Striking Stars: A Martial Arts Celebrity Spotlight

Say hello to yet another new series you can expect to find on a regular basis at the KarateMart.com Martial Arts Blog. With Striking Stars we want to take a closer look at some celebrities that you may not have known were martial artists. You'll see everyone from sports figures to action stars and hopefully be able to take a little inspiration from their stories.

Now let's get started with the very first of our Striking Stars: Ed O'Neill

Most famous for his role of sad shoe-salesman Al Bundy in the long-running Fox sit-com Married with Children, Ed O'neill has had small movie roles over the years and can currently be seen on the hit TV series Modern Family where he plays Jay Pritchett. While the majority of his acting career may have been spent playing a human punching-bag, Ed O'Neill actually has over 22 years of martial arts training under his belt.



Yeah, we're not talking about some guy that spends a day or two every couple of months going to a 'Jiu-jitsu' class. Mr. O'Neill has devoted himself seriously to his art, training under one of the best in the sport, Rorion Gracie. In 2007 Ed O'Neill was awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, an accomplishment he is truly proud of. As well he should be!

Ed O'neill (aka Al Bundy)

Today's Striking Star: Ed O'Neill

How Do You Know Him?

• Married With Children
• Modern Family
• Dutch
• Little Giants









This is one shoe-salesman you don't want to mess with!




Why You Shouldn't Mess With Him:

• Over 20 years spent training (with Rorion Gracie mind you) in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.


• He won a college football scholarship and was even signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers at one point.


• He just earned his Black Belt in his art.


• You don't mess with Al Bundy








Let's rock.


Final Thoughts:
I wanted to leave you with a short video featuring Ed O'Neill making a guest appearance at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in which he gives an excellent talk about his first experiences in entering the sport.




It's a really interesting story and hopefully gives some of you a jolt of inspiration the next time you're feeling discouraged about your training progress. Which is my hope for this series in the first place. Enjoy!

Source(s):

• Wikipedia
• IMDB


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