History knows many examples of successful athletes who swapped competitions and stadiums for film sets and sets, and managed to become the best in their new role.
History knows many examples of successful athletes who swapped competitions and stadiums for film sets and sets, and managed to become the best in their new role.
Among sports professionals who have mastered the art of acting to perfection, martial artists occupy their own special niche in world cinema.
Today we remembered the best and made our rating of the top 5 actors who would have no difficulty dealing with the bad guys without rehearsals and takes.
Bruce Lee
The legendary Hong Kong and American actor, director, and fight scene director Bruce Lee literally revolutionized the idea of martial arts in cinema. His main style of kung fu was Wing Chun. He later also learned judo, jiu-jitsu and boxing. And then Lee developed his own style of kung fu called Jeet Kune Do.
Throughout his acting career, Bruce Lee starred in 36 films, including Fist of Fury, Dragon Island and Game of Death, during the filming of which he died suddenly at the age of 33. 30 films have been made about the life and work of this popularizer and reformer in the field of Chinese martial arts.
Chuck Norris
A fact is a fact...Chuck Norris is so cool that he can even clench his fingers into a fist.
And this American film actor and martial artist became famous at the age of 34 thanks to leading role in the TV series “Cool Walker: Texas Justice,” which appeared on screens in 1993-94. Starring in numerous action films of his brother Aaron Norris also added to his fame.
The then Carlos Rey Norris Jr. (real name of the actor) began to master martial arts in the army in South Korea. The demobilization and future hero of the online cult returned home after three years of service with a black belt and the nickname Chuck, opened a karate school, which grew into a network of 32 clubs, won the title of world karate champion in the light heavyweight division, which he then retained for seven years...
Chuck Norris's film career was helped by actor Steve McQueen, who took lessons at one of the champion's schools. A cameo role in Bruce Lee's film "Way of the Dragon" sparked Chuck's interest in cinema, and he decided to thoroughly master the profession of an actor, like everything else he did. The 34-year-old karateka was not embarrassed by the fact that he was the oldest student in the acting classes. The result is the role of Cool Walker and worldwide fame.
And in 2005, the karateka actor was covered by a new wave of popularity - he became the main character of the famous Internet meme “Facts about Chuck Norris”... And all because... Chuck Norris never sleeps. He is waiting.
Jackie Chan
Chinese and American actor, stuntman, film director, producer, screenwriter, stunt and fight choreographer, singer, philanthropist, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, martial artist. Commander of the Order of the British Empire...Yes, it's all about Jackie Chan!
A boy from a poor Chinese family was sent to the Peking Opera school at the Hong Kong Institute of Opera Studies, while at the same time, for his health, Jackie studied in the kung fu section. As a teenager, he acted as an extra in several Bruce Lee films.
For some time, Jackie worked as a stuntman, then began to get more serious roles, but in the end he began making films himself...with himself in the leading role. Why? The actor invented his own genre, he does not want to endanger other people and prefers to perform the stunts planned for the plot without doubles. You wouldn’t want anyone to end up blacklisted by insurance companies around the world due to frequent “on-the-job” injuries.
By the way, in one of the interviews, Jackie Chan admitted that he wants to prove that he is an actor who knows how to fight, and not a fighter who knows how to act. Like this.
Jean-Claude Van Damme
If you thought that Van Damme was just a ballerina with good stretching, then you were very mistaken.
The actor, nicknamed “The Muscles from Brussels,” won the title of European champion in karate and kickboxing among professionals in the middle weight in 1979, and has a black belt.
During his fighting career (karate and kickboxing), he fought a total of 22 fights, in which he won 20 victories (13 of them by knockout, 7 by technical knockout) and lost only 2 times by decision of the judges. In the 80s he was a sparring partner of Chuck Norris. By the way, since 2009, Jean-Claude has repeatedly stated his intention to fight against the 1996 Olympic boxing champion, Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer Somluk Kamsing... And yes, indeed, for five years Van Damme trained professionally in classical ballet.
Jean-Claude became an action star after his success in the film “Bloodsport”; the rest of the films only strengthened him. The popularity of action films began to decline, and rumors about the quarrelsome character of the actor, who even somehow lost the role due to a brawl with management, contributed to the decline in success.
And yet, for Van Damme’s signature splits, many shortcomings must be forgiven.
Steven Seagal
American film actor, producer, screenwriter, director, sheriff and martial artist Steven Seagal began mastering the art of karate at the age of seven. But after learning about aikido, I became so fascinated by this form that I moved to live in Japan and studied martial art from the great aikido masters Seo, Koichi Tohei, Isoyama and Abe.
