as far as I know the only belt he claims is in Aikido. do you have evidence to the contrary?
Steven Seagal Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com
He traveled to Japan at the age of 17 where he taught English, studied Zen and perfected his martial arts, eventually earning black belts in aikido, karate, judo, and kendo.
Call it an obsession or a calling but Steven mastered Martial Arts at an early age, becoming a 7th degree black belt and Aikido master.
Steven Frederic Seagal[2] (born April 10, 1952)[1] is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan.[3] He became the first foreigner to operate an Aikido dojo in Japan.[4]
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At a very young age, Seagal lied about his age and got a job as a dishwasher at a restaurant named The Wagon Wheel. One of the cooks at the restaurant was a Japanese shotokan karate expert and noticed Seagal moved very quickly around the kitchen. He taught Seagal the basics of karate. Seagal began training in aikido under master Harry Kiyoshi Ishisaka, founder of the Orange County Aikido School (Orange County Aiki Kai) (OCAK) in 1964. Seagal considers him to have been the most important martial arts teacher in his life and was completely devoted to him. Seagal moved to Japan in his late teens after he went to Japan with his father who was visiting for military purposes and met karate masters and decided to remain in Japan. He received his 1st dan degree (Shodan) under the direction of Koichi Tohei. He continued to train in aikido as a student of Seiseki Abe, Koichi Tohei (whose aikido organization, Ki Society, Seagal refused to join in favor of staying with the Aikikai), Kisaburo Osawa, Hiroshi Isoyama and the second doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba. He attained a 7th dan degree and Shihan in aikido and became the first foreigner to operate an aikido dojo in Japan.[9] Seagal confesses to have been subject to xenophobia in Japan and visited by many Japanese coming to try to kill him, resenting his teaching the Japanese.
Can you kick his ass in his prime?
@daze23, see above for a list of false claims made by Seagal.
I was concerned with one specific claim
My Ex Boss was a Chinese Kung fu master who had been doing Kung fu for over 40 years..he told me seagal was the real deal..not just some movie actor..
He once came to my judo class, I'll say this he knows what the fukk he's doing, I watched him and my sensei spar, he took him down with relative ease, but this was years ago and Segal was in better shape.
Yeah, and I don't buy them. I buy that he got a black belt in aikido, but he lied when he said it was under Ueshiba himself, plus his own master's fam said that the only reason he achieved the belt was because he had a lazy judge during his test. As for the other belts... there's no evidence that he has them beyond him mentioning them in various martial arts magazines (which I obviously can't show you now) and websites, which you can see for yourself. He has never used any advanced techniques from those schools in any movie or video footage. That, combined with his outlandish history of lies makes me inclined not to believe that he earned them unless I see solid evidence to the contrary.