Best known for action movies and his karate skills, Chuck Norris is often overlooked within the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Basically, it turns out that when it comes to martial arts, Chuck Norris is legit. In fact, you could argue that he’s so good that this turned into meme status somewhere during the 2000s. As a result, he probably isn’t taken as seriously as he should be.
For starters, he is a black belt in various disciplines including a 10th dan in Chun Kuk Do, 9th dan black belt in Tang Soo Do, 8th dan black belt in Taekwondo, and a black belt in Judo. In other words, that instantly means that he’s very good at striking and grappling. If you’ve ever sparred with a black belt Judoka then you’ll be wary of this. Obviously, Norris also trained striking before MMA was around – but he actually had a very decent karate record before his acting days – as he went 183-10.
However, it also turns out that he’s equally (if not more) proficient in BJJ. This is because it turns out that he has dedicated himself to the sport for more than three decades, and has chieved the prestigious rank of black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the tutelage of the Machado brothers. In 2015, he attained the rank of 3rd degree black belt in BJJ.
Overall, the Machados speak highly of Norris and in one interview Jean Jacques Machado said “Long story short he started training for us, when he started training for us we became very good friends. It was amazing like… right away he invited us to his house. Amazing person, we started hanging out.”
Not only this but he has also trained with the Gracie family over the years. In fact, he was once famously choked out by the legendary Rickson Gracie during a sparring session in the late 80s. This shows just how deep into BJJ Chuck Norris truly is.
In summary, this proves that Chuck Norris is the real deal when it comes to BJJ and martial arts in general. As mentioned previously, he grew up in an era before MMA but still competed regularly in karate and wasn’t afraid to throw it down in BJJ either. So, next time you think that Norris is just a meme or an actor, think again. It turns out that he’s a legit BJJ guy and despite his age, he can still hold his own.