As a result, the future Hollywood actor achieved very high level knowledge of Aikido technique, participated in seminars, taught in the section. It was in Japan that Seagal first encountered the film business - he was invited to film as an expert in Japanese fencing. Then, returning to his homeland in the USA, the aikido skills of the future Niko became interested in influential people from Hollywood, who began to take lessons from him, but that was not the end of it. The bright personality of the aikido teacher could not leave filmmakers indifferent. The film "Above the Law" was the debut for Steven Seagal, and although it received limited funding, it turned out to be very successful at the box office. The newly minted martial artist actor did not have to wait long for new filming offers. Soon Seagal became interested in Buddhism and disappeared, and after a break he returned to cinema in a new role as a producer... "but that's a completely different story."
Here are the five most charismatic actor-fighters, whose names have already become the talk of the town. But still, sometimes it’s nice to feel nostalgic, remembering the characters and films with the participation of these legendary personalities.
Following our “magnificent five”, if we continue the rating, the distribution of places is not so important, but we should not detract from both the sports and acting merits of Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Wesley Snipes, Gina Carano, Cynthia Rothrock, Oleg Taktarov, Nikolai Valuev and even Vladimir Klitschko...
Li Lianze, nicknamed "Jet Lee"
Already at the age of nine he entered the national wushu championship and won the “Best Master” prize. At the age of 12, Li was sent to the qualifying tournament for the Third National Wushu Championship. He won five disciplines out of five possible (the opponents were adult athletes). That same year, Jet Li won four gold medals at the Third Championship in Beijing. Over the next four years, he regularly won national wushu championships.
In 1981, he was invited to film the film "Shaolin Temple". After the film was released, the actor became a legend in China. The next notable films with the participation of Jet Li are the series of films “Once Upon a Time in China”, where he played the role of the Chinese people's hero-liberator, kung fu master and healer Wong Fei Hong. The excellent technique of strikes, the execution of tricks and their entertainment also place this film trilogy among the world's masterpieces of martial arts.
In 1998, having already gained great popularity in Asia, Europe and America, Jet Li made his debut in Hollywood. He was invited to the role of " bad guy"in the blockbuster "Lethal Weapon 4". This was followed by a whole series of successful films.
Jean-Claude van Damme
Before starting a career in show business, for a long time studied martial arts, and before taking up sports, he studied classical ballet for five years, to which he owes his amazing stretching. He achieved significant success in the sports field. Won the 1979 European Karate Championship in his weight category. Took part in the World Championship. Afterwards I took up kickboxing.
Van Damme's film career began in 1983. However, over all these years, he has never managed to go beyond projects where his main task is to demonstrate spectacular fighting techniques. Despite the very caustic nickname “Muscles from Brussels” given to him in Hollywood, films with the actor’s participation at one time attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators in cinemas and were considered the standard of cool action films.
The actor gained fame and recognition from the films “Bloodsport” (1988), “AWOL” (1990) and “Double Impact” (1991), in some of which he acted both as the author of the plot and as a producer.
Bruce Lee (whose real name is Lee Yun Fan)
In numerous biographies of Bruce Lee, you will not find any mention of sports titles. And yet, he is generally recognized as a great martial artist. Although not naturally athletic, Bruce Lee managed to achieve extraordinary speed of movement, develop phenomenal coordination and strength, and began to have excellent control of his body. It was he who popularized oriental martial arts in Western countries in the second half of the 20th century. Became a legend in the field of martial arts. Lee developed his own style of kung fu called Jeet Kune Do. Proficient in judo, jiu-jitsu and boxing.
He began acting in feature films after returning to his homeland. It all started with a role in the film "Big Boss", where Lee himself directed all the action scenes. The film was a resounding success, and was followed by two others (Fist of Fury and Return of the Dragon) that gained enormous popularity, first in Asia and then around the world.
Actor and martial artist Bruce Lee died in a stupid accident. The headache pill he took caused swelling of the brain. This situation seemed so absurd to everyone that his death immediately began to acquire legends that were much more plausible than the truth. For example, there were rumors that another master killed him, but they were not confirmed.
Wesley Snipes
Snipes is an expert in capoeira, a Brazilian art. Like most aspiring actors, after graduating from university, Snipes managed to change a dozen jobs before finding a place for himself on the stage.
The actor's finest hour came with the box office success of the films White People Can't Jump and Passenger 57, followed by new roles in the company of Sylvester Stallone, Sean Connery, Dennis Hopper, Tommy Lee Jones.
