Top 10 Greatest Martial Arts Superstars
You know a martial arts superstar when you see one. Maybe it's the way they glide through a fight scene like it's a choreographed dance with fists. Maybe it's the calm stare right before the chaos, or the sheer speed that makes you want to hit rewind just to catch what happened. These are the people who don't just fight on screen. They turn combat into an art form and make you believe, even for a second, that you could pull off a spinning heel kick in jeans.This list is all about those legends. The icons who took martial arts and brought it into living rooms, movie theaters, and pop culture like a roundhouse to the face. Some of them brought elegance. Others brought grit. A few brought so much charm you barely noticed they just disarmed five people in a single shot.
Think about who made your jaw drop, who made you want to sign up for a class, or who you quote every time someone brings up martial arts movies. Scroll through the names, make your picks, and if your favorite isn't getting the love they deserve, it's time to change that.
Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist, martial arts instructor, actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that is often... read more Whatever glimpses of martial arts we see now in Hollywood movies, this man started it all. He brought martial arts to movies and Hollywood, and since then, people started taking martial arts more seriously.
All genres of martial arts being portrayed by modern movies were started by him. No CGI, no special effects, all stunts done by himself. His moves were slowed down so that they could be caught on camera and we could learn from them.
Oh, and by the way, he was the inventor of the 1-inch and 3-inch punches and showed the world that martial arts can be lethal and fatal if not practiced with care.
Chan Kong-sang known professionally as Jackie Chan, is a Hong Kong martial artist, actor, film director, producer, stuntman, and singer. He is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself, in the cinematic... read more He brought a new genre: kung fu comedy. Nowadays, Hollywood adds special effects and makes action comedies, but what Chan did in old Chinese movies still rules over them.
Jackie Chan is a great martial artist. He knows all styles of Kung Fu. He performed his most risky moves and stunts with a lot of fun. He is different from all other martial artists.
Breaks the mold of the serious martial artist with comedy and great stunts!
Li Lianjie, better known by his English stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and wushu champion who was born in Beijing. Jet Li is the best ever! Great movies and the best actor! Simple and always smiling, but when it comes to martial arts, he is fearless, wild, and extreme!
Jet Li is the best: simple but fearless, wild, and extreme when it comes to martial arts. Very cool!
Not Bruce Lee, but probably the next best thing. Fights and acts!
He has the most stunning action choreography ever and also has legit street cred. When we talk about which martial artist superstar is the best in reality, we talk about Donnie Yen, who beat up eight gang members at a nightclub when they harassed his girlfriend.
Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Mike Tyson say he is one of the most skilled action stars they've worked with.
I wonder why Jet Li is higher than Donnie Yen? I know they fought twice and Donnie Yen lost, but times have changed. Donnie Yen has gotten a lot faster and stronger over the years.
No offense to Jet Li, but I think if Donnie Yen and he fought now, Donnie Yen would win.
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme and abbreviated as JCVD, is a Belgian actor, martial artist, screenwriter, film producer, and director best known for his martial arts action films. Flexibility, muscles, and cool moves.
Tatchakorn Yeerum, better known as Tony Jaa, is a Thai martial artist, actor, action choreographer, stuntman, and director.
Known for his explosive martial arts stunt work, Jaa broke out in 2003 with Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, which earned him international recognition and spawned two sequels. What amazing fighting skills and brilliant fight scenes in Ong-Bak 1, 2, 3, and Warrior King (The Protector). A fantastic fighter.
I only write this to argue Tony Jaa should get #4 over Chuck Norris! Bruce Lee will forever be #1.
His stunts and moves are great fun to watch. He really performs them, and I would pay to watch anytime. Not like Jet Li and other actors who fly around on wires to look invincible.
Laugh out loud, the top 3 places are good, but why is Chuck Norris 4th? Tony Jaa would kick his ass.
He did one of the greatest Kung Fu movies of all time: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.
A great mix of humor and power, with a likable character too.
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American actor and martial artist. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championships and later founded his own discipline Chun Kuk Do. Shortly... read more Trained by Bruce Lee. Truly one of the best martial artists of all time.
Don't let him be #4, or he'll roundhouse kick us all in the face!
The face of non-Asian martial arts, on film and TV.
