There's nothing quite like a good fight scene, who doesn't love seeing cinema's greatest
martial artists duke it out on the big screen? But while they might look awesome throwing
those high kicks, some of the most iconic martial arts actors don’t even have a black
belt.
It's probably important to get a handle on how the belt system works. It's also worth
knowing that the term "martial arts" is plural for a reason. There are hundreds of different
schools of fighting across the globe, and as much as movies like to simplify things
down to being either "karate" or "kung fu," those are only two of the most popular styles.
They're certainly not the only ones practiced by martial arts actors. In fact, many of these
disciplines don't follow a belt system at all, and many of the most revered martial
arts actors have no belts, simply because none were offered by their discipline.
Many martial arts actors also come from a dance background instead of a fighting one.
This tracks because the main attribute for a movie star is performance, not victory.
Fight scenes in any movie, especially martial arts movies, are about cooperation and telling
a story, rather than defeating an opponent. The best comparison is professional wrestling,
where many wrestlers show off their skills by fighting "Invisible Men" to demonstrate
how to take bumps and tell stories at the same time.
There's also a trend in martial arts now known as "black belt factories" or McDojos, schools
that teach watered-down, fast-paced martial arts lessons with the goal of pumping out
as many black belts as possible. This is done just so people can have the prestige of having
a black belt without putting in the work. Many martial arts websites now offer warnings
about black belt factories and how to spot them. In other words, in today's age, black
belts can be highly overrated, and just because an actor doesn't have one, that doesn't mean
they don't know what they're doing.
Bruce Lee is the name most associated with martial arts movies, and to many people, martial
arts in general. He almost single-handedly started the martial arts revolution in the
West. His movies are bedrocks of the martial arts movie genre. And he never held a black
belt in any discipline.
Lee's primary martial arts background was in Wing Chun, which he studied directly under
the famous Ip Man. He excelled at this art, but it just so happened that Wing Chun offers
no belts to its students. When Lee moved to America, he studied acting at the University
of Washington. He soon began teaching his own variation of Wing Chun, which eventually
morphed into Jeet Kune Do. He described this as a hybrid style rather than an organized
institution, and it's this philosophy that shines throughout all of Lee's movies.
"As an actor, as a martial artist, as a human being, all these I have learned from martial
arts."
David Carradine was best known for starring as the titular villain in Kill Bill, and in
the TV show Kung Fu as Caine, a Shaolin monk wandering the American Old West. Kung
Fu was the first exposure many Americans had to kung fu, or to any other kind of martial
arts, and in many ways, Carradine was the face of American martial arts. But not only
did Carradine have no black belt during the height of the show's popularity, he also lacked
any kind of formal martial arts training whatsoever.
Carradine originally relied on his experience in dance, gymnastics, and fencing through
the early stages of the show's run. He later developed a deeper interest in kung fu, and
while he never became a master, he nonetheless saw himself as something of an ambassador
for the style. Carradine later learned enough martial arts to produce his own instructional
videos on tai chi. But as for his skill as a fighter? As Chuck Norris, who faced him
in Lone Wolf McQuaid, once quipped:
"David Carradine is about as good a martial artist as I am an actor."
Gina Carano was the most recognizable name in women's MMA for years, and she's since
gone on to enjoy a solid career in acting. In addition to a series of direct-to-video
martial arts movies for the diehards, she has also appeared in Fast & Furious 6, Deadpool,
and The Mandalorian. Despite all these accomplishments, however, she doesn't have a black belt...at
least, not yet.
Carano got her start in Muay Thai, which doesn't follow traditional belt rankings. She compiled
a 12-1-1 record before getting involved in MMA, where she found even more success. Carano
was often labeled the face of women's MMA, where she compiled a 7-1 MMA record. Her final
match was a loss against Cris Cyborg, in the first ever women's match to headline a major
MMA event. Not long after, Carano went into acting, but she never left martial arts behind.
In 2014, she started practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, working her way up from a white
belt.
Jet Li is one of the most recognizable martial arts stars out there. American fans will know
him from movies such as Hero, Fearless, Unleashed, and more commercial fare such as The Expendables
and Lethal Weapon 4. All of this is backed up with genuine skill, too, and Li is a champion
in at least one field of martial arts. That said, he's never acquired a black belt.
This is because Li studies Wushu, a martial art with no belt ranking system. From a young
age, he was a martial arts prodigy, competing against adults before he was even a teenager
and winning a number of medals in the process. At one point, his Wushu team made a visit
to the White House and met Richard Nixon. The president humorously offered the young
Li a role as a bodyguard. Li responded:
"I don't want to protect any individual. When I grow up, I want to defend my one billion
Chinese countrymen!"