Cheng Long (Jackie Chan)
In 1960, his father and his family emigrated to Australia to work at the Chinese embassy, and sent his son to a boarding school where Chinese opera actors were trained. Education at school was very harsh; teachers could beat students and deprive them of food. However, according to Jackie Chan himself, it was precisely this type of training that helped him achieve the highest results. Jackie learned to sing, perform pantomime, do acrobatic stunts and of course martial arts (kung fu different styles, boxing, taekwondo, hapkido, judo, karate and many other types). The training lasted 10 years.
He chose Bruce Lee as his idol and strived to make the same dizzying career. Real success comes to Jackie Chan only thanks to Hong Kong products. In 1985, after the second unsuccessful film “Patron” shot in America, Jackie, disillusioned with the American style of filmmaking, returned to his homeland and made one of his best films, “Police Story.”
In 1986, another, perhaps Chan’s most successful film, “The Armor of God,” was released in theaters. The film was shot in the style of a parody of the film about Indiana Jones, and it turned out to be very dynamic. For the next 10 years, Jackie made films, one more successful than the other.
Mark Dacascos
Mark was born on February 26, 1964 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Married to Julie Condra from 1998 to present, and has one son. Al Dacascos was Mark's first Sifu. Moriko McVey, Mark's real mother, was also one of Al Dacascos' students. Malia Bernal, Mark's stepmother, became the second Sifu. She was one of ten the best masters United States, and for five years were ranked number one among women. She was also the first woman to proudly grace the cover of Black Belt magazine.
Sifu El continued to be the founder of his own style of martial arts, now known as WUN HOP KUEN DO, which combined Chinese and Filipino methods. It is a combination of different styles that originate from KAJUKENBO (Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Kenpo and Chinese and Western Boxing), which was developed in Hawaii. Mark was literally born into martial arts, especially the Wun Hop Kuen Do Kung Fu style. However, upon winning his first international tournament at the age of only 9 years, even geneticists could not yet determine how much he would ultimately surpass others.
At 17, Mark traveled to Taiwan, where he studied with his third sifu, Muo-Hui Shen. Muo-Hui Shen then taught Chin-Na and Shui Zhao (Chinese Judo). Since he practiced throughout his childhood, Mark continued to demonstrate martial arts and compete in tournaments. Subsequently, Mark received a third degree black belt in the style of his father Wun Hop Kuen Do. Mark was also a student of Professor Jiang Hao-Kwan, who taught various Shao-Lin styles such as Chin Na, Shiu Zhao and Tai Chi. He studied capoeira with Amen Santos, who played his teacher in the movie Only the Strongest.
Chuck Norris / Carlos Rey
Chuck Norris was born on March 10, 1940 in Ryan, Oklahoma. Real name: Carlos Rey Norris. His father worked as a car mechanic and often liked to drink. Chuck didn't have a very good childhood. The family did not have a permanent place of residence; they moved often. Chuck spent his childhood in poverty, in a trailer with his mother and two younger brothers. Then his parents divorced, his mother married George Knight, who, as Chuck Norris says, instilled in him a love of sports. When Chuck grew up, he worked as a loader, but in his heart he wanted to become a police officer. In order to make his dream come true, he enlisted in the Air Force immediately after graduating from school. It was here that he received the nickname “Chuck.” According to Chuck Norris, the service was unbearably boring and he began to play sports, in particular judo and taekwondo. At this time, Norris was already married to his former classmate Diana Holechek.
Between 1964 and 1968, Chuck Norris won many national and international karate titles. In 1968, Chuck won the World Karate Middleweight Championship, defeating some of the best fighters in the world. Chuck Norris was undefeated until 1974, when he retired from the sport. In 1968, he received a place in the Black Belt Hall of Fame as “Fighter of the Year.” In 1975 he became “Instructor of the Year”, and in 1977 - “Man of the Year”. Chuck’s first more or less serious film role was played with the great Bruce Lee in the film “Way of the Dragon”. Chuck Norris’s filmography is quite large; he has successfully played in many films such as “The President’s Man”, “Curse of the Dragon”, etc.
Chuck Norris is also the founder and president of the Martial Arts Federation. In 1997, Chuck became the first person in the West to be awarded an 8th degree black belt in taekwondo.
