“Men are like steel. When they lose their temper, they lose their worth. ” —Norris

Chuck Norris's introduction to martial arts took place in the 60s. As an airman in the U.S. Air Force, he was stationed in Korea and took up the kicking and punching art of Tang Soo Do. Upon returning to the United States, he began competing professionally. Beginning with the grand champion trophy he won at the 1966 National Winter Karate Championships in San Jose, CA, he blazed through the tournament circuit, eventually retiring undefeated as the first professional World Middleweight Karate Champion. By then, Norris had already acted in small parts, including the climactic fight scene of “Return of the Dragon” (1973), but his first starring role came with “Breaker! Breaker!” (1977).

Movies with Chuck Norris were usually shot from many angles in order to capture the impact of his punches. In complex, multiple view-point sequences, Norris's fighting scenes went from full body shots to close-ups of hands and, consequently, to the resulting effect a punch had on his on-screen opponent. There were many misenscene manipulations, from how furniture moved around the entire frame to the movements of Norris's characters back and forth as he fought.

Norris always supplemented his core Tang Soo Do style with training in other martial arts. Along with fellow competitors Mike Stone and Joe Lewis, he took Jeet Kune Do lessons from Bruce Lee to improve his fighting skills. Recently, Norris trained with the Machado family in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and earned his black belt in the tough ground-grappling art. Although he has been off the big screen since the mid-90s, he continued to bank on his fighting skills from 1995 to 2001 by executive producing and starring in the TV series “Walker, Texas Ranger.”