What martial arts does Mickey Rourke know?

Mickey Rourke is a famous American actor who is also known for having a relatively successful boxing career during the 90s. He took boxing pretty seriously too and it wasn’t just a case of yet another celebrity trying to do it for money which is more common these days. Instead, it’s fair to say that he really did live that lifestyle and has previously boxed during his younger years. Best known for his 2008 movie The Wrestler, Rourke showed the dark side of being a professional wrestler. Interestingly though, he’s never done any formal wrestling training.

Aside from boxing though, few people know what other martial arts Rourke has trained. It turns out that Rourke is a pretty distinguished martial artist and his skills are far more developed than just boxing. In this article, we shall look at what other disciplines he’s trained in and go through the finer details.

Mickey Rourke was a professional boxer

From 1991-1994, Mickey Rourke was a professional boxer and retired from the sport with a 6-0 record with 2 draws. Having said this, it’s also fair to say that his record was fairly padded and his opponents weren’t the hardest. For instance, he beat one opponent named Darrell Miller. After retirement, Miller’s pro boxing record was 11-46 which means that for every fight he won, he almost lost 4 in return.

In fact, all of Rourke’s opponents had lost more than they’d won which means they weren’t great to say the least. The only fighter who did have a decent record was his last, Sean Gibbons. This was a draw and Gibbons retired with a 14-7 record, which meant he was Rourke’s only opponent who had a decent boxing run.

Because of this, some have speculated that his fights were too easy and have even gone as far as to say that the Miller fight was fixed. Of course, there’s no evidence of this but the internet has always been full of rumors. Still, here are a few things to consider – firstly, Rourke was a genuine boxer in his younger days before he got into acting and boxed professionally far later on in life. It’s fair to say that with the right attitude, he’d have been as good as anyone who trains regularly in their youth.

Secondly, even though his opponents were easy, he still showed up and won – which at his age is easier said than done. Perhaps the whole professional boxing saga was a bit forced, but it’s definitely true that in his younger days he was competitive. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that he was ever a top boxer or even the best in the gym but he could still box which is commendable.

Mickey Rourke is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt

Although it’s great to know how to box, combining this with grappling is an even deadlier combination. Where grappling is concerned, Rourke holds a blue belt in BJJ under Scott “Einstein” Epstein. Here, he trained for a few years under Epstein who is a 10th Planet black belt. For those that aren’t aware, 10th Planet is a global network of BJJ gyms that specialize in no-gi training. This means that whilst getting his blue belt, Rourke would have trained without the kimono. Arguably, this style is more realistic than training with the kimono and is closer to wrestling.

In short, blue belt is the second rank in BJJ after white belt and means that a student holding it is competent without being too experienced either. A general rule is that a typical blue belt should be able to use their skills in a street fight to subdue an attacker of a similar size and strength range. In other words, Rourke is no slouch when it comes to ground fighting and can probably choke most people out. At the same time, he’s nowhere nearly as skilled in BJJ as he is at boxing.

Mickey Rourke knows Hwa Rang Do

Perhaps one of the least known martial arts around is Hwa Rang Do. This is a Korean martial art that was founded in the 1960s by Joo Bang Lee and his brother. As you’d expect with most Korean martial arts, it involves kicking which is pretty typical. However, there’s a lot more to it than that, and Hwa Rang Do isn’t just a cheap copy of Taekwondo either.

Basically, Hwa Rang Do is pretty rounded and offers striking, grappling, and weapons training. Arguably, the closest martial art to compare it with is Hapkido which is equally as broad. This means that Hwa Rang Do practitioners should be fairly solid when it comes to fighting without really being experts in any given field. Rourke once went as far to credit this discipline with keeping him alive, mentioning “I practiced the martial art, Hwa Rang Do for six years! I’m still alive today thanks to my teacher, Taejoon Lee.”

Whether he meant this literally saved his life or metaphorically is unsure, still he spoke highly about the discipline. What’s more, Rourke also trained Hwa Rang Do for six years which means he’ll have picked up more than a few tricks when it comes to fighting. One of the main benefits of Hwa Rang Do is its large emphasis on fitness. Arguably, this is one of the more cardio-based martial arts out there which would have been a good look for Rourke as he grew older.

Summary

Although Mickey Rourke may be older these days, it’s fair to describe him as a martial artist. Remember, being a martial artist doesn’t always mean being the best or a world champion either. Instead, Rourke was closer to a regular guy who happened to truly love combat sports like a lot of us.

Whilst his first love was boxing, it’s also fair to say that Rourke was pretty rounded in all areas of fighting. For instance, BJJ is great for grappling and submissions which aren’t doable in boxing. On a similar note, Hwa Rang Do also offers some unusual fighting methods and is versatile in offering weapons training. To sum up, Mickey Rourke could certainly beat the average joe during his prime and although his boxing career is a little suspect, he’s certainly a legitimate martial artist.

If you’d like to know more about Mickey Rourke’s fighting past then check out his autobiography.