Bolo Yeung/Sze Yang
Yang Tse was born to a local businessman and his wife near Canton, China. While still young, Bolo studied kung fu under the guidance of many masters, and also studied acrobatics and began to “pump iron.” He eventually became China's weight lifting champion. In the 60s, to escape communism and start new life With new opportunities, Bolo moved from China to Hong Kong. There he began to study bodybuilding. One day he caught the attention of the Shaw Brothers and began landing various roles in films, playing big, muscular scoundrels, usually foreigners.
While appearing in films, he continued to improve his martial arts skills. He continued to "build" himself and in 1970 won the title of "Mr. Hong Kong". He left Shaw in 1971. In 1973, he was chosen by Bruce Lee to play Bolo. best fighter drug lord Master Khan in ENTER THE DRAGON. He starred in hundreds of kung fu films in the 70s and 80s and developed his trademark "no-look" style. After a long break, he starred as Chong Li in the film Bloodsport.
Many people consider Bolo to be the real star of this film, as well as others including Double Impact and Tiger's Claw. He always played an invincible "monster" with supernatural skills who lost to opponents like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Lee in the final fight because they were heroes! (that’s a shame!) For “Legacy of Fury,” he trained Brandon Lee for several weeks so that the young star would be a worthy opponent.
Steven Seagal
At the age of seven he began training in karate, and at fifteen he became interested in aikido. At the age of 17, Seagal decided to move to Japan to study with the masters. Five years later he already received his first dan. A year later, Seagal became the first American in the history of Japan to open his own school here.
Dolph (Hans) Lundgren
According to Lundgren himself, one day he accidentally came across a book about karate and was absorbed in reading. Having enrolled in a karate school, he quickly progressed and at the age of fourteen received a black belt, and at seventeen he won the Swedish championship. A year later, Lundgren won the title of European Champion. And while studying at the University of Technology Sydney, Dolph won the Australian Open Karate Championship. Holder of 4th dan.
A huge, muscular guy, 193 centimeters tall and weighing over a hundred kilograms, won over producers and viewers after the release of his first film, “Rocky 4,” in which he played the role of Russian boxer Ivan Drago, a kind of merciless killing machine. This was followed by “Masters of the Universe”, “Angel of Darkness”, “Executioner”, “Red Scorpion”, in which he again returned to Russian motifs, appearing on the screen in the role of a Soviet special forces soldier.
And finally, a film with the intriguing title “The Cards Are Revealed in Little Tokyo,” where Lundgren, in accordance with the title of the film, revealed all his cards and clearly demonstrated that he is in fact not a boxer or a bodybuilder, but a serious karate master who has dedicated this martial art is more than ten years old.
Exciting martial arts talents that have revolutionized the way we think about the world of cinematic combat. Who are they and why are they so famous?
- Master of Kung Fu comedy.
There is not a person who does not recognize Jackie Chan as an outstanding, living legend. I can’t even believe that young Jackie Chan began his first steps in cinema as a stuntman in the films of the great Bruce Lee. It is not at all strange that the first impression of critics about the young Chinese actor-martial artist was biased - they saw him only as a follower, a possible copy of Bruce Lee, whose level no one can reach. And Jackie Chan understood this and, moreover, accepted it - who better than him understood that there would never be a next Bruce Lee. Therefore, Jackie chose his own path, his own path and decided to give the world his original, real self! The natural charm and childish humor of the Kung Fu master played a significant role - just remember the masterpiece “Drunken Master”, released in 1978. Jackie Chan did not play an invincible handsome man, he broadcast his real, cheerful and cocky self onto the screen - the average viewer sincerely wanted to worry and root for such a hero. It was Jackie who established the rule and showed a different hero - not stately, not cool and not invincible in Hollywood. Jackie Chan still demonstrates that great martial arts masters do not have to be stereotyped, uniform, and look like they came off the covers of a magazine.
- The legendary wushu master for losers.
He is absolutely not handsome according to the classic models of world actors: he does not have outstanding height, his skin, even saturated with makeup, does not look perfect, and his signature facial expression resembles the grimace of a mischievous child. The aura of celebrity, a certain feeling with which he fills his viewer, gives him, of course, his outstanding skills! It’s hard to imagine, but even as a child, little Jet Li demonstrated his remarkable talent, confirmed by an impressive number of gold medals - and this in a country where almost every child is familiar with Wushu! The secret of success is speed - Jet Li is incredibly fast, and evidence of this is captured in every film he participates in. Sometimes it’s even hard to believe that the speed is conveyed in real time and conditions, and not the result of editing.
In addition to his talent in the field of wushu, the talent of Jet, the Actor, is also recognized. Jet Li is one of the favorites of Hollywood directors, which is why the Chinese actor’s filmography includes so many American-made films.
