The Fighting Style Practiced By The 15 Biggest Martial Arts Movie Stars

Summary Different martial arts movie stars excelled in a variety of fighting styles, showcasing their diverse skills and commitment to their craft.

Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee's influence helped popularize Asian martial arts in the West, bridging cultural divides through their iconic performances.

From Steven Seagal's aikido to Cynthia Rothrock's Tang Soo Doo, each star brought a unique style to their roles, adding depth and authenticity to their action sequences.

When looking at the fighting styles of the biggest martial arts movie stars of all time, one thing that stood out was variety. With so many fighting disciplines from all over the world, the greatest martial artists usually practiced numerous styles but often had one with which they were readily associated. This mixture of styles and practices has helped keep martial arts movies fresh and exciting over the decades, as with each new generation usually comes a unique mixture of styles and disciplines.

Some of the biggest martial arts stars trained since they were small children; others, like Michelle Yeoh, had no fighting style at all as their background came instead from dancing. The biggest names in Kung Fu, such as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, had such a far-reaching influence that they even helped popular Asian martial arts styles in the West, effectively helping to bridge cultural divides. The fight styles practiced by the biggest martial arts movie stars were vast and varied, highlighting the actors' incredible commitment to their craft.

Martial Artist Fighting Style Conor McGregor Mixed martial arts (MMA) Keanu Reeves Judo Steven Seagal Aikido Angela Mao Hapkido Chuck Norris Karate Mark Dacascos Capoeira Jean-Claude Van Damme Kickboxing Cynthia Rothrock Tang Soo Doo Iko Uwais Silat Gordon Liu Hung Ka Tony Jaa Muay Thai Donnie Yen Wing Chun Jet Li Wushu Jackie Chan Kung Fu Bruce Lee Jee Kune Do

15 Conor McGregor

Mixed martial arts (MMA)

The notorious UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor came to mainstream recognition long before he entered the movie world in 2024. McGregor, an Irish mixed martial arts fighter, helped popularize the fighting style across the globe as his abrasive personality made him popular with MMA enthusiasts worldwide. McGregory received acclaim for his villainous Knox role opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in the action movie Road House, and with this success, audiences should prepare for him to continue to show off his MMA skills in future martial arts movies.

Related Conor McGregor's Unusual Motivation To Join Road House Makes His Performance Even Better Conor McGregor made his acting debut in 2024's Road House, and he had an unusual motivation to take the role that made his performance even better.

14 Keanu Reeves

Judo

There were plenty of martial arts disciplines in the John Wick franchise, but the main style exhibited by its lead actor, Keanu Reeves, was judo. This was just one of the many styles that Reeves trained in for his role in the long-running action series, which he needed to master if he was to be as believable as the legendary killing machine Baba Yaga. Judo was known for his throwing techniques, which John Wick used to catch his enemies off guard and always come out on top.

13 Steven Seagal

Aikido

The action movie legend Steven Seagal helped popularize the aikido fighting style, in which he became a 7th-dan black belt. Before becoming a movie star, Seagal was the first American to teach in an aikido dojo, and spent many years as a martial arts instructor in Japan (via LA Times.) Seagal has often utilized his skill for aikido, which includes the use of breathing control, throws, and joint locks, and was seen in his movies Above the Law and Shadow Man, where he can be observed giving an aikido demonstration.

12 Angela Mao

Hapkido

As one of the greatest female martial artists of all time, Angela Mao was a skilled fighter who trained in hapkido and other martial arts from a very young age. Hapkido was a form of self-defense that incorporated hand-to-hand combat but also traditional weaponry like knives, swords, and nunchucks. Mao’s incredible martial arts skills were seen in Kung Fu movies throughout the 1970s, which led to her reputation as “Lady Kung Fu” and even often being referred to as the female equivalent to Bruce Lee.

11 Chuck Norris

Karate

The legendary martial artist Chuck Norris was known for his incredible karate skills, which utilized several styles, including his black belt in Tang Soo Do. Before making a name for himself in Hollywood, Norris won many martial arts competitions and even founded his own discipline called Chun Kuk Do. As a friend and contemporary of Bruce Lee, Norris got his start in movies as a villain in The Way of the Dragon and soon starred in Force of One and Missing in Action, which further demonstrated his karate skills.

10 Mark Dacascos

Capoeira

The American martial artist Mark Dacascos has studied a number of fighting disciplines and even holds a fourth-degree black belt in Wun Hop Kuen Do. However, one unique style he was known for was capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art, which he utilized in Only the Strong, a film considered to be the only Hollywood production that showcased that fighting style from start to finish. Capoeira mixed elements of dance, acrobatics, music, and spirituality and Dascasco’s depiction of it brought something incredibly idiosyncratic to Hollywood martial arts moviemaking.

