There is no lack of eccentric people in Hollywood. That might even be the understatement of the century! However, we doubt that anyone in the world of show business is the same brand of strange that Steven Seagal is. With his off-the-wall antics, the action star has given Nicolas Cage a run for his money. For one thing, he claims that he is a martial arts expert. Even though he kicked butt in the past, there are people thinking that he is simply a fraud. What is the truth? Keep reading to find out!
Is There Any Truth To Claims That Steven Seagal Is A Martial Arts Fraud
He Has Not Been In The Limelight Recently
We doubt that you have seen Steven Seagal beat villains up in a while. After all, he has not starred in a movie in nearly decades now! You might even be surprised to hear that he continues to work. As a matter of fact, he has been quite prolific recently. The only problem is that he has been doing the direct-to-video circuit in recent years. This is the reason you have likely not heard of his new projects.
He Has Not Been In The Limelight Recently
No Longer In His Prime
Of course, there is also the fact that he is no longer in his prime. As a matter of fact, Steven Seagal is nearly in his seventies. You can see this in his physique. He no longer looks the same way that he did back in the ‘80s and ‘90s. With his extra pounds, it must be harder to work on action scenes. You might think that as a martial arts expert, he should still be able to bust out his moves. But is that even true?
No Longer In His Prime
What He Thinks Of Himself
In 2017, a woman called Cassie Lane talked about some of his claims. She said that she once went out with him. At dinner, he did not stop talking about himself. Among other things, he said that he was a born healer, a clairvoyant, and a martial arts expert. He allegedly started training in the last one in his youth. In The Guardian, she shared, “He genuinely believed that he was blessed by the divine, and we mere mortals didn’t even warrant an afterthought.” We should take his claims with a grain of salt!
What He Thinks Of Himself
Thanks To His Reputation
It is possible that some people have treated him unfairly due to his reputation. Steven Seagal is said to be a difficult person to work with on the set. A lot of big Hollywood stars allegedly hate him! As a matter of fact, Charlize Theron even took a shot at the action star on The Howard Stern Show in 2020.
Thanks To His Reputation
His Troubles With The Law And The Mafia
In the past, he has gotten into hot water not just with the mob but also with the FBI. How is that possible? It got messy when Julius Nasso, who used to be his producing partner, got into a feud with Steven Seagal. Gangsters allegedly intimidated the action star into giving them a cut of the profits of his projects. The Feds had to look into it to patch everything up. As you can imagine, things got pretty messy.
His Troubles With The Law And The Mafia
He Has Been Accused Of Other Things
This former box-office star had also been on the receiving end of inappropriate conduct allegations. Juliana Margulies of ER and Portia de Rossi of Arrested Development were among those who accused them. It is pretty shocking to hear that these accusations go all the way back to 1996. We are glad that these have come to light due to the #MeToo movement. Seagal denied them.
He Has Been Accused Of Other Things
His Beef With The Muscles From Brussels
He has always been a pretty controversial person. It should not come as a shock to hear that he has several enemies in the industry. Steven Seagal has previously feuded with other famous faces. This includes Jean-Claude Van Damme, who is also known as “The Muscles from Brussels.” Their quarrel started when Seagal made disparaging comments about the Belgian actor back in 1991.
His Beef With The Muscles From Brussels
He Did Not Know His Peer
Arsenio Hall asked Steven Seagal if he had heard of Jean-Claude Van Damme. Can you believe that he said no? When the TV host asked a few more questions, he admitted that he knew the Belgian actor and felt offended that his contemporary made a name for himself as a champion martial artist. Mind you, Van Damme was a part of the Belgian karate team that won the European Karate Championship in 1979.
He Did Not Know His Peer
Not A Champion In His Books
In fact, Steven Seagal said, “I think that’s a matter of opinion he was champion anywhere. I’m not being catty or anything. I wish the guy all the best. But there are an awful lot of people who say that’s not true.” We are going to let you be the judge of this. Read on to see what Van Damme had to say about it.
Not A Champion In His Books
What The Other Man Had To Say
In 1994, Jean-Claude Van Damme said that he did not know why Steven Seagal seemed to dislike him. In The year after that, he shot back by saying that Steven Seagal was “boring.” Two years later, it all came to a boil at a Hollywood party at the house of Sylvester Stallone. The witnesses include the likes of Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Madonna. What exactly went down with the two martial artists?
What The Other Man Had To Say
It All Came To A Boil
“At a party in my home in Miami in 1997, Van Damme was tired of Seagal claiming he could kick his ass, so he offered Seagal outside into my back yard. Seagal made his excuses and left. But Van Damme, who was berserk, tracked him down at a nightclub and offered him out again,” Sylvester Stallone told FHM.
It All Came To A Boil
He Decided To Leave
It is quite shocking to hear that Steven Seagal left after all that. The party host said, “Again, Seagal pulled a Houdini. Van Damme was just too strong. Seagal wanted none of it.” In 2010, Van Damme confirmed that the feud really did take place. In the interview, he said, “No fight was made, just a little pushing.”
