OUR STAR
2007
CHUCK NORRIS
March 10th,
1940 -
by – G. K. Holland
“…...you can not truly
understand, or see the whole picture of who
Chuck Norris is without
first understanding his level of skill and
values as a true
martial arts champion.”
Star
Well it is the end of
the year and I honestly do not know where the time has gone. We decided that we
would have a ‘Star Walker of the Year’ presented online in December of each
year. So after careful thought we decided on Chuck Norris due to a number of valid
reasons. There were two people who we were trying to decide on for our December
Star Walker of the Month, but when we compared them to Chuck Norris, Norris
just seemed more consistent in what he had accomplished and the things he is
currently doing. Instead of just simply re-running the August Star Walker of
the Month (when we originally featured Chuck Norris), you will find some of the
content in some sections has been expanded, and some fact corrections have been
added and to the article below. At first glance this article looks the same as
the August version, but it is different and more in-depth.
This month of
December reminds us all of the things we’ve gone through during the first
eleven months of the year, good or bad, it is somehow sweetened by all of the
customary trappings of the Holiday Season. It is also a time of sharing the magical
tradition of giving gifts to our loved ones, wives, husbands and friends.
Certainly the Christmas season is about family and Chuck Norris represents
family as well as most. The family structure has long been a sustaining element
of this nation. It is not surprising that many of this nations problems with
youth and social morality stem from the ongoing degradation of the family unit.
With Chuck’s strong commitment to ‘family’ it made him even more of a solid
candidate for our Star Walker of the year for 2007.
Chuck Norris – A True Warrior
Gladiator
Many do not realize that the martial arts tournament circuit is a very challenging one with elimination bouts reminiscent of the Roman gladiator contests of old. Sometimes one would have to fight as many as a dozen or more tough opponents over a mere two days (during preliminaries and finals). During his time as a world martial arts champion Chuck Norris fought some tough competitors from all over the world.
For those outside of the martial arts circles, it should be noted that Chuck Norris came up through the martial ranks during the reign of some of the greatest martial artists of all time, people like Joe Lewis, Gene LeBell, Jeff Smith, Richard Kim, Jim Kelly, Mike Stone, Bill Wallace, Bob Wall, Ed Parker, Eric Lee (also known as America’s Little King of Kata), Benny ‘the Jet’ Urquidez, Howard Jackson, Gogen "The Cat" Yamaguichi, Don ‘the Dragon’ Wilson and too many others to mention here. My point in mentioning some of the above greats of the martial arts is that Chuck Norris comes from a yet to be duplicated fold.
The fiber of the above mentioned champions and masters of the
martial arts supersedes those who fight in the arenas of the UFC and similar
commercial venues today. Why do I say this? It is a simple answer, by their
actions and deeds I say this. Indeed something genuine is missing from the current
‘martial arts in
But fortunately in the last year Chuck Norris’s World Combat League (the WCL) which is broadcast on the Versus channel, has done extremely well and continues to gain a strong fan base. This is no accident since these fights reveal the sportsmanship and honor that many of the UFC type of events have been seriously lacking. A description tag on the WBL website reads: “The World Combat League (WCL) is the creation of action-film and television star Chuck Norris. Norris has organized the world's most experienced martial arts producers to make the vision become reality. Chuck Norris, as the creative head, has joined together a number of innovators to present the next major American sporting league, and the next generation of martial arts combat entertainment.” This is a top rate and produced show with ‘real martial artist’ performing with great sportsmanship. This is a show your entire family can watch and one your children can gain some great insight of good sportsmanship and conduct from. The show also triumphantly showcases the physical talents and skills of both genders. For a nation rocked with scandal after scandal in professional sports, this kind of show is a very good thing and long overdue.
To a Time Back in the Day Called ‘Way`….
It was a hot summer evening and my fellow martial artists and I had just finished an intense bruising three hour workout at the top of our favorite secluded spot overlooking the city. We had just punched, kicked, spun, somersaulted, hopped, lunged, jumped, rolled, leaped and done just about every other movement humanly possible within the framework of our martial arts. And now later that evening we were looking forward to enjoying two of the best martial artists in the world, two men we highly respected, Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee. And of course we were definitely caught up in the Bruce Lee craze of the time. The camaraderie of those martial arts training sessions brings back very fond memories indeed.
I remember sitting back in what I can only describe as a semi-comfortable chair, in a darkened old theater back in the day. I can even remember the smell of hot, though sometimes stale popcorn (and fortunately that hasn’t changed over the years). We were about to experience the best of the best, of the best of cinematic martial arts fights. I remember having a certain opinion on how Norris looked in comparison to Bruce’s skill and grace on screen. But oh how time and the lessons of life brings revised wisdom and new perspective because those things pre-ordained by God to stand and serve HIS will, always outlives and will overthrow any wicked plan set into motion by man. In other words, the fact that Bruce is no longer with us and Chuck Norris is is by no mere accident or random act of fate.