Li retired at age 19 to pursue a career in film.
"Right on."
Michelle Yeoh is one of the most famous martial arts actresses of her era. Most known to Western
audiences for her turn as Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies and Yu Shu Lien in Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon, Yeoh also has a long history of starring in major Hong Kong action flicks.
She performs many of her own stunts, too, despite having no formal martial arts training
and no belt of any kind.
Yeoh was a natural athlete growing up, but her true passion was ballet. She attended
the Royal Academy of Dance in London before her mother entered her in a beauty pageant,
which she won. That victory landed her an offer to star in a commercial with Jackie
Chan, and this snowballed into her acting career in Hong Kong and, eventually, Hollywood.
And as for martial arts? Yeoh once said:
"I don't profess to be, I can't profess to be, a martial artist because I've never been
formally trained. I've never gone through the belts system because I never had the time
in that way."
Cheng Pei-pei is often considered the first female martial arts star. She has had a long
and successful career, and was, at one time, one of the biggest stars of the Hong Kong
martial arts genre. Her role in Come Drink With Me is considered one of the iconic appearances
within the kung fu movie genre, but Western audiences might recognize her from her turn
as Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Of course, Cheng accomplished all of this
without a black belt of her own.
Cheng started her career as a dancer. She came to the attention of wuxia film director
King Hu, who was convinced that her skills in dance could translate to combat. She had
her doubts, but accepted the challenge head on. As she later said:
"I wanted to beat all the boys. If boys could do it, I could, too."
Cheng's willingness to get physical, take a punch, and do her own stunts got her far
in the industry, and cemented her legacy as one of the all-time martial arts greats.
Eve Torres made her name in the WWE, where she won the 2007 Diva Search and went on to
hold the WWE Divas Championship three times. After retiring from wrestling in 2013, she
took on acting work, playing Chancara in The Scorpion King 4 and facing off against Jackie
Chan in Skiptrace. She also appeared in an episode of Supergirl as the villainous Maxima
Because Torres comes from a dance background, however, she has no black belt to speak of.
She was co-captain of the Fly Girls, USC's hip hop dance crew, and also danced for the
NBA Summer League. She won the aforementioned 2007 WWE Diva Search, and worked full-time
as a wrestler for six years. During her time as a wrestler, Torres started practicing Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu.
In 2014, she married Rener Gracie of the famous Gracie BJJ family, who she met while training
at the Gracie Academy. She was awarded the purple belt in 2016 after nearly nine years
of study, and now teaches the Gracie Women Empowerment self-defense program.
Robin Shou was one of the more notable martial arts actors of the '90s. Best known for playing
Liu Kang in both Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, he also starred in Beverly
Hills Ninja opposite Chris Farley. On top of that, Shou appeared in all three of Paul
W. S. Anderson's Death Race movies.
Shou studied karate in college but disliked it, so he left the martial arts world behind
to become a civil engineer. But while on vacation in Hong Kong, he was recruited to be in a
martial arts movie, because of his noticeable large shoe size. He performed his stunts so
well that it quickly snowballed into a movie career. Shou later studied Wushu, a martial
art with no belt ranking, and has since used that as the basis for all of his fighting
scenes.
Even before the Keanussance brought upon by John Wick, Keanu Reeves had
enjoyed a long and illustrious career as an action movie star.
"You wanted me back. I'm back."
His turns in Speed and Point Break first demonstrated his big screen combat skills, before The Matrix
put him on the martial arts map, and his recent movies have shown off even more of the actor's
fighting skills. But despite battling Agent Smith and facing down the Russian mob, Reeves
has never actually earned a black belt.
Reeves has a bit of a sporty background, as he was a successful hockey goalie during his
school years. But for the titular role of John Wick, he had to learn both judo and Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu, since many of the action sequences in the movies feature moves that are very
common in BJJ. Since he started from the bottom, he earned a white belt and has been steadily
working his way up. In 2017, he was awarded an honorary black belt, but he has yet to
earn the real thing.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most popular forms of martial arts for actors. One such
practitioner was the late Paul Walker, who loved BJJ but never got his black belt, at
least while he was alive. Walker was an enthusiastic student of BJJ. He even made sure his movies
included action scenes that highlighted his skills instead of simple punches and kicks,
and techniques from his training sessions were included throughout the Fast and Furious
franchise.
Walker trained for almost ten years under Ricardo Miller at Paragon Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
in Los Angeles, and wanted more than anything to be a black belt. He knew he'd have to earn
it, however, and once said:
"I will get my black belt, even if I need to get it in my coffin."
Tragically, Walker fell shy of his goal before he died in a car accident in 2013. Miller
posthumously awarded Walker a black belt at his memorial service.
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