He Decided To Leave Instead
It Was A Disrespectful Thing To Do
When he narrated the incident, Van Damme said that he asked Steven Seagal to head out. He was a bit drunk and did not want to ruin the home of Stallone. He waited for two hours there when he realized that he had been stood up. The Belgian actor said, “Steven was very disrespectful that night.”
It Was A Disrespectful Thing To Do
All Bark But No Bite
Is it true that Steven Seagal is all talk but no action? While he did not take up the offer of a fight, he kept making fun of Van Damme. In an episode of Steven Seagal: Lawman, the action star was asked if the story was true. He said, “No. It would be like me squashing an ant. If he sees me, he runs.”
All Bark But No Bite
Ronda Rousey Is Not A Fan
Ronda Rousey of UFC and WWE fame is not a fan of Steven Seagal either. She once alluded that she could pulverize the aging action star in the ring. It turns out that there is bad blood here. Steven Seagal allegedly had a skirmish with her uncle Gene LeBell, a martial arts expert and stuntman. In the end, he choked the action star into submission in front of thirty other people on the set of a movie.
Ronda Rousey Is Not A Fan
What She Feels About Him
This is yet another story that Steven Seagal denies. He went as far as to call the stuntman a pathological liar! At any rate, Ronda Rousey is convinced that it took place. “Gene LeBell would destroy Steven Seagal again even as old as they are now. I’d still put my money on him to this day,” she said.
What She Feels About Him
How He Made It Big
But how did Steven Seagal get famous in the first place? In the late ‘80s, he entered the scene with no acting experience to his name. With a ponytail, a Hollywood agent by the name of Michael Ovitz picked him out at a dojo in Los Angeles. He went on to teach aikido to James Mason, James Coburn, ad more.
How He Made It Big
He Had An Air Of Mystery
During the onset of his acting career, Steven Seagal played up his air of mystery every single chance that he had. There was a rumor going around that he was the first man of non-Asian descent to open his own dojo in Japan. He did not make efforts to dispel this as it gave him clout even though it is not totally true.
He Had An Air Of Mystery
When The Truth Came Out
In 1990, People magazine exposed the lie. It was true that Steven Seagal ran a dojo in the Asian country for a while, but he did not actually own it. His father-in-law, who also taught aikido in Los Angeles, was the real owner. It was where Seagal met Miyako Fujitani, the woman that he went on to marry. When she made up her mind to return to Osaka and work at the family dojo, he went there with her.
When The Truth Came Out
At The Dojo In Osaka
The episode can be considered representative of the way he conducted himself when he first broke into Hollywood. Even though Steven Seagal taught in the dojo in Osaka, he could not help but embellish the truth a little to make himself seem more impressive. We have not even talked about his claims that he took on undercover work for the CIA, allegedly set up by his students who were covert agents.
At The Dojo In Osaka
The Reputation Of The Sport
With a focus on aikido, his specialty and technique had him in a league of his own. This decision was quite interesting. It is a discipline that has a pretty checkered reputation in the martial arts scene. In 2013, Danny Costa of Maxim wrote about five martial arts that would not be helpful when it comes to real fights. In his article, aikido came in second to tai chi.
The Reputation Of The Sport
It Is No Good In A Real Fight
The writer said, “Aikido’s core philosophy is to avoid head-on confrontation, which kind of overlooks the fact that martial arts are meant to deal with precisely that.” He added, “Comprised mostly of flashy rolls and closed-quarter wrist-locks, aikido is more about the fancy skirt garb than defusing a real attack.”
It Is No Good In A Real Fight
What Joe Rogan Had To Say
Joe Rogan is best known as a podcaster, comedian, and fighter. He watched footage of Steven Seagal doing aikido techniques and broke it down. “This would never work against a trained fighter. Never. Not in a million years,” he said. “You get an NCAA division one wrestler; he’s going to shoot on this guy and this guy is going to be on his head in seconds.” That is a fairly scathing critique in our books!
What Joe Rogan Had To Say
The Fight Scenes With Seagal
Jack Slack of VICE also had negative things to say about the Steven Seagal classic flick, Out for Justice. “Seagal is a seventh dan in aikido, a martial art which famously only works if the opponent is running straight at you,” he said. “Consequently, almost all of Seagal’s fight scenes involve people running straight at him and he rarely does much attacking himself.”
The Fight Scenes With Seagal
His Story Was Quite Shady
Not only is aikido dismissed by many people in the martial arts industry, but Steven Seagal has also been questioned about his claims regarding where he learned it from. The actor has always said that he trained under the creator of aikido himself: Morihei Ueshiba. It allegedly took place when he was a young man living in Japan. This does not sound right to a lot of people. Let us find out why!
