News flash: some of your favorite celebs could probably mess you up in a fight. That's what we learned while hunting downward which celebs hold black belts in different forms of martial arts, and while some may seem obvious (ahem, Chuck Norris), others are a total blindside.

It makes sense if you think about it. The martial arts require a different sort of meditative focus and physical capability than some other more than popular team sports, and then information technology's no wonder many of its practitioners are creative types and folks who have put in hard work in other areas of their lives, leading to long and prolific careers onscreen and in the spotlight. The martial arts are a great style to remain active and physically and mentally strong. Just a warning: some of these might make you lot experience a little lazy. If almost-nonagenerian Willie Nelson holds a black belt and slim-figured actress Sarah Michelle Gellar does besides, what are you waiting for? Hither are 10 celebrities who hold blackness belts in martial arts.

10 Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is turning 89 years old and he has not ane but two blackness belts - what's your alibi? He holds a 5th-caste black belt in the Korean martial fine art Gongkwon Yusul, though this is sometimes incorrectly reported equally Tae Kwon Exercise. The confusion is understandable; he as well has a black belt in Tae Kwon Exercise, a 2nd-degree black chugalug.

9 Sarah Michelle Gellar

Learning that Sarah Michelle Gellar has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do makes it a lot more than understandable why she was a lock for Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the actress holds a blackness chugalug in Tae Kwon Exercise and also has extensive experience in kickboxing, street fighting, boxing, and gymnastics. Thanks to her training, she did many of her own stunts on the bear witness.

viii Bear Grylls

British adventurer Bear Grylls, best known for his popular TV evidence Man vs. Wild and all of its subsequent spinoffs, is a true jack of all trades when information technology comes to survival. He became famous for his flashy survival stunts including the world's longest indoor freefall and the highest open up air dinner party on superlative of the Himalayan Mountains. He's a certified black belt in karate. Along with being an advanced military mountain leader and a ski instructor, his karate blackness belt is 1 of his favorite certifications.

7 Elvis Presley

Being the King of Rock and Roll wasn't good enough for Elvis - he had to be a seventh-caste black belt in karate too! He was awarded the belt in 1973 by Master Rhee, the South Korean main who still holds the title of "Earth Master" today. Elvis Presley actually served under Master Rhee equally an instructor.

6 Wesley Snipes

Actor Wesley Snipes has been training in karate since the historic period of 12 and holds a 5th-degree black chugalug in the martial art course. He'southward some other of our double-black-belters, as well holding a second-caste black belt in Hapkido, a hybrid Korean martial art. Though he doesn't hold blackness belt in these areas, he has too studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Capoeira, and Kung Fu, rounding out his skills in the ring of any kind.

5 Guy Ritchie

Madonna'due south ex husband - oh, right, and he'southward a filmmaker too, not just Madonna'due south ex - was awarded his black chugalug in Jiu-Jitsu in 2015 after years of training. He began his training in England and was a brown belt for seven years before finally achieving black belt status. He was so serious about his training, he even had a homemade mat area that he would "curl effectually on for hours."

4 Steven Seagal

Actor Steven Seagal first served as an instructor in the martial art of aikido in Nippon, where he lived in the early 1970s. When he moved to Los Angeles in 1974, where he is oft said to have get the first non-Asian person to open a dojo, teaching aikido at the school which his and so-wife's family owned.

3 Chuck Norris

Role of what makes Chuck Norris so intimidating is his many martial arts skills. He holds not ane, non two, just multiple black belts. He has accomplished this honour in the art forms of Tang Soo Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and judo. He even has a 10th Dan, or degree (the highest Dan you can have) black chugalug in Chun Kuk Practice, a martial art field of study which he himself founded.

ii Ed O'Neill

That'south right, Al Bundy from Married... with Children holds a blackness belt! For the younger folks: Jay Pritchett from Modern Family. He doesn't fifty-fifty consider these roles to be his life's greatest achievement. Nope, that title belongs to his blackness chugalug in Jiu-Jitsu - though he clarifies that he means that'due south his greatest achievement "apart from [his] children."

one Joe Rogan

The former Fearfulness Gene host and controversial podcast host Joe Rogan holds black belts in both Taekwondo and Jiu-Jitsu, a result of years of dedication to the martial arts. He began training when he was just 13 years old every bit a way to build confidence during his teen years and quickly rose through the ranks, staying with the martial arts as a hobby and pursuit from that point frontward.

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About The Author

Julia DeLois (176 Articles Published)

Julia DeLois is an histrion, writer, and comedian based in New Orleans. Besides writing for The Things, she too hosts the Available Theory podcast and is a contributor at Reductress. She co-hosts the nationally touring, sex positive one-act show The Air Sex Championships.

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