A list of the 12 most surprising celebrity black belts

In the world of celebrities and fame, very little is known about martial arts which isn’t surprising. If you think about it, the martial arts world is miles away from the world of fame too. However, there are sometimes rules to the exception. Here, we’ve listed the 12 most surprising celebrity black belts. This means that you may not know they have a black belt in martial arts and it may be quite surprising to learn. It’s also nice to see that even with such busy lives, these guys still find time to dedicate to their favorite martial arts. For the record, this isn’t in any particular order either and we’ve purposely chosen some of the more obscure examples. Read on for more information.

Willie Nelson

Although he may be in his old age, Willie Nelson is a fifth degree black belt in Gong Kwon Yu Sul. This is a Korean martial art that combines Judo with Karate and was founded by Kang Jun in 1996. As it happens, Willie Nelson is also a second degree black belt in Taekwondo too, so he knows how to throw a kick or two.

For obvious reasons, Willie Nelson wouldn’t be much use in a fight these days but then again, how many people his age are still training martial arts? This is an unusual occasion when someone trains martial arts for reasons more than just self defense, as they get more out of training than fight skills. Sadly, Willie Nelson’s body may not be up to much these days, but his passion for martial arts still rages on.

Lex Fridman

Many people know Lex Fridman due to his popular podcast series, where he interviews an array of guests. These range from scientists to philosophers and often martial artists. It’s actually no surprise that Lex Fridman enjoys talking to martial artists either, as he is one himself. His day job may be a robotics engineer at MIT, but he also trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is a black belt in the art.

He achieved this in 2019 and has since started training Judo as well. For Fridman, he truly loves the art and in his younger days was also an avid competitor. His competition footage is on Youtube for all to see and it looks like he’s got some serious grappling skills. He may not look it, but this man is dangerous.

Bixente Lizarazu

Bixente Lizarazu is best known for being a soccer World Cup winner with the French national team, as well as winning various other cups with the likes of Bayern Munich. However, after his sporting achievements in soccer, he turned to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu after his retirement. He even won a European title as a blue belt and still trains regularly as a BJJ black belt.

Undoubtedly, his soccer abilities such as co-ordination, balance and cardio would all add to his BJJ skills. In other words, when he started BJJ he already had a very solid athletic base. It’s very rare you will see a champion in two different disciplines though, but Lizarazu is one of those rare people that has done both.

Vladimir Putin

Like him or hate him, Vladimir Putin is a legit Judo black belt. In the past, some journalists have tried to discredit his Judo status and have claimed it’s for show as part of his strongman image. However, this simply isn’t true and there are records of him as a teen competing in Sambo which is very similar when he was a Judo. He’d also have trained Sambo when he was in the KGB, so it’s fair to say that he’s put the time in and a lot of his training would have happened before he was famous.

Such is the Russian president’s love for Judo, he has literally written a book on the subject and even released a DVD which was based on his most liked throws and techniques. There is footage of him still drilling even into his old age which shows that he’s literally trained for decades now as well

Sarah Michelle Gellar

If you’ve ever watched the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series then you may have noticed the choreography involved. Specifically, it often used Taekwondo, especially during the earlier seasons of the show before the fight choreographer was changed. During these scenes, Sarah Michelle Gellar (as Buffy) would often show off her brutal array of kicks and athleticism. This was not an accident. It turns out that during the many years that she was on set, she would often train Taekwondo to perfect the art of kicking people.

As a result, by the time the show ended, she was awarded a black belt in Taekwondo and was definitely legitimate. Whilst there may be some degree of editing and Hollywood magic that went into her fight scenes, you can still tell that she has naturally good movement, flexibility and overall she kicks like a certified TKD black belt. Whether she trained after the show ended is not known, but at her peak, her kicks were done to a high level.

Bear Grylls

British wildlife explorer Bear Grylls has a black belt in Karate. He achieved this belt towards the end of his teenage years and there’s even an old throwback photo of a young Bear Grylls rocking his Karate gi, black belt, and long hair. After his Karate training, he then joined the army and eventually found himself as a TV entertainer. With this said, his lifestyle is simply too busy these days for him to continue training Karate, and he hasn’t done so for years.

