Chuck Norris
The karate champion who became Bruce Lee's screen rival
- Born
- March 10, 1940, Ryan, Oklahoma, US
- Died
- March 19, 2026 (aged 86)
- Nationality
United States- Style
- Spinning-kick point fighter
- Weight
- Middleweight
- Active
- 1960s–1972
The record
Point-karate tournament bouts confirmed from back issues of Black Belt magazine, as reported by Wikipedia; his full record is unknown.
The story
arlos Ray Norris picked up his nickname and his first martial art, Tang Soo Do, while serving as an air policeman at Osan Air Base in South Korea. Back in California he lost his first two tournament bouts, to Joe Lewis and Allen Steen, and kept improving. In 1967 he won S. Henry Cho's All-American Championship at Madison Square Garden, beating Lewis, and on November 24, 1968 he avenged a loss to Louis Delgado to win the professional middleweight karate title. In 1969 he took karate's triple crown for most tournament victories and Black Belt magazine's Fighter of the Year award. He retired from competition in 1970, played Bruce Lee's rival in The Way of the Dragon and became a film and television star. He died in March 2026, aged 86.
- S. Henry Cho's All-American Karate Championship (1967, 1968)
- Professional middleweight karate champion (1968)
- Karate's triple crown for most tournament wins (1969)
- Black Belt magazine Fighter of the Year (1969)
- Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame (1999)
Defining matches
- 1967WINvs Skipper Mullins (tournament final after seven straight wins)
- 1967WINvs Joe Lewis (S. Henry Cho's All-American Karate Championship, Madison Square Garden)
- 1968LOSSvs Louis Delgado (upset decision)
- 1968WINvs Louis Delgado (rematch; won the professional middleweight karate title, November 24)
Point karate rewards speed and precision: Norris built his wins on fast, clean scoring techniques and spinning kicks. Set up a spinning kick with straight attacks first, so the opponent is moving where you expect when you turn.
