Did you know that James Caan is a Soke Dai in Gosoku Ryu Karate?

James Caan is probably best known for his roles in The Godfather and Misery. It’s fair to say that he’s had a stellar career and is a fine actor. But did you also know that he was awarded the rank of Soke Dai in Gosoku Ryu Karate? This rank translates to ‘head of the family’, which is ironic considering his family-status in The Godfather. However, this rank is no joke and it isn’t acting either. It was awarded to him by Takayuki Kubota, who is the founder of the style.

The translation of Gosoku Ryu literally means ‘hard and fast’ too, which tells you all you need to know about this tough style of Karate. It turns out that such is Caan’s devotion to Karate, that he’s trained the art for nearly 40 years. It turns out that martial arts runs in the Caan family too. His son, Scott Caan is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Whilst this is a different discipline, it’s nice to see two generations of actors doing something different with their personal lives and maybe one of the keys to their success.

See main picture: James Caan trains Karate with a bokken.