1. Chuck Norris was a very shy and non-athletic teen.
Regardless of what we might think to be true about Chuck Norris he was not always a kick ass martial artist that nobody wanted to mess with.
In fact, the Los Angeles Times says,
Slightly built, non-athletic and formerly shy to the point of being neurotic, the 47-year-old actor, who has lived in North Tustin for two years, has not had an easy time of it. Every phase of his life has been an uphill battle, from his birth in Oklahoma as a “blue baby” with an alcoholic father, to his years as a shy and insecure teen-ager in Torrance, to his efforts in becoming a karate champion. His autobiography, published last year by Little, Brown and Co., begins: “Nothing ever came easy for me, not even being born.”
This just proves that you can still make something out of yourself no matter what kind of background you come from. Obviously he worked very hard to be where he is now and it was totally worth it. But it didn’t come easy!
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2. Chuck Norris first learned martial arts in South Korea.
Chuck started his journey to where he is now when he joined the Air Force and became an air policeman. He was stationed in South Korea and that is where he took his very first Judo class. LA Times reports:
Norris, 56, has been kicking and spinning, martial arts-wise, since 1960. That’s when he signed up for his very first judo class during a military stint in South Korea. His right shoulder was broken a week into training, so one day, with his arm in a sling, Norris took a stroll through a village. He saw heads bobbing up on a knoll.
Curious, he moved in closer. He watched Koreans jumping in the air, doing spinning kicks. He was mesmerized.
The Koreans looked pretty tough, so Norris talked to his judo instructor, who introduced him to a teacher of tang soo do.
Although Americans were considered quitters, Norris toughed it out for 13 months. He went stateside with a black belt in tang soo do and a brown belt in judo.
“I was training in tang soo do four hours a day, from 6 in the evening until 10 at night, Monday through Friday, and then judo on Saturdays. Being a 19-year-old kid and not really athletic, it was tough.”
This led to him having a black belt and also to him developing his very own martial art form known as Chun Kuk Do (“Universal Way”).
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3. Chuck Norris was the first Westerner in the documented history of Tae Kwon Do to be given the rank of 8th Degree Black Belt Grand Master.
From Chuck himself:
“Most of my younger fans (and those who know me just from my movie and television career) don’t know that, from 1965 through 1974, I won hundreds of state, national and international championships. I was voted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame in 1968 as Fighter of the Year, in 1975 as Instructor of the Year and in 1977 as Man of the Year.”
“In 1990, I was honored with another milestone by being the first man ever in the Western Hemisphere to be awarded an 8th degree Black Belt Grand Master recognition in the Tae Kwon Do system. This was a first in 4,500 years of tradition – something that still humbles me to the core of my being.”
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4. When Chuck Norris was asked who would win a fight between him and Bruce Lee, he said, “Bruce Lee of course, nobody can beat him.”
At a martial arts demonstration in Long Beach, Norris met the martial artist Bruce Lee. In 1972, he acted as Lee’s nemesis in the movie Way of the Dragon (titled Return of the Dragon in its U.S. distribution), which is widely credited with launching him toward stardom. In Asia, Norris is still known primarily for this role. In 1974, McQueen encouraged him to begin acting classes at MGM.
5. In late 2005, Norris became the object of an ironic internet meme known as “Chuck Norris Facts”, which document fictional, often absurdly heroic feats and characteristics about Norris.
Here are the top 20 we found:
1) Chuck Norris was bitten by a cobra and after five days of excruciating pain… the cobra died.
2) He who laughs last, laughs best. He who laughs at Chuck Norris, it’s definitely his last laugh. (In his book, The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book, Norris added under this fact: “Now that’s funny. I love to laugh, as do most people.” Most people are still unsure if he was joking.)
3) The easiest way to determine Chuck Norris’s age is to cut him in half and count the rings. (Norris commented: “Three years ago, at the end of a Nightline interview, ABC host Bill Weir asked me my age and I told him 66. Then I added with a smile, ‘I like to say I’m 39, with 27 years of experience.'”)
4) Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
5) Chuck Norris doesn’t dial the wrong number. You answered the wrong phone.
6) Chuck Norris knows Victoria’s secret.
7) If Chuck Norris was a Spartan in the movie 300, the movie would be called 1.
8) When Chuck Norris turned 18, his parents moved out.
9) When Chuck Norris swims in the ocean, the sharks are in a steel cage.
10) Chuck Norris will never have a heart attack. His heart isn’t nearly foolish enough to attack him.
11) Chuck Norris once kicked a horse in the chin. Its descendants today are known as giraffes.
12) Chuck Norris doesn’t breathe air. He holds air hostage.
13) Chuck Norris can delete the Recycling Bin.
14) Chuck Norris has already been to Mars. That’s why there are no signs of life.
15) Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.
16) Chuck Norris’s calendar goes straight from March 31st to April 2. No one fools Chuck Norris.
17) Chuck Norris wears sunglasses so that his eyes won’t hurt the sun.
18) If you see Chuck Norris crying he will grant you a wish, if your wish is dying.
19) When Chuck Norris works out he doesn’t get stronger, the machine does.
20) Chuck Norris does not sleep; he waits.
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