weasel word] superscripts in the world to salvage that abortion.

Wow, that's some hyper-critical commentary ya got going on there. Which of the entries are you prepared to debunk?

[The Other Waldo Pepper]

Not on the linked list, but Lauren Holly studied Tae Kwon Do (I think). Was always an inside joke amongst my friends that she would always throw a circle kick in any movie she was in.

Scott Bakula apparently didn't start in with any martial artistry until the second season of QUANTUM LEAP, which isn't obvious until you notice that Sam Beckett pretty much only ever breaks out that one crescent kick.

[Sigmagirl]

Can't remember which movie right now, but Jimmy Cagney displayed some of his awesome judo skill in a movie fight scene.

It was Blood on the Sun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlejMy9zLdI) (1945). There's also a short scene in G-Men (1935) in which Jimmy is training for the FBI and taking a judo class. He's a quick study. :p

Oscar-winning actor Victor McLaglen (The Informer, 1935) was a champion wrestler and boxer before turning to acting, and taught both in a Hollywood "physical culture" school.

[The Other Waldo Pepper]

George Lazenby holds a black belt in karate, trained with Bruce Lee, and served as a self-defense instructor with the Australian armed forces before landing the role of James Bond (by breaking a stuntman's nose during the fight-scene audition).

[Lightnin']

John Cusack has a black belt in kick-boxing.

[JeffB]

James Caan is a 6th degree black belt in Gosoku Ryu karate.

[BMalion]

...

Oscar-winning actor Victor McLaglen (The Informer, 1935) was a champion wrestler and boxer before turning to acting, and taught both in a Hollywood "physical culture" school.

As well as being a veteran of the Boer War and briefly provost marshall of Bagdad. Mentioned in dispatches!

He could have kicked all our asses.

[SecretaryofEvil]

Joe Rogan trained in taekwondo when he was a teenager and now does jui-jitsu.

I'm not surprised. Rogan commentates UFC fights, and he seems to know what he's talking about. I gained new respect for Joe Rogan when he gave up pursuing his own comedy career and devoted his life to destroying Carlos Mencia's.

Getting back to the OP, Patrick Stewart trained as a boxer.

[Sigmagirl]

As well as being a veteran of the Boer War and briefly provost marshall of Bagdad. Mentioned in dispatches!

He could have kicked all our asses.
There's a picture somewhere of McLaglen standing next to Jack Johnson. They look like a couple of sequoias.

[BMalion]

By all reports Basil Rathbone was a pretty good fencer.

[Dogzilla]

Maynard James Keenan (lead singer of Tool and mastermind behind Puscifer) has studied Gracie Jiu Jitsu (he's on the list linked above).

My BF -- who teaches kung fu -- just started taking Jiu Jitsu classes. I showed him the video on YouTube wherein a fan jumps onstage with Tool during a performance and tries to hug Maynard or something. (I'm not quite sure what the dude's intent was, aside from being a drunken douchebag at a Tool show.) Maynard, without missing a word or dropping a note, took the guy down and got him in a submit position, where he kept the guy pinned to the stage so he could finish his song. The quality is crap, but the BF thought the whole thing was hilarious/pretty damn cool.

[Lare]

I don't see Steven Seagal's name on the linked list nor has it been mentioned in this discussion so far. Mr. Seagal holds an advanced ranking in Aikido and has, at times, been an instructor in the art.

[Lute Skywatcher]

French model Danielle Aubry landed a supporting role in Bikini Beach through her practice of savate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savate). Apparently, she's the Danielle who I've been wondering about regarding a certain "Tonight Show" clip with Johnny Carson.

[SleepyDuck]

Wow, that's some hyper-critical commentary ya got going on there...
Thank you for noticing. It's a skill I've been honing for decades :)

...Which of the entries are you prepared to debunk?

Debunk? I have neither the spare time nor the inclination. Hell, for all I know every statement on that site is true. My point (and yes there was one under that thin layer of snark) is about presentation; namely citing sources (a concept all dopers should understand) and weasel wording (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word).

Here is a statement:

David Akers, a placekicker in the NFL (American pro football), has trained in jiu-jitsu and shaolin kempo (http://www.louisvillemartialarts.net/viewInstructor.php?instructor_name=Allan+Manganello) since 2000.