You readily believe in Jet Li when he, essentially a small man, fights and defeats those who significantly surpass him in strength and capabilities.
6 and 5. Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. Masters of Cat Fighting - Kung Fu
Female characters were not allowed to enter the cinematic world of martial arts until 2000. Only Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi were able to fundamentally change the opinion about female kung fu masters and gain the respect of their male colleagues - all thanks are addressed to them!
Women willingly mixed high quality martial arts with dance art, and it looked truly magnificent and deadly on camera. There was no doubt that any of these women would outshine any famous wrestler, and would do it so beautifully and gracefully that men could only envy. These actresses created beautiful, bright and courageous, killer images.
- Gordon Liu. Master of Remade Shaolin
Gordon Liu, one of the whales that rules the world of martial arts films. The films with the participation of Master Gordon were not as popular and high-quality as the films of his heirs, but it was he who laid the foundation and created the road for films and heroes that glorified the skills of kung fu and wushu.
His business card- the role of San Te in “The 36 Steps of Shaolin” and a series of sequels to the film.
Interestingly, it was these poorly recorded and terribly edited films that inspired the notorious Quentin Tarantino to “Kill Bill.” It’s even more curious that Gordon Liu also found roles in these films, and not the last ones.
Liu's fame reached India; the actor took part in Bollywood films. So, he is justifiably a world-class star.
- Kung Fu Master – mix
Stephen Chow is close to everyone who has at least once heard or seen Shaolin football or an incomprehensible violent action involving kung fu techniques! Zhou is an explosive mixture of a top comedian, a martial artist and a cartoon character. All of his films have a clear focus on Chinese culture, are filled with Chinese humor, but are funny and understandable to any viewer, regardless of nationality. Chow pioneered the use of massive amounts of digital animation to make his films look truly stunning, inspiring and absolutely breathtaking.
His motto: “Special effects should not look real, they should look funny and surreal, like comic books.”: Chow does not step on his foot to a good person, and the poor guy’s finger turns into a pancake! He throws a whole swarm of enemies into the air, and they explode into the sky like festive confetti. A killer mixture and a really popular idea!
- . Master of Cool Kung Fu
Donnie Yen is an actor you definitely saw, but definitely didn’t remember. And it’s not about the talent of the game and skill, but about the company - he always played supporting roles with famous actors in the foreground. Yen has starred in films such as “Hero” with Jet Li, “Once Upon a Time in China II”, and “Shanghai Knights” with Jackie Chan - it is difficult to remain in the mind and sight next to Jet and Jackie. This is probably why Donnie Yen is still little known in Hollywood and has not taken part in as many American projects as his compatriots.
Ian has his original style combat: calmly fights in a room with enemies, frankly bored and willingly exposing himself to a possible retaliatory strike. Having given himself a chance to be caught, Ian unleashes his killing blows. Unlike other actors in this genre, Ian takes the lead because there is a huge chance that this actor's prospects are very bright and successful, and will definitely take him across the Pacific Ocean.
- Number One Master of Kung Fu Movies
Bruce Lee is a personality, a truly legendary and unforgettable character. If martial artists had their own personal god, Bruce Lee would be the one to play this role.
It was he who paved the way for Asia to America, it was he who radically changed the attitude of Americans towards Asians in general!
He became the first non-white key action star. African American, Latin American and Asian actors owe their appearance in films to Bruce Lee.
Bruce also became the first action actor to abandon special effects and stuntmen - he was for naturalness and truthfulness in the frame, so every day he worked on his body and skills in order to be able to impress his audience again and again.
Bruce Lee was a genius not only in existing fights, but also became the founder own direction- Jeet Kune. All Bruce Lee's films are recognized and belong to the classics of the genre and do not lose their popularity to this day.
Other posts 
The martial arts of Japan and China have long captured the whole world. In any town you can easily find Gym, where you can get it for relatively little money interesting experience in “homemade karate”. Real Shaolin masters are capable of performing such miracles that scientists simply cannot understand how this is possible in principle.
Meet Liu Fei, an elderly master from Mianyangma, a province in southwest China. All his life he has been practicing a little-known form of kung fu, which allows him to control all processes occurring in the body. What exactly can a master do? Yes, it just raises the temperature so much that it ignites the tinder in your mouth. Nobody knows the secret!
Kanazawa
Japanese master Kanazawa is able to concentrate his internal energy on the life activity of others. In particular, he demonstrated to journalists several times the process of euthanizing animals.
