#110 What He Meant
- Joe Weigant
- Apr 3
- 5 min read
March 19, 2026, we lost a legend. Not just a famous person. Not just an athlete. Not just an actor. Not just a family man. A true legend in every sense of the word.
Chuck Norris was born March 10, 1940, in Ryan, Oklahoma as Carlos Ray Norris. His father Ray Norris was an alcoholic who ran out on the family while Chuck was still a child. His mother, Wilma, moved around a lot. She and Chuck moved to LA when Chuck was 10.
Chuck describes himself as a very shy, introverted kid who excelled at nothing. He served as a benchwarmer on his high school football team and wasn’t very athletic at all.
At 18, with no job prospects, he joined the Air Force and was stationed in South Korea. With nothing to do, he looked into local martial arts schools, and found interest in Tang Soo Do. It was then he discovered something he was good at. He trained and practiced constantly. He left the military in 1962, and moved back to LA.
He opened his first karate school while waiting to apply for the LA Police Department. Eventually, he would open 30 schools and would teach several celebrities. During this time, he won the Middleweight Division in Full Contact Karate. A title he would defend 6 years in a row. Upon retiring from fighting in 1974, his record was 183 wins, 10 losses, and 2 draws.
His student, Steve McQueen, suggested he start acting. His first film, in 1968, was Wrecking Crew, followed by his big break in 1972. He fought Bruce Lee in the Roman Coliseum in “The Way of the Dragon.” Bruce Lee died the week before the movie was released, but the movie launched both actors into stardom.
Chuck Norris began a long and distinguished acting career, releasing many movies in the 1980s. The thing that made Chuck stand out was that he always played good guy characters. He was always the guy who never started a fight, but always finished them.
His unique fighting style, which included his famous roundhouse kick and his spinning back kick, solidified Norris as the silent guy who shouldn’t be pushed.
In a way, his acting career mimicked that of John Wayne. It was said after Chuck Norris died that the reason Gen X (which includes me) is taking his death so hard is that Chuck Norris was our John Wayne. In more than a few ways, this is true. I was too young to truly enjoy John Wayne movies. Westerns were on their way out when my age group was growing up, and I was still a kid when we lost John Wayne.
I was a teenager in the 1980s, and I never missed a Chuck Norris movie. I watched them all, as cable TV was a budding industry during those years. Watching his movies inspired me. He was fit and capable, but not a bully. In fact, he always played characters who stopped bullies in their tracks. He had a courage so quiet he didn’t need to speak much at all. When he did, it was with his roundhouse kick to the face. As a teenager, I loved it.
I couldn’t join a karate school while I was in school, as dad couldn’t afford it. Right after I graduated high school, I joined Evansville Tai Qwon Do School, run by Charlie “Chico” Lavanchy. He was a Deputy Sheriff at the time. Lavanchy also had a quiet demeanor, and a strong character.
Lavanchy and Norris displayed discipline, drive, an unwavering need for perfection, and courage.
With Chuck Norris as my inspiration, and Lavanchy and my teacher, I found my passion.
Chuck Norris was the reason I started martial arts in 1987. I fell in love with the martial arts and have been studying and practicing and teaching for nearly 40 years.
Over the years, Chuck Norris has become so famous for being tough, gritty, and invincible that people started joking about his strength and toughness. A long list of “Chuck Norris Facts” has been circulating for nearly 20 years. Chuck Norris himself was so enamored by them that he would read them aloud on talk shows.
Most people don’t earn “legend” status until years after their death – if they are remembered at all. Chuck reached that pinnacle while he was still alive. I remember seeing an interview with Chuck on his 70th Birthday, in the front yard of his ranch standing next to his wife. When asked what he planned to do on his 70th Birthday, he quietly said that he would do 70 pushups. Then he dropped down to the grass and knocked out 70 perfect form pushups. He was an incredible man, earning his tough guy reputation.
Chuck turned 86 on March 10 this year. On March 18, he was training in a dojo (martial arts school) in Hawaii. He was just telling a friend on the phone that he was training and having a great time. He hung up the phone and had what was described as a medical emergency. He was rushed to the hospital. He died the next morning. The man who seemingly could not die did just that. Quietly, surrounded by friends and family, he left us. His last social media post was him training with a student, punching him several times. Then he said, “I don’t age, I level up.”
Chuck leveled up, alright. Today is April 3. I can only now write this. The mediaverse is still making posts about his death, and his life. Even with the advent of AI posts, the tributes are still rolling in, honoring the man who did so much for martial arts, movies, and children.
His “Kick Start” program for kids, started by Chuck Norris and George H. W. Bush and Chuck’s own company, Roundhouse Productions, will still go on under capable hands.
Chuck was larger than life. He left a mark on the world. Some would say it’s a mark that looks like a cowboy boot roundhouse kick.
Over the years many celebrities have left us. I would tell myself, oh damn, that’s a shame. I liked that person in that one movie.
The death of Chuck Norris, however, hits hard, pun intended. He played himself in nearly all of his movies, so we got to know who he was. He was always on talk shows, so we got to see the real Chuck, and we found out he was the same man he played in nearly all his movies.
I guess that’s why his loss is so stunning.
He was our John Wayne. A larger-than-life man who played himself as larger-than-life. He stood for discipline, honor, courage, defending women, standing up to bullies, family, philanthropy, and faith.
That’s what he meant to many of us.
Chuck Norris, you are already missed.
Weeg
Joe “Weeg” Weigant is a Board Certified Massage Therapist, Holistic Health Authority, Reiki Master Teacher, Herbalist, Metaphysician, and Empowerment Coach. He combines bodywork, energy work, and coaching to improve quality of life by healing from the outside in and from the inside out.
Weeg sells Nature’s Sunshine Products, Pure Herbs Ltd., doTERRA, and Juice Plus+. Weeg suggests lifestyle changes and provides herbal remedies to his clients so they may build new habits for long life and vibrant health. He teaches Karate and Tai Chi, Reiki Certification, as well as seminars and workshops in metaphysical and spiritual matters. Weeg is available for sessions at Tri State Holistic Wellness by appointment only.
Contact by text 812.568.5356, or Facebook Messenger to set an appointment.
After his passing there has been talk of carving his likeness into mount rushmore, then it was determined the granite wasn’t nearly tough enough. It’s a little known fact that Chuck Norris actually died ten years ago it just took the grim reaper this long to work up the courage to tell him. After much careful negotiation, death agreed to his terms.
Jokes aside the man was a true hero not just on the screen but in his daily life. Chuck stood up for what he believed in and spent his life helping and inspiring others.