Steven Seagal

Steven Frederic Seagal (pronounced with stress on the last syllable: /sɨˈgɑːl/; born in Lansing, Michigan, on April 10, 1952) is an American action film actor, expert in Japanese martial arts, and musician.

Steven Seagal earned the rank of master black belt, 7th dan, in the Japanese martial art of Aikido, and was also the first Westerner to run his own school or dojo in this discipline in Japan itself: the Tenshin Dojo, now run by his ex-wife, also an Aikido master, Miyako Fujitani. He also has extensive knowledge of kenjutsu (classical Japanese swordsmanship styles) and the fundamentals of Karate-Do. Seagal is known in film for a very distinctive, rough style of fighting, far from the spectacle usual in this genre; his is basically a style built on sharp strikes and abrupt kicks, drawn from traditional Japanese Karate-Do combined with the joint locks, holds and throws typical of Aikido. As for his training in other martial arts, throughout his film career he has incorporated some Brazilian jiu-jitsu moves after briefly training with the Machado brothers for his movie Under Siege 2 in 1995, and later some Filipino eskrima movements, as well as various techniques from Chinese martial styles such as tai chi chuan and wing chun, and from other disciplines, in order to add more spectacle to several fight choreographies.

Alongside all of this, Seagal dabbled in blues music: he has released two albums and works as a deputy sheriff in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, in the southern United States.

Steven Seagal is also known for his friendship with current Russian President Vladimir Putin (also a martial arts practitioner), and for supporting him in his foreign policy.