Zhao Rui
The young Shaolin monk became famous for his performances with a drill. Zhao Rui somehow concentrates enough to stop the spinning drill with his skull. The rest of his body is just as strong: the monk bends steel bars with his torso and easily breaks horseshoes in his hand.
Zhou Ting-Jue
Zhou Ting-Jue demonstrated the ability to heat water to a boiling point. Many considered the seventy-year-old master to be a fraud, but Zhou performed his trick so many times under the control of physicists and the unforgiving gaze of television cameras that doubts about the uniqueness of his gift disappeared even among the biggest skeptics.
Mak Yu Rii
But here is a representative of the classical “break a stick on me” school. Mack looks rather strange for a kung fu master: plump, awkward, he gives the impression of a nerd who has never encountered physical violence. However, you should not believe the first glance. This “nerd” is a Japanese karate champion and shows amazing body resilience: he once, on a dare, punched three tied baseball bats with one kick of his shin.
People who contributed to the development and spread various types martial arts - a great variety. This article has attempted to introduce readers to the outstanding masters of the twentieth century, i.e. by our contemporaries.
1. Jet Li. Wushu
Real name: Li Liangjie. Born in 1963 in China, and already at the age of 11 became the champion of the People's Republic of China in all-around. By 1979 Lee becomes a four-time Wushu champion. At the age of 17 he began acting in films, where he received the nickname “Jet”, which means “jet”. Today, Jet Li is one of the most famous Chinese actors, fluent in martial arts.
2 Fedor Emelianenko. Mixed martial arts (MMA)
Russian athlete, born in 1976. in Lugansk region. He performs in mixed martial arts (MMA - Mixed Martial Arts). He is a four-time MMA heavyweight champion; repeatedly recognized as the best wrestler in his category. Fedor remained invincible for almost 10 years, which has never happened in the history of MMA.
3 Bruce Lee. Kung Fu
A world-famous actor who made a huge contribution to the popularization of martial arts. He began practicing kung fu in his youth, where he showed incredible abilities. Wing Chun became the main style for Bruce Lee; later he developed his own style of Jeet Kune Do - “the way of the leading fist.”
4 Muhammad Ali. Boxing
Boxing legend, multiple world light heavyweight champion. Real name: Cassius Clay. Made his debut in 1960. He took the name Muhammad Ali when he joined the Nation of Islam. In 1999 was named "athlete of the century". He is famous for using psychological pressure on opponents, rudely treating and humiliating them before the fight. The fight with Chuck Wepner became the prototype for the creation of the film "Rocky".
Three-time Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling in the up to 130 kg category. His favorite technique, the “reverse belt,” brought Alexander many victories.
6 Masutatsu Oyama. Karate
One of the most significant karate masters, having 10 dan. Masutatsu is the founder of Kyokushinkai karate, the creator of the Kyokushinkai organization (IKO), which he headed until his death in 1994. He is famous for being able to cut off the horns of a bull with a blow from his palm.
7 Buako Por Pramuk. Muay Thai
Two-time K-1 MAX champion, the first fighter to achieve this twice. Born in Thailand, and at the age of 15 he began performing for the Por club. Pramuk." The nickname "Buako" means "White Lotus". Before K-1, Buako received several Muay Thai championship titles. In 2011 he fought 8 fights, all of them ended in his victory.
8 Benny Urquidez. Kickboxing
American kickboxing champion. Benny was born in 1952. In Los Angeles. At the age of 3 he began boxing, and at 5 he was already performing in the ring. At the age of 14 he received a black belt. During his sports career, which lasted 27 years (according to other sources, 24 years), he did not lose a single one of his 66 fights.
9 Wally Jay. Jujutsu
Founder of Small Circle Jiu-Jitsu. This direction is based on the movement of the brush in a small circle, allowing painful techniques and grips most effectively. Wally is a 10th Dan in Jiu-Jitsu and is listed as one of the Top 100 Martial Arts Influencers. Author of “10 principles of the Small Circle”, compatible with almost any style. He was a close friend and sparring partner of Bruce Lee.
10 Kharlampiev Anatoly. Sambo
One of the founders of sambo wrestling. From the age of 6 he performed as a gymnast in the circus, and at the age of 16 he was already known as a good fighter, trained by his father, a boxer, and his grandfather, a specialist in fist fighting. He was fluent in French wrestling, English and French boxing, and studied judo under the guidance of Vasily Oshchepkov. In 1938 headed the Sambo Federation and worked on its dissemination and development.