Compare this to what we get from your link:

The illusionist/magician "hot-shot" Criss Allen allegedly has a background in martial arts such as kung-fu, karate and taekwondo.
Actor James Caan has reportedly trained with "Tak" Kubota for nearly thirty years.
The late Hollywood actor James Cagney (1899-1986) held a black belt in judo according to reports.
The Indian 'Bollywood' actress reportedly holds a 2.dan black belt in taekwondo.
Former U.S. President "Wild"Bill Clinton has allegedly been training taekwondo.
American actor James Coburn reportedly studied Jeet Kune Do under Bruce Lee.
The British band Def Leppard's guitarist Phil Collen apparently trains Muay Thai. He is also said to have a black belt in karate.
A source says, "Courtney is really loving the karate. She trains up to five times a week and loves the feelings of strength and power karate gives her. As soon as she's a qualified brown belt she'll go for the black belt. She's determined."

Bolding mine, of course. Do you see the difference?

And now, having expounded, I have a question for you.

Why so hyper-sensitive about a link that you probably just I-Feel-Luckied from google (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=1045&bih=482&q=martial+arts+celebrities&oq=martial+arts+cel&aq=0&aqi=g2g-v8&aql=1&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=8835l24289l0l28730l21l21l2l3l3l0l774l5659l0.4.3.4.2.2.1l16l0)?

[Snowboarder Bo]

And now, having expounded, I have a question for you.

Why so hyper-sensitive about a link that you probably just I-Feel-Luckied from google (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=1045&bih=482&q=martial+arts+celebrities&oq=martial+arts+cel&aq=0&aqi=g2g-v8&aql=1&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=8835l24289l0l28730l21l21l2l3l3l0l774l5659l0.4.3.4.2.2.1l16l0)?

Wow, snarky twice without provocation.

I'm not hypersensitive about it at all; I think you're projecting that.

The OP asked for some info, I found some info. If you want to make the claim that the info is no good, as you seemed to be doing, then I thought that perhaps you had more info. It's okay that you don't.

[pravnik]

Mark Dacascos, currently "The Chaiman" on Iron Chef America, is the son of Al Dacascos, founder of the Wun Hop Kuen Do branch of Kajukenbo, and is a highly trained martial artist.

Robert Downey Jr. studies Wing Chun and was getting ready to test for his brown belt as of May 2010.

Writer Sean "Seanbaby" Reiley trains in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. In 2006 he responded to an open invitation from director Uwe Boll (who apparently has some boxing skill) to fight critics who didn't like his films in a boxing ring. Boll reportedly did not answer.

As noted above, Ed O'Neill is a black belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and Joe Rogan received a brown belt from both Carlson Gracie and Eddie Bravo. I believe Maynard James Keenan has a color belt from Rickson Gracie.

James Coburn did train in Jeet Kune Do with Bruce Lee, along with Steve McQueen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a few other celebrity types. Most were likely "dilettante-ing" around, however.

Kris Kristofferson was awarded a Full Blue for boxing at Oxford University.

Off the screen, Mark Wahlberg is a skilled boxer.

Vladimir Putin is a 6th Dan in Kodokan Judo.

Lou Reed has studied Tai Chi Chuan since the 1980's.

[Snowboarder Bo]

Writer Sean "Seanbaby" Reiley trains in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. In 2006 he responded to an open invitation from director Uwe Boll (who apparently has some boxing skill) to fight critics who didn't like his films in a boxing ring. Boll reportedly did not answer.

Wow! I can't believe Boll still does that (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1ajzcGsLaA)! That worked out so well for him 5 years ago (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQJP1ksFVyM)! He's a destroyer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn7Yp3O1EOg)!

[pravnik]

Wow! I can't believe Boll still does that (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1ajzcGsLaA)! That worked out so well for him 5 years ago (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQJP1ksFVyM)! He's a destroyer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn7Yp3O1EOg)!
Yeah, Seanbaby's "The Saga of Uwe (http://www.1up.com/features/saga-uwe)" about the incident is pretty hilarious, and contains this bit of Nobel Prize winning trash talk:

"Uwe, learning that he wasn't fighting a midget, asked for my age, height, weight, and fighting experience. I e-mailed this information, along with the reassurance that the Holocaust survivors got together and agreed he was the worst thing to come out of Germany. I figured this would make him mad enough to ignore that I'm several weight classes above him in F-List Celebrity Boxing. It didn't. After reading my stats, he suddenly couldn't make it on the show. There was a short discussion of flying me to the set of Postal, but I'm not holding my breath. Uwe is the one making the Nerd Combat rules, and rule No. 1 is: Uwe only hits people who don't explode Uwe's face when they hit back."