However, if he had – then he’d be a pretty seasoned black belt by now. Nonetheless, it’s also true that his Karate training would put him in good stead for the physical lifestyle that he leads. Karate is known for improving your physical and mental aspects in life, so this would come in handy during his stint in the army and when he’s out and about venturing through various jungles, deserts, and other harsh environments.

Scott Caan

As it happens, actor Scott Caan has martial arts running through his blood. His father James Caan was a big time Karate practitioner during his time but for his son Scott, he chose to pursue Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instead. As Scott Haan is situated in Hawaii (and is known for his roles in Hawaii Five-O amongst other things), he ended up training with the likes of Enson Inoue, who is one of the earlier pioneers of MMA and BJJ – especially when you look at the history of Hawaii.

Caan has trained in BJJ for over 15 years and genuinely loves it. Whilst many celebrity BJJ practitioners often shy away from sparring against members of the public, this isn’t the case for Caan who is known for getting stuck in and getting his hands dirty. As a result, you know he’s going to have great technique and heart.

Khaltmaagiin Battulga

Mongolian president Khaltmaagiin Battulga is perhaps the best martial artist on this list, who is also a black belt Judoka. Before his career in politics, he was a champion in Mongolian Bokh wrestling and was a member of the Mongolian wrestling team for seven years. He even fought in Sambo as well.

If you’ve seen pictures of him, then you’ll instantly realize that he’s incredibly jacked and muscular. In other words, this guy is a very high level grappler who would be a nightmare to fight. As the saying goes, “There’s black belts and then there’s black belts.” This is the case for Battulga who is a seriously talented grappler and is known as a takedown specialist.

Michael Imperioli

Best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos, Michael Imperioli is a black belt in Taekwondo. Unlike Sarah Michelle Gellar, he didn’t learn this skill during shooting for The Sopranos as Christopher was actually a heroin addict…a far cry from Imperioli’s real life, healthy routine. At one point, Imperioli was pictured on the front of the Taekwondo Times magazine, proudly showing off his TKD black belt.

He even forwarded a book called “Black Belt Fitness For Life” which was based on Taekwondo warm ups and exercises to improve your physical fitness. He has gone on record several times over the years and preached the physical and mental benefits of training TKD and martial arts. In fact, Imperioli takes TKD pretty seriously and really does love it. He even trains alongside his family who are all avid practitioners of the Korean martial art.

Elvis Presley

Perhaps this was common knowledge whilst Elvis Presley was still alive, but these days very few people are aware that he had a black belt in Karate. There is some controversy surrounding his high rank in Karate, as some claim that it was given due to his celebrity status rather than being a genuine achievement.

Nonetheless, the fact remains that Elvis genuinely loved Karate and trained it sporadically for many years. Whilst Elvis wouldn’t have been the best Karateka ever, it’s fair to say that he’d definitely have earned his Karate black belt from a hobbyist perspective. With his naturally fluid movement too, you can imagine he’d be pretty handy with kicks and movement too.

John Cusack

Not many people know this, but actor John Cusack has trained kickboxing for over 20 years under the legendary Benny Urquidez. Cusack has even gone on record to say it’s good for movies – especially if he’s doing it in fight scenes or something that requires athletic movements. As he’s featured in numerous action movies such as Con Air and Frozen Ground, it makes sense that he speaks glowingly about his training.

Many people also don’t know that kickboxing has a belt system either. This is because in its earlier days, kickboxing didn’t use belts as it wasn’t as organized. Suffice to say, as kickboxing grew and developed, it eventually adopted a recognized belt system. These days, some gyms still don’t use belts, but many do. It turns out that John Cusack is also a sixth degree black belt in kickboxing which tells you everything you need to know about his dedication.

Robert Downey Jr

Having trained in Wing Chun for over ten years, Robert Downey Jr is a black belt in the martial art and has also trained it periodically whilst shooting movies. It is widely acknowledged that it takes the average person around five years to become a Wing Chun black belt, so undeniably he has put the work in. For instance, he is known to have trained Wing Chun whilst filming for the Ironman franchise. Often, Wing Chun is used in movie fight scenes, so this may have been one reason why Downey Jr picked up Wing Chun.

He has been quoted as saying “Wing Chun teaches you what to focus on” and has been very praising of the art over the years. Unsurprisingly, Downey Jr is also known for staying in good shape as he’s aged, and his fitness routine is partly inspired by Wing Chun. This is an example of how a martial art can improve your life both mentally and physically.