Scott Edward Adkins (born 17 June 1976) is an English actor and martial artist. He gained prominence with his villainous portrayal of the Russian prison fighter Yuri Boyka in the American martial arts film Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)... read more Adkins must come in the top 5. He is not popular only because of the poor storylines of his films. However, you cannot see such fast and unique moves from any other martial artist.
He also possesses around seven black belts in different martial arts, including ninjitsu, jiujitsu, and taekwondo. See his best in Undisputed II and III.
An incredible athlete and martial artist! He needs to be cast better and allowed to fulfill his potential to the highest! I hear he is working on the new Wolverine!
In terms of martial arts actors in 2017, I'd say he's in the top 3.
The Newcomers
One of the best female Hong Kong movie martial arts performers of the late sixties and seventies.
December 16, 1951.
He played Dantetsu Kiryu in Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger. He is the oldest actor to become a Ranger in Super Sentai.
2015 Guinness World Record Book, page 248.
Undefeated full-contact and Russian SAMBO record. Military Veteran. Best Actor Award for Hamlet.
I would say this guy is a real-life action star versus a movie star. I liked him in Samurai Avenger. I saw him in a few Asian movies as well, and he is really skilled! However, there are just not that many movies in the US with him in it. I would love to see him in the next Expendables! Or matched up against Van Damme or Scott Adkins!
He usually plays the good guy, but he made a nice transition to the bad guy in one movie (spoiler). He could make one hell of a villain. At 6'4" and 250 lbs, he moves like Bruce Lee! Let's see it, please! Maybe in the next Mortal Kombat he could be Kenji (looks and swordplay) or maybe the next Wolverine or Batman?
Ip Man (1 October 1893 - 2 December 1972), also known as Yip Man, was a Chinese martial arts grandmaster. He is best known for popularizing the martial art of Wing Chun... read more The best martial artist ever. The great grandmaster of Wing Chun. He inspired me to take on martial arts, especially Wing Chun.
I think he is better than Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan because he was Bruce Lee's teacher.
I think that nobody can be compared with him, but it's a pity that no one knows him. Just saying he was the teacher of Bruce Lee is enough to understand how great he is.
Had a movie made about him. Took on ten black belts and won. Trained Bruce flippin' Lee!
Jason Statham is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Revolver. More than the best! Jason must be at least in the top 10.
James is a very honorable person who truly loves what he does. He is an amazing teacher and friend to those who know him. He is an incredible martial artist. He competes with integrity and respects his opponent.
The best martial artists do all these incredible things and teach others as well. That's why James DeCore should be at the top of this list!
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American actor, film producer, screenwriter, film director, martial artist, Aikido instructor, musician, reserve deputy sheriff and entrepreneur. This guy proves you don't need to throw your feet around with a whole lot of fancy kicks to do some damage!
Cynthia is good at kicking, jumping, rotation kicks, and complete style. A good film to watch is Tiger Claws, where her opponent is master fighter Bolo Yeung.
Cynthia Rothrock has a good fighting style with long footwork. Great discovery in the film Martial Law 2.
Best female martial arts actress!
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, professional American football player, and mixed martial artist who is currently signed to WWE. Brock is a wrestler who fights with brute power and martial arts.
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and artist. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Screen Actors Guild... read more
He's the rising star now. Not only does he do his own stunts, but he also designs the choreography in The Raid and The Raid 2.
At such a young age, he has starred in and choreographed two of the best action films of this decade.
A new rising star in my opinion. Still a fan of Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li.
I like Sho Kosugi's role in the film Revenge of the Ninja. Sho Kosugi in ninja costume entering a big skyscraper and fighting against a dangerous ninja.
If anyone is the face of the ninja on screen, Sho Kosugi is.
Ronda Jean "Rowdy" Rousey (born February 1, 1987, in Riverside, California) is a retired American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist (years in MMA: 2010-2016. Years in WWE: 2018-2019 and 2022-2023), actress, and author. Her longstanding nickname, "Rowdy," was inherited from the late professional... read more
An oldie but goodie, especially for those of us who remember Grasshopper in Kung Fu.
Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 - March 31, 1993), was an American actor and martial artist. He was the son of martial artist and film actor Bruce Lee and teacher Linda Lee Cadwell, the grandson of Cantonese opera singer Lee Hoi-chuen, and brother of Shannon Lee. He died (at the age of 28) during... read more