Willie Nelson Just Reminded Everyone That He’s A 5th-Degree Black Belt

Sometimes you just have to send out a post to remind the world how tough you are.

Willie Nelson is obviously a country music legend and all-around cultural icon, but fans of his might not know that when he wasn’t busy perfecting his songwriting and guitar picking, he practiced a lot with the martial art of self defense – specifically the Korean martial arts discipline called “GongKwon Yusul.”

It’s been confirmed that he put over 20 years of work into honing in his martial arts skills, and everyone knows that once you become a master… you are rewarded with a belt that let’s everyone know not to mess with you. Willie Nelson achieved black belt status many years ago, but felt like it was appropriate to send this post out just a couple of days ago to serve as a reminder:

“Black belt by day, Red-Headed Stranger by night.”

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A post shared by Willie Nelson (@willienelsonofficial)

Love that.

Willie Nelson sat down with AARP when he was nearing his 90th birthday (he’s now 92) to talk about why he loves to continue to work, how important naps can be while touring, and, most importantly, his martial arts training. Nelson was asked about why he chose to partake in self-defense training and how he managed to reach 5th degree black belt status, which can take over 10 years of training to obtain.

Willie told AARP:

“I grew up in Abbott, Texas, where we didn’t have much except comic books. We had Charles Atlas and Bruce Lee, judo and jujitsu. Excuse my language, but in Abbott, we had a saying that all we know how to do down there is fight, f*** and throw rocks. I grew up fighting one thing or another.

I’d go out on Sundays and fight bumblebees and come home with my eyes swollen shut and tell everyone how much fun I had.”

Sounds like that same “outlaw attitude” that Nelson’s music catalogue is known for applies to his martial arts training as well.

As to why the legendary artist decided to hone in on self-defense for his black belt specialty, Nelson added this in his interview:

“Mainly it gives you enough confidence where you don’t have to jump out there and get into trouble. If they bring it to you, you feel confident you can handle it. It’s not anything I worry about, because I’m not really afraid of it. I don’t really think I’m afraid of anything.”

Willie Nelson isn’t afraid of anything… no surprise at all.

He certainly isn’t afraid to continue to step out on stage and play festivals at the age of 92 years old. He and Bob Dylan are currently touring the country on their 2025 Outlaw Music Festival Tour, and Willie still shows no signs of slowing down with his music career.

But believe it or not, Luke Combs of all people can vouch for Willie’s skills, and the story is downright incredible.

Luke Combs Meets Willie Nelson

Luke Combs sat down with the boys of the Full Send Podcast a couple years back, and the fellas talked everything from his rise in country music, to his friendly competition with Morgan Wallen, and plenty more. But the absolute best story came at the very end of the episode, when he told told the tale of the first time he actually got to hang out with the one and only Willie Nelson.

Luke was in Maui, Hawaii, for a songwriting festival, and his wife, Nicole, was still working full-time at the time. So at the end of the trip, she had to get back to Nashville, and Luke decided to stay a couple more days, because he had to be in Seattle for a radio interview in about 48 more hours. One of the guys in charge of the show and festival he was there for asked Luke if he wanted to play golf one afternoon, since he was there by himself for the next couple days. And while they were golfing, he invited Luke to go play poker at Willie Nelson’s house later that night.

Luke had met Willie very briefly two days prior, but didn’t say much more than a passing “hello” to the country icon.

That evening, they pull up to Willie’s house on the ocean in Maui, and Luke said it looked like it was straight out of a 1970s suburb. But the guy that brought him was on a phone call, and told Luke he could just go on in the house.

Of course, Luke starts to panic, thinking Willie probably doesn’t even know who he is or that he was even going to be at poker night:

“It’s just sittin’, literally, right on the ocean in Maui. It’s insane. So we pull up, and I don’t even know if he knows that I’m supposed to be there or not… dude, I don’t know. So we get out, the guy I’m with, he’s on the phone, and he says ‘Go ahead and just go in.’ And I’m like, ‘dude this is like a lot of pressure, bro.’ I go in, and I’m thinking everybody’s gonna be yukkkin’ it up…

It’s just Willie Nelson in there… by himself… watching TV in the garage. And I’m walkin’ in, like 6-pack of Miller Lite, you know, the plastic ring six-pack. And he’s like, ‘Hey, man.’ And I was like, ‘Hello.’ Like, what is happening right now?”

Of course, it doesn’t take long for Willie to whip out his signature accessory, and Luke already knows he’s in for it (he’s heard all the same stories we have, I take it):

“So we get in there, we’re talkin’ for a minute dude, he rips the piece out, dude, you know what I mean? The peace pipe. And I’ve heard the stories… Toby Keith literally has a song called “I’ll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again,” you know what I mean?  I’ve heard the song, I’m aware of the moment, you know. And I go, alright man, when this thing comes, you only got one, dude, you can’t go twice on this deal.”

A couple more of Willie’s friends start showing up at this point, and as it comes around the table again, Luke made a massive error…

He hit it again… HARD.

He also noted that he was the youngest guy there by 30 years, and of course, only knows the one other man who had invited him to Willie’s house. Later on, NBA hall of fame coