A Farewell To A Legend
This is going to be a short post, if for no other reason there is so much available online right now about the life of Chuck Norris. Born Carlos Ray Norris in 1940, he earned the nickname Chuck from another recruit during his hitch in the US Air Force in Korea, and the name stuck. While there, he trained in Tang Soo Do, a martial art closely related to Tae Kwon Do, whereupon Norris earned his black belt in just over a year. (Lest you think this was fast tracked, realize he trained five hours a day six days a week! On day seven he took a judo class, just to stay warm.) He would attend his Tang Soo Do sessions after pulling a full shift as a military cop. His class always ran the same training routine:
Once at a public demonstration in Korea, his teacher called him up to break a stack of roofing tiles. When he brought his fist straight down he broke his hand. His teacher was unfazed, and Norris continued to attend lessons with his hand in a cast.
After his discharge from the Air Force, he entered and won many tournaments. In those days, tournaments were "open" to related styles; there was little difference held for Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do or karate. Norris' exposure to other styles helped him to develop his own repertoire of techniques that afforded him tournament success. Fighters didn't pull techniques during Norris' tournament heyday, and bouts often ended with broken bones, knockouts and trips to the emergency room.
Eventually Norris earned black belt rank in judo, and much later Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He even developed his own style called Chun Kuk Do (later changed to the Chuck Norris System), using Tang Soo Do as a starting point, but also incorporates grappling techniques. While he was teaching in California, he began to gain celebrities as students. At the behest of actor Steve McQueen, who was one of his students, Norris began to star in martial-art themed movies, and the rest as they say, is history.
I have long regarded Chuck Norris as the best martial arts role model represented in movies and television. His onscreen martial arts were impressive, but not too over-the-top. The characters he portrayed were always moralistic and incorruptible. Indeed, off screen, Norris felt that the development of virtues and character were inseparable from the true spirit of martial arts.
Norris died two days ago in Hawaii after a "medical emergency." It's not clear what happened, as his family is understandably asking for privacy. He was 86. Given his devotion to training, fitness and clean living, everyone assumed he would live to a hundred or so. (See the photo above. This was taken less than a year ago.)
In summation I'll leave with a dose of humor. There are so many of these (of which the man himself heartily approved of), let's go with this one: "There are no bridges named after Chuck Norris. Because no one crosses Chuck Norris."
- First Hour: punches and hand techniques.
- Second Hour: kicks and leg techniques.
- Third Hour: combinations of the above.
- Fourth Hour: forms, called hyeong, which are prearranged fighting moves.
- Fifth Hour: semi-contact sparring with no protective gear.
Once at a public demonstration in Korea, his teacher called him up to break a stack of roofing tiles. When he brought his fist straight down he broke his hand. His teacher was unfazed, and Norris continued to attend lessons with his hand in a cast.
After his discharge from the Air Force, he entered and won many tournaments. In those days, tournaments were "open" to related styles; there was little difference held for Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do or karate. Norris' exposure to other styles helped him to develop his own repertoire of techniques that afforded him tournament success. Fighters didn't pull techniques during Norris' tournament heyday, and bouts often ended with broken bones, knockouts and trips to the emergency room.
Eventually Norris earned black belt rank in judo, and much later Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He even developed his own style called Chun Kuk Do (later changed to the Chuck Norris System), using Tang Soo Do as a starting point, but also incorporates grappling techniques. While he was teaching in California, he began to gain celebrities as students. At the behest of actor Steve McQueen, who was one of his students, Norris began to star in martial-art themed movies, and the rest as they say, is history.
I have long regarded Chuck Norris as the best martial arts role model represented in movies and television. His onscreen martial arts were impressive, but not too over-the-top. The characters he portrayed were always moralistic and incorruptible. Indeed, off screen, Norris felt that the development of virtues and character were inseparable from the true spirit of martial arts.
Norris died two days ago in Hawaii after a "medical emergency." It's not clear what happened, as his family is understandably asking for privacy. He was 86. Given his devotion to training, fitness and clean living, everyone assumed he would live to a hundred or so. (See the photo above. This was taken less than a year ago.)
In summation I'll leave with a dose of humor. There are so many of these (of which the man himself heartily approved of), let's go with this one: "There are no bridges named after Chuck Norris. Because no one crosses Chuck Norris."
Labels: Chuck Norris
posted by John Vesia at 3/21/2026 08:22:00 PM
<< Home