Martial Arts List of Famous Martial Artists

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List of famous martial artists, with photos, bios, and other information when available. Who are the top martial artists in the world? This includes the most prominent martial artists, living and dead, both in America and abroad. This list of notable martial artists is ordered by their level of prominence, and can be sorted for various bits of information, such as where these historic martial artists were born and what their nationality is. The people on this list are from different countries, but what they all have in common is that they're all renowned martial artists.

Examples of people on this list include Steven Seagal and Jet Li.

From reputable, prominent, and well known martial artists to the lesser known martial artists of today, these are some of the best professionals in the martial artist field. If you want to answer the questions, "Who are the most famous martial artists ever?" and "What are the names of famous martial artists?" then you're in the right place. (488 items)

Taylor Lautner is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Taylor Daniel Lautner is an American actor, model and martial artist. Lautner is best known for playing Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga film series based on the novels of the same name by ...more

Steven Seagal is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American actor, film producer, screenwriter, film director, martial artist, musician, reserve deputy sheriff and entrepreneur. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal ...more

Chuck Norris is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist, actor, film producer and screenwriter. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial ...more

Bruce Lee is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Bruce Lee was a Hong Kong American martial artist, Hong Kong action film actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, filmmaker, and the founder of Jeet Kune Do. Lee was the son of Cantonese ...more

Jason Statham is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Jason Statham is an English actor, martial artist and former diver. He is known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Revolver. He has ...more

Jackie Chan is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director, producer and singer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised ...more

Joe Rogan is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan is an American stand-up comedian, actor, martial artist, sports commentator, and podcaster. He is known for his work commentating for the Ultimate Fighting ...more

Brenda Song is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Brenda Song is an American actress, singer, film producer, and model. Song started in show business as a child fashion model. Her early television work included roles in the television shows ...more

Jean-Claude Van Damme is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme and abbreviated as JCVD, is a Belgian martial artist, actor, and director best known for his ...more

Katheryn Winnick is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Katheryn Winnick is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles in Amusement, Bones, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Vikings, and The Art of the Steal.

Michelle Waterson is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Michelle E. Waterson is an American mixed martial artist and model whose nickname is "The Karate Hottie". She is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion. Waterson is currently the ...more

Brandon Lee is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Brandon Bruce Lee was an American actor and martial artist. He was the son of martial arts film actor Bruce Lee, the grandson of Cantonese opera singer Lee Hoi-chuen, and brother of Shannon Lee. ...more

Wesley Snipes is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. He is best known for his role as the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy. He formed a production ...more

Jet Li is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Li Lianjie, better known by his English stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and wushu champion who was born in Beijing. He is a naturalised Singaporean ...more

Dolph Lundgren is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the action hero stereotype, alongside Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, ...more

David Carradine is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his leading role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series Kung Fu. He was a member of a ...more

Chael Sonnen is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Chael Patrick Sonnen is an American former mixed martial artist who last competed in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Sonnen failed three drug tests in his ...more

Michael Jai White is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Michael Jai White is an American actor and martial artist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a ...more

Akshay Kumar is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Akshay Kumar born on 9 September 1967 is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. He has been nominated for Filmfare Awards several ...more

Chuck Zito is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Charles "Chuck" Carmine Zito, Jr., is an American actor, amateur boxer, martial artist, celebrity bodyguard, stuntman, former boxing trainer and former president of the New York ...more

Tatchakorn Yeerum is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Japanom Yeerum, formerly Tatchakorn Yeerum or Phanom Yeerum, better known internationally as Tony Jaa, in Thailand as Jaa Phanom, is a Thai martial artist, physical educator, actor, action ...more

Scott Adkins is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Scott Edward Adkins is an English actor and martial artist who is best known for playing Yuri Boyka in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing and Undisputed III: Redemption, Bradley Hume in Holby ...more

Sean Waltman is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler. He wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac intermittently between 1993 and 2002, World ...more

Bo Svenson is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Bo Svenson is a Swedish-born American actor, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.