9 Jean-Claude Van Damme

Kickboxing

Custom Image by Stephanie Maulding

While Jean-Claude Van Damme started training as a child in karate, it was kickboxing with which he became forever associated. As a talented 2nd-dan black belt in karate, Van Damme went on to fight in kickboxing competitions before showing off his skills in his breakout film role in Bloodsport. This turned Van Damme into a major martial arts movie star, where he continued to utilize his incredible fighting skills in everything from Kickboxer to Universal Solider.

8 Cynthia Rothrock

Tang Soo Doo

Cynthia Rothrock made her acting debut alongside Michelle Yeoh in Yes, Madam back in 1985 and has consistently showcased her skills across many different martial arts disciplines, like Tang Soo Doo. Rothrock holds a black belt in seven different styles, including Taekwondo, Karate, Eagle Claw, Wu Shu, Northern Shaolin, and Pai Lum Tao Kung Fu. With a truly spectacular list of achievements behind her, Rothrock’s martial arts skills put plenty of her male contemporaries to shame.

7 Iko Uwais

Silat

Best known for the awe-inspiring displays of martial arts skills in The Raid series, Iko Uwais was the grandson of H. Achmad Bunawar, a silat master who founded the silat school (via The Jakarta Post.) Uwais carried on his family's legacy by utilizing this form of the Indonesian traditional martial arts style across his filmography. As a full-body fighting form that incorporated strikes, grappling, and throwing, silat often looked like an impressive street fight, and watching Uwais take down countless opponents in The Raid showed off just how intricate and complex silat was.

Related 10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching The Raid, 13 Years Later The Raid: Redemption may be one of the best modern martial arts movies, but it certainly isn't without flaws, being mostly raw, unfiltered combat.

6 Gordon Liu

Hung Ka

As a true icon of Kung Fu cinema, Gordon Liu was known for his roles in movies like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and his later appearances in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. While Liu was adept at many different styles and worked as a stuntman in his early career, he first studied hung ga kung fu at the school founded by Lau Kar-leung’s father, Lau Cham (via AMP.) Hung Ka was a form of Shaolin Kung Fu that dated back to the 17th century, which was appropriate considering Liu’s famous role as the folk hero Wong Fei Hung in several films.

5 Tony Jaa

Muay Thai

The martial arts star Tony Jaa worked as a Muay Thai stuntman for several years before gaining his breakout role as Ting in Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior. Muay Thai is a form of Thai boxing that uses strikes, sweeps, and clinching techniques, as well as a combination of fists, elbow, knee, and shin strikes. Jaa’s fighting style helped shine a light on Thai martial arts styles, and he has also utilized Muay Boran and Muay Kotchasaan, a style he developed with his mentor, Panna Rittikrai.

4 Donnie Yen

Wing Chun

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The Hong Kong actor and filmmaker Donnie Yen has practiced several Chinese martial arts styles, including Tai Chi, but he’s perhaps best known for helping to popularize Wing Chun across China. Yen highlighted this style when he played the Wing Chun Grandmaster Ip Man in the hugely popular Ip Man franchise. Wing Chun was one of the traditional Southern Chinese fighting styles and was characterized by close-quarter self-defense, rapid-fire punches, and intense efficiency. Wing Chun was an incredibly effective style as it used the opponents' force against them.

3 Jet Li

Wushu

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With countless incredible roles, Jet Li has made a name for himself forever as one of the most iconic martial artist movie stars of all time, whose skill for the Wushu discipline has brought him massive acclaim. As a five-time Men's All-Around National Wushu, Li retired from professional fighting at the age of 18 before becoming a major star. Wushu was a form of Chinese martial arts that incorporated Shaolin kung fu, Tai Chi, and Wudangquan, which Li still uses in his movies to this day.

2 Jackie Chan

Kung Fu

Jackie Chan’s fighting style was all his own, which made it difficult to categorize under any term other than simply Kung Fu. As a student of martial arts, since he was a small child, Chan has been credited as an expert in Southern Shaolin kung fu, Northern Shaolin kung fu, Wing Chun, and hapkido. With incredible cross-generational and cultural appeal, Chan’s style was as hard to pin down as his career itself, and he’s taken the world by storm over the past more than 60 years, where he showcased his Kung Fu skills in action, comedies, fantasies, and more.

Related 10 Reasons Jackie Chan Is The Greatest Kung Fu Movie Star Of All Time When all factors are taken into account, there was only one correct answer when considering who was the greatest Kung Fu star ever: Jackie Chan.

1 Bruce Lee

Jee Kune Do

It’s impossible to discuss the fighting styles of the greatest martial arts movie stars without mentioning Bruce Lee, perhaps the most influential fighter in film history. Lee trained under Wing Chun, Tai Chi, boxing, and street fighting styles, which he put all together to form his own hybrid discipline dubbed Jee Kune Do (via the Bruce Lee Foundation.) This style focused on the interception of the opponent and counterstrikes, and, although it was never formalized before Lee’s untimely death at 32, its influence can be seen in everything from modern martial arts movies to fighting video games like Mortal Combat.

Sources: LA Times, The Jakarta Post, AMP, Bruce Lee Foundation