Return of the Dragon was written and directed by Lee in 1972. This was the film in which Chuck Norris makes his big film debut. In fact, some six years later, his performance with Lee helped open the doors to his own first hit film called Good Guys Wear Black (released in 1978, with his earlier films called The Wrecking Crew and Breaker Breaker not withstanding).
In all the movies he has done Norris has not had one single
cinematic fight anywhere near the mastery and gracefulness of the fight he had
with Lee in this film. Therefore I think it is important to explore what can be
easily overlooked in the scenes he has with Bruce Lee, his fellow martial
artist and friend. This historic fight between Lee and Norris was staged within
the world famous Roman Coliseum with portions of it also being shot on a sound
stage in
This was the first Hong Kong movie production to be filmed in
“Hey
Chuck, why didn’t you send me a Christmas gift”
“Well you didn’t
send me
one either bro. So here we are.”
the Fury of Athletic Grace
It was a skillful duel of hand and foot between Li Sui Loong
(Bruce Lee) and Carlos Ray Norris (Chuck Norris) in the film Way of the Dragon (released in the
In between the broken
rhythm used by Lee to defeat his opponent, a master karateka
by the name of Colt (the character portrayed by Norris), there are various
subtle nuances of hand to hand combat skills that can be found laced between
the psychological matrix of this dramatic fight. The theme of the fight as
conceived and designed by Lee is about adapting to change the course of a
conflict by using ones own strengths to win. This is why Tang Lung (the
character portrayed by Bruce) is losing to Colt in the first few minutes of the fight. It isn’t until Tang Lung
changes his fighting strategy and begins to use ‘broken rhythm’ (a concept and
skill Lee borrowed from fencing), to circumvent and intercept Colt’s footwork
and attack that he begins to change the outcome of the fight (the art of
interception is the corner stone concept/element of Lee’s fighting method
called Jeet Kune Do). By
the end of this intense confrontation Norris dies as an honorable warrior in
this film in the sense that Tang Lung takes the time to place Norris’s white gi
top and black belt over Colt’s fallen, broken and battered body. Through this
intense confrontation the two warriors quickly develop an actual like, and deep respect for one another.
Chuck Norris would
later apply some of the attributes he demonstrated in this film to his own
personal life in the form of unwavering determination and persistent drive to
success. He would use the strategy of adapting to succeed in the ever changing
entertainment industry, and he would succeed at it. The simple dissection of
the fight that he and Lee engaged in as described above,
is a prime example of this. Although it is a choreographed fight within the
arena of fiction (in this case a movie), the skills used are very real and
undeniable. The fact that this cinematic fight still stands above most without
even the use of cable work (used in films like The Matrix and others), or special effects, or the use of trick
editing, is in itself a tribute to the extremely high skill level that is being
displayed by these two masters of the martial arts.
As a martial artist I can tell you that the enlightened athlete can always find more than skill as the end result of hard and consistent dedicated training. If one is true to his training, if his training has taken him to a deeper level of understanding of the world around him, if it has made him refine himself over and over again, to become a better man, if it has allowed him to understand other people better, if it has taught him that kindness is true strength, than I would say his training has served him well beyond any mere physical benefit. This is what the ‘true study’ of the martial arts is all about. The physical training is just a door, an opportunity, a reflection of the better human being we can be. Even if he stumbles through human error, it is the training the gives him the strength to get back up and begin anew. Having said that I would also have to add that none of the above is really possible in the truest sense without God’s grace. That is why you can not truly appreciate or see the whole picture of who Chuck Norris is without first understanding his level of ultimate skill and long journey as a true martial arts champion.
Kicking Against All Odds
“I gave my life to the Lord at 12. I was baptized
at 12. Then it grew stronger. Unfortunately
a
lot of times in the entertainment industry,
sometimes you lose sight of what’s really
important in your life.” –
Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris grew up in a very poor section of rural
In his book called: Against All Odds, Chucks says he was a very shy and insecure boy growing up. The determination and confidence seen by millions of movie goers during the 70’s and 80’s would not be developed until shortly after he joined the U. S. Air force and was stationed in Korea. It was there that he began his martial arts training in the Korean art known as Tang Soo Do. This was the martial art style that he would eventually earn his first black belt in. The sheer physical abilities displayed by the martial arts inspired him. After years of mastering his art he would go on to become a six-time World Middle-weight Karate Champion. Many years later Norris created the martial art called Chun Kuk Do, which is a method of fighting which is based primarily on Tang Soo Do. However Chun Kuk Do includes elements from Chuck’s overall martial arts fighting repertoire. Like a number of other martial arts Chun Kuk Do is founded upon a code of honor to live by.