Donnie Yen is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Donnie Yen, also known as Yen Ji-dan, is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director and producer, action choreographer, and world wushu tournament medalist. Yen is credited by many for ...more

William Zabka is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
William Michael "Billy" Zabka is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. Zabka is best known for his villain roles in several iconic 80s films, such as his role as ...more

Alex Meraz is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Alejandro "Alex" Meraz is an American dancer, actor and martial artist. Meraz is best known for playing the werewolf named Paul Lahote in the film New Moon.

Sammo Hung is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Sammo Hung, also known as Hung Kam-bo, is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema. He has been a ...more

Cain Velasquez is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Cain Ramirez Velasquez is an American mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the undisputed heavyweight lineal champion. As of January 9, 2015, he is #5 in ...more

Randy Couture is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Randy Duane Couture is an American actor, retired mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Couture became a ...more

Forrest Griffin is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Forrest Griffin is an American retired mixed martial artist and a UFC Hall of Famer. Since 2005, he has been signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Light ...more

Mark Dacascos is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Mark Alan Dacascos is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. Beginning in January 2005, Dacascos ...more

Caity Lotz is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Caity Marie Lotz is an American actress, dancer, singer, and model. She is known for her roles as Officer Kirsten Landry in the MTV mockumentary series Death Valley, as Annie in the horror film ...more

Yip Man is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Yip Man, also spelled as Ip Man, and also Yip Kai-man, was a Chinese martial artist. He had several students who later became martial arts teachers in their own right, including Bruce Lee.

Doug Williams is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Douglas Clayton Durdle is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Doug Williams. He is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he was a one–time ...more

Ernest Emerson is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Ernest R. Emerson is an American custom knifemaker, martial artist, and edged-weapons expert. Originally an engineer and machinist in the aerospace industry, Emerson became a knifemaker by ...more

Billy Blanks is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Billy Wayne Blanks is an American fitness guru, martial artist, actor, and the creator of the Tae Bo exercise program.

Michael Steger is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Michael Steger is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Navid Shirazi on The CW's teen drama series 90210.

Wu Jing is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Wu Jing, sometimes credited as Jacky Wu or Jing Wu, is a Chinese martial artist, actor and director. Wu is best known as Hawkman / Jackie in 1996 film Tai Chi Boxer and Kong Ko in 2006 film ...more

Urijah Faber is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Urijah Christopher Faber is an American mixed martial artist, fighting as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Faber won the WEC Featherweight Championship at WEC 19 on March ...more

Professor Tanaka is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Charles "Charlie" J. Kalani Jr. was an American professional wrestler, professional boxer, college football player, soldier, actor, and Martial Artist who, in fighting rings, was also ...more

Victor Webster is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Victor Webster (born February 7, 1973) is a Canadian actor. He is known for being the second actor to play Nicholas Alamain on the NBC daytime soap Days of Our Lives from 1999-2000, the mutant ...more

Rich Franklin is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Richard Jay "Rich" Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. As of June 2014, ...more

Ashida Kim is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Ashida Kim

Ray Park is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Raymond Michael "Ray" Park is a British actor and martial artist, best known for playing Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Toad in X-Men, Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: ...more

Jim Kelly is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
James Milton "Jim" "the Dragon" Kelly was an American athlete, actor, and martial artist who rose to fame during the Blaxploitation film era of the early 1970s. Kelly is ...more

David Ramsey is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
David Ramsey is an American actor, best known for his roles in the Showtime TV series Dexter as Anton Briggs, the film Mother and Child and currently on the hit CW show Arrow as John Diggle.

Chia Hui Liu is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Gordon Liu is a Chinese martial arts film actor and martial artist. He became famous for playing the lead role of San Te in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and its sequels. He also played kung fu ...more

Charles Lewis, Jr is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Charles 'Mask' Lewis was the creator and founder of the clothing brand, TapouT.

Johnny Yong Bosch is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list List of Famous Martial Artists
Johnny Yong Bosch is an American actor, martial artist, voice actor and musician. His first major role was portraying Adam Park, the Black Power Ranger in the Power Rangers franchise. which led ...more