Chuck Norris dies at 86, the action star who has a martial arts system named after him

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3 min readUpdated: Mar 20, 2026 09:38 PM IST

Chuck Norris was a six time middleweight Karate World Champion. (Credits: MMA Underground)

Chuck Norris, Hollywood action star and the martial arts grandmaster, has died at the age of 86. Norris died Thursday, in what his family described as a “sudden passing.” “While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace,” the family said in a statement posted to social media.

A man with many talents, Norris starred in Walker, Texas Ranger and other television shows. His tough guy image turned into internet parodies resulting in memes like, ‘Once Norris had a staring contest with Sun and, he won.’

The outrageous admiration for the Hollywood action figure came from his successful past as competitive martial artist and his time with United States Air Force in the 60s. He became a six-time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate champion. He also founded his own Korean-based American hard style of karate known sometimes as Chun Kuk Do and the United Fighting Arts Federation.

Norris had a good bond with action star Bruce Lee and fought the martial arts icon in Rome’s Colosseum in his 1973 film debut “The Way of the Dragon.”

Chuck Norris posted this 10 days ago for his 86th Birthday.

A titan of a man til the very end 🙏 pic.twitter.com/uFVjnLufDL

— Flappr (@flapprdotnet) March 20, 2026

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Martial arts named after him

Chuck is largely credited for establishing two system: American Tang Soo Do and Chuck Norris System (formerly known as Chun Kuk Do). Norris found Chun Kuk Do in 1990 and it was originally based on his Tang Soo Do training in Korea when he was in the military.

Currently, Chuck Norris system has more than 4000 active members worldwide and 90 schools in USA, Mexico, Norway and Paraguay. He also founded United Fighting Arts Federation that conducts the national championships for Chuck Norris System and has awarded more than 3,300 black belts worldwide,

Black Belt magazine, one of the oldest titles in the history of combat sports and martial arts, recognized him as the best fighter in 1969 and also credited him in its hall of fame with holding a 10th degree black belt, the highest possible honor.

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Apart from holding the 10th degree black belt in his own system, Norris also 8th degree black belt in Taekwondo, 5th degree black belt in Karate, 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu and black belt in judo.

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