His Story Was Quite Shady
Why It Did Not Sound Right
First of all, Morihei Ueshiba passed away in 1968. This timeline meant that Steven Seagal must have been a teen when he trained. It did not sound likely that an American kid would be alone in a foreign country. However, one of the students of the master did say that Seagal studied at the dojo. However, this did not sound right as college files say that Seagal could not have left for Japan before 1971.
Why It Did Not Sound Right
He Claims That He Taught UFC Stars
In the past, Steven Seagal made a number of wild claims about teaching aikido to real fighters. When he was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! he said that he imparted his wisdom to two very famous fighters in the UFC. “I am teaching Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida,” the action star claimed. Is this true?
He Claims That He Taught UFC Stars
What He Taught The Fighters
“I show them, you know, a lot,” he went on. “Not everything I know, but I show them punches and what we call ashi sabaki, which means how you move with your feet, how you enter, hand angle, joints, but mostly I’m teaching them kicks and punches.” But one claim went on to return and hunt him later in life.
What He Taught The Fighters
Taking Credit For One Move
He said, “There is a signature kick that I’ve taught them that they’ve knocked champions out with and won world championships with.” He was talking about the front kick that Silva used to beat Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 in 2011. Steven Seagal joined the UFC fighter at the event, but it was likely a publicity stunt.
Taking Credit For One Move
From The Man Himself
But not a lot of people thought it was true. In 2013, Anderson Silva put an end to the issue when he talked to WHOA! TV. “I train the front kick for a long time. Steven Seagal show me the movement, the little movement, but no teach me this kick. I was working hard for this kick for long time,” he said.
From The Man Himself
He Likes To Exaggerate His Stories
If you keep up with Steven Seagal, you might already know that he has a tendency to exaggerate. For one thing, he always claimed that he could beat anyone to death in a fight. As a matter of fact, he even had the audacity to talk about Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris in a bad light. This did not sit well with a lot of people. For one thing, a martial arts veteran called Bob Wall had something to say about this.
He Likes To Exaggerate His Stories
A Group Invited Him To A Fight
Bob Wall has previously worked with many big action stars. He created a team of twelve martial artists who were game to put the claims made by Seagal to the test. Called “The Dirty Dozen,” the members included famous fighters such as Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, William “Blinky” Rodriguez, and Bill “Superfoot” Wallace. They sent him an open challenge in the pages of a magazine called Black Belt.
A Group Invited Him To A Fight
This Was A Controversial Move
It was a rather controversial move back then. Critics said that Wall and the rest of the Dirty Dozen were trying to incite violence. As a matter of fact, a few of them withdrew due to the reaction it earned. The gamble worked in its own way since Steven Seagal did not respond to the challenge. Rodriguez said that “just by not accepting the challenge, Seagal tells us where he’s at.” That sounds logical to us.
This Was A Controversial Move
It Was Bad For The Sport Too
Sarah Kurchak wrote a VICE article that explained why a lot of fight fans are not thrilled with all the lies and falsehoods that Steven Seagal seems to espouse. For one thing, she said that his claims that he is a martial arts expert do not jive with the way he is seen by others. A lot of folks think that he is a joke!
It Was Bad For The Sport Too
What His Lies Are Doing
But what does he even get out of lying? Why does he keep doing it even though he has been caught red-handed in the past? There is no doubt that Steven Seagal is passionate about martial arts. He would not have dedicated the majority of his life to it otherwise. However, it feels like he is making a mockery of the discipline itself by continuously inventing stories and exaggerating his anecdotes.
What His Lies Are Doing
The Core Values Of Martial Arts
Kurchak added, “Martial arts are about honor, which makes lying about one’s education, prowess or accomplishments an unforgivable sin. Real martial artists detest this kind of behavior, and actively condemn it.” We wonder how Steven Seagal reacted when he saw that he was included in her article about pretenders and imitators in martial arts. Without a doubt, it must have been mortifying for him.
The Core Values Of Martial Arts
His Tough Guy Image
A good portion of the animosity aimed his way has to do with his posturing as a tough guy. It does not look like this is true based on the accounts of other people. Sadly, this has also made it easier to make fun of aikido too. After all, Steven Seagal is among the main proponents of the martial art. Rogan, however, could not deny that the action star is indeed an expert in the discipline.
His Tough Guy Image
He Is The Real Deal
“The thing is, Seagal was a legit aikido specialist,” Rogan explained in his podcast. He said, “Just because a guy seems kind of silly, you forget he had a real, legit history with aikido. He was the first American to ever teach at a dojo in Japan. He speaks fluent Japanese, and he is a legitimate aikido master.”
He Is The Real Deal
Despite Everything It Is Valid
Despite everything that has happened, it would be useless to deny his martial arts skills. Steven Seagal is not lying about being an expert in aikido. As we all know, it takes a lot of hard work to master such a skill. Of course, martial arts do not always translate well in real physical fights. This does not make his expertise any less valid, however. “Aikido is just not the best martial art for self-defense. It’s just not. But it has its applications. And in its applications, he’s a master at it,” Rogan expounded.
Despite Everything It Is Valid