The transcript below is from the video “Jean Claude Van Damme vs Chuck Norris | Karate vs Chun Kuk Do” by Brutal TV.
Brutal TV:
Jean-Claude Van Damme vs Chuck Norris
They are two of the most iconic martial artists to ever grace the big screens: Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. With both stars carving niches for themselves and becoming movie icons in their own rights, there are very few movie stars who command as much respect as they do, especially in the martial arts action film genre.
Now, imagine these two dudes facing off in a one-on-one no-holds-barred fight. Who do you reckon will come out on top? Well, that’s exactly what we’re about to find out in this video. So be sure to stick around till the very end. Before we get started, don’t forget to smash that like button. And if this is your first time on this channel, subscribe and click on that bell icon so you never miss an upload from us.
Alright, before we get into the arena to get the nail biting action going, let’s meet our two fighters on a personal level. First, Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Brutal TV:
Jean-Claude Van Damme
We bet you never knew this, although he is fondly known as Van Damme his full name is actually Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg. He is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and a world-class fight choreographer. Van Damme was born on the 18th of October 1960, in Berchem Sainte Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, to Eliana and Eugene Van Varenberg. He was just 10 years old when he got interested in martial arts. Luckily for him, his father Eugene supported his passion for the art and enrolled him in a Shotokan Karate school.
At the school, Van Damme was trained in Shotokan karate and Kickboxing. And by the age of 18, he earned his black belt in Karate. As Van Damme grew older, he began to pay more attention to his physique and so, started lifting weights to build more muscle mass. This eventually led him to winning the Mr. Belgium Bodybuilding title, confirming his expertise as a high level bodybuilder. Meanwhile, he also took an interest and trained in Taekwondo and Muay Thai as well. But Van Damme was not only interested in carving out an impressive physique and beating people to a pulp. This might come as a surprise but the Belgian also took up ballet dancing and studied it for 5 years. Van Damme’s ballet dancing experience came in handy for him, even in combat sports, as he would later go on record to say that if a person could survive a ballet workout, then they could also survive a workout in any other sport. So, it’s safe to say that ballet dancing was not a walk in the park for Van Damme.
Brutal TV:
Van Damme later moved to the United States in search of acting jobs. He did get a role as an extra in the 1984 hip-hop film Breakin. It was around this time that Van Damme struck a relationship with martial arts film star Chuck Norris. Oh yeah, these two dudes are friends.
The two started sparring together in training and for a while Van Damme worked as a bouncer at a bar owned by Norris. After trying his hand in a handful of roles, Van Damme finally got his breakthrough with that movie Bloodsport, where he took on the role of Frank Dux. The movie was a smash hit and it put Van Damme in the limelight. He would later go on to star in a series of successful films including Cyborg, Kickboxer, Lionheart, Death Warrant, Double Impact, Universal Soldier, Nowhere to Run, JCVD, and later, The Expendables 2, Kung Fu Panda, and the Kickboxer Reboot.
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Chuck Norris
Carlos Norris, better known as Chuck Norris was born on March 10, 1940, to Ray and Wilma Norris in Ryan, Oklahoma, USA. Norris’ father was a mechanic a bus driver as well as a truck driver. At the age of 16, Norris’ parents divorced and he, alongside his 2 younger brothers, relocated to Prairie Village, Kansas to live with his mother. They would later move to and settle in Torrance, California. Before the divorce, growing up, Norris had to deal with a father who was an alcoholic and who often went on alcohol drinking binges that lasted for months at a time, leaving the family in difficult situations. Embarrassed by his father’s behavior and the financial difficulties that would befall the family because of this, Norris developed an acutely introverted character that would stay with him throughout his childhood.
Later in life, Norris would join the United States Air Force as an Air Policeman. At one point, he was sent to Osan Air Base in South Korea. This was where he began to train in Tang Soo Do, a Korean martial art. His love for the art led to Norris gaining black belts in Tang Soo Do and it would later lead him to create the Chun Kuk Do, a martial art designed by Norris himself. He would also go on to create the American Tang Soo Do, a combination of Moo Duk Kwan style, Tang Soo Do, Judo and Karate.
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Chuck Norris would later re-christen Chun Kuk Do as the Chuck Norris System, a system that was introduced by him after studying a variety of martial arts forms, including Shotokan, Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Arnis, Tang Soo Do, Hapkido, and a host of others.
Norris holds a 10th degree black belt in the Chuck Norris System, a 9th degree black belt in American Tang Soo Do, an 8th degree belt in Taekwondo and Kyokushin Budokai, a 5th degree belt in Karate, and a 3rd degree belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. While establishing himself as a martial arts star in the U.S, he also got involved in film, thanks to his relationship with celebrities whom he trained behind closed doors.
After starring in the film The Wrecking Crew, Chuck Norris got his big break when Bruce Lee invited him to play the role of one of the main villains in the critically acclaimed movie Way of the Dragon. He would later get a starring role in Breaker! Breaker! and then in Guys Wear Black, which made him a popular acting film star. Other films Norris starred in include The Octagon, An Eye For An Eye, Silent Rage, Forced Vengeance, Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing in Action, Invasion USA, Delta Force 2, Forest Warrior, The President’s Man, and The Expendables.
Brutal TV:
Now that we’ve met these two superstars, it’s time to determine which one of them will come out on top in a one-on-one duel. As always, to decide the outcome of this fight, we’ll be judging our fighters across four major categories. These are fighting pedigree, physique, skill and improvisation. For each category, each fighter will be awarded a maximum of 10 points and in the end, the fighter with the higher cumulative points will be declared the winner. Alright, let’s begin!
Brutal TV:
Fighting Pedigree
Let’s be clear here, it’s extremely difficult to tell these two apart when it comes to their fighting pedigree. Perhaps against other martial artists, it will be easier, but not now. That said, for the sake of this bout, we just have to give this round to Chuck Norris. The dude has 7 black belts from different martial arts to his name. Add that to his very own martial art, which was completely designed by him and you can see why he gets this one. A full 10 points to Chuck Norris and 9 points to Van Damme.
Brutal TV:
Physique
Of course, for this one, we’ll be judging these two fighters when they were still in their prime, and based on that Van Damme stands at 1.77 m and weighs 80 kg of pure muscle, while Chuck Norris also stands at roughly 1.78 m but is lighter at 70 kg. It’s tempting to call this one a tie but we’ll give it to Van Damme. 9 points to JCVD and 8 to Norris.
Brutal TV:
Skills
For this one, Norris has the advantage, just based on his wide range of skill sets from all the martial art forms he’s mastered. Van Damme doesn’t do too bad either. 9 points to Norris and 8 points to Van Damme.
Brutal TV:
Improvisation
Being lighter than Jean-Claude Van Damme and also blessed with in-depth knowledge of various combat styles, we reckon that Chuck Norris will be a handful for Van Damme when it comes to springing surprises and catching the opponent unaware. Once again, Norris wins. 8 points to Norris, 7 points Van Damme.
Brutal TV:
The Verdict
And the winner of this bout, with a total of 35 points to his opponent’s 33 points, is Chuck Norris.
Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below. Once again, thank you for watching. We’ll see you next time.