Humble & Weak Beginnings
…and God has chosen the weak things
of the world to put to shame the
things which are mighty…
- 1 Corinthians 1: 27
Looking from whence Chuck Norris came from you would never expect how strength, courage and determination would come to him, especially after such humble beginnings. However, his humble beginnings and rise to success continues to stand as great inspiration to many, many people around the world. But like everyone else, Chuck says that he has made a lot of mistakes and had numerous failures in his life. His book gave him the opportunity to be transparent to the world, holding no information back from the public and hiding nothing. He wanted people to know that it was his faith in God that has brought him through all of those trials, mistakes and failures. That it had been God who had always been there behind the scenes using a divine broken rhythm to intervene and guide him over the obstacles of life.
A Star ‘
The film Lone Wolf McQuade, (released in 1983 and starring
chuck Norris), would serve as a kind of loose basis in which the hit CBS series
Walker Texas Ranger would
emerge from. This hit TV show of course also starred Norris and was produced by
his Top Kick Production company along with his
brother Aaron Norris. This show ran for some eight consecutive years and
now enjoys a healthy afterlife in the form of syndicated re-runs across the
No one can ever say that Norris took
himself too seriously since he courageously performs the singing chores on the
shows opening title theme (he doesn’t do a bad job of it either). The song was
written by song writer/lyricist/composer/producer Tirk
Wilder. Mr. Wilder won the BMI TV Music Award three years in a row for the Walker Texas Ranger Theme song. In
addition to that Wilder and Norris share lyrical credit on the song.
The character Cordell Walker became the star of the show among
a very talented ensemble cast (Clarence Gilyard Jr., Jimmy Wlcek, Noble
Willingham, Sheree Wilson, Nia Peoples, and Floyd ‘Red Crow’ Westerman). Taking
center stage like a true Star Walker, the character Cordell Walker re-claimed
the greatness behind the legendary Texas Rangers of old. In acknowledgement of
the show’s creative ingenuity some of the episodes even took us back to the
time of the old west. This show seemed tailored made for Chuck since it also
allowed him to utilize his beloved martial arts. The martial arts
used on the show was used to enhance the action scenes in most of the
episodes as opposed to showcase gratuitous violence.
“It’s amazing to me because
people come up to me and
say, “Chuck, you’re the luckiest man in the world to be a World Karate Champion and a
movie and TV star.
When they say that to me, I kind of smile because luck had
nothing to do with it;
God has
everything to do with it.”
- Chuck
Norris CBN Interview
It’s All about Family
These days Chuck enjoys a successful Christian faith based marriage with his wife Gena Norris. They live a fully committed Christian life and are not ashamed to share their inspiring testimony with anyone. They live with their two daughters Dakota and Danilee. Chuck also has two sons (Eric and Mike) from a previous marriage. Gena committed her life to Jesus Christ at the age of 26. But she has said that like her husband, she also fell away and drifted from her faith. They now enjoy encouraging and setting an example of ‘living by faith’ for each other.
However the Norris family are quick to claim that they are continuing to build a closer relationship with HIM. They do not hesitate in giving the Lord all due credit for the success of their marriage as well as the professional successes in their lives.
Living the Life of a chosen Star
Walker
Under the high excitement, adventure, solid entertainment and
inspirational elements of star
The warrior spirit as displayed in the Star Walker Radio
Episodes (specifically in Episode
II:The Ken Ju Kai Run) has been shown by Norris time and time
again in his own life. It is another reason we chose him as our Star Walker of
the year for 2007.
NORRIS AWARDED AN HONORARY KEN JU KAI
RANKING
Chuck Norris you embrace so much of what Star Walker is about and what it represents. We acknowledge your great and inspiring story of overcoming adversity. And even more importantly we recognize your strong faith and belief in a living and all powerful God. We acknowledge both you and your wife Gena for standing strong in your faith as an example to other married couples and families to follow. May God continue to bless your family this Christmas season and for all time. We encourage you to stay strong as husband and wife guided by the all mighty creator.
Star
A Special Christmas Message
This
To those of us who have not gone through loss but still have our loved ones close by, I recommend that you be grateful because this is a temporary journey. That same loved one or friend maybe not be here this same time next year. In fact for someone near you or close to you, this is a fact.
And lastly I would like to encourage you to carry the true spirit and divine elements of Christmas with you throughout the entire year. I would also encourage you to look beyond the commerciality of Christmas which can sometimes get in the way of our experiencing the true essence of it. And lastly I extend to you and yours a very wonderful and merry Christmas.
Commenteors – What other people have to say about this Star Walker of the Month, these commentaries are like comets and meteors, brief but prolific and enlightening – sure to leave a trail of insightfulness across your heart - what we call Commenteors.
To Star Walk – Click here and find the star of Chuck Norris as he is forever remembered in the galaxy of the stars within the Star Walker Universe. View and watch the skies slowly fill in the coming months and years as the light of Star Walker, after Star Walker, after Star Walker fills the heavens. We do this as an interactive tribute to those who have through fate, destiny, and even under divine purpose, left the rest of us behind, as well as to those who are still with us.
Star
Past
Star Walkers of the Month:
December
2007 – Star
September 2007 – Vince Lombardi
December 2006 - Paul Allen Knopf
November 2006 - Princess Diana