Folks, please refrain from any Chuck Norris jokes. I want a serious discussion. If you feel the need to make funny, start another thread. Thanks.
The scenario is simple if brutal: 65-year-old Chuck Norris (a former 6-time undefeated world champ in non-contact karate) is forced into a steel cage with a 30-year-old martial artist instructor. They must fight to the death.
The black-belt instructor is of average ability (for an instructor) and his style is yours to decide. No tricks, no weapons, no commercial breaks, no help from Texas Ranger Cordell Walker or MIA soldiers hanging out of a Huey.
Who wins–the seasoned senior citizen or the young, fast young lion?
Wikipedia lists his championships as non-contact karate, but I don’t think that’s at all correct. As best as I know, Norris was a full contact karate champion, beating guys like Joe Lewis and Arnold Urquidez. A fight against most (but certainly not all) “average martial arts instructors” would be like a retired professional title holder fighting a ranked amatuer.
If Norris’s opponent were an black belt instructor in a UFC style school (kickboxing, grappling, takedowns and BJJ no gi submissions), he would kill Norris or any other Karate black belt, even the current world champion, much less a 65 year old.
While I am open to correction, I don’t believe Chuck ever fought full contact. I believe he sponsored a full-contact competition or two, but did not enter.
As to the OP, pick an average kyokushinkai or Ashihara stylist, and old Chuck is going down. And if I can define one of these guys as “average”, Mr. Norris would not be collecting Social Security for long.
In this context you need to remember that in athletic contests there’s typically (there are some exceptions) not some huge divide between “the best” and all the also rans. The difference between the “best” and “the rest” is often surprisingly small. Almost any champions power and reflexes will be so (relatively) diminished by age 65 vs a 20 to 40 year old expert, that no matter how hard he trains that the 20-40 year old is likely to kick his ass.
You used to see this in boxing all the time where some ex-superstar tried to make a comeback in his late 30s to 40’s and got his ass handed to him by a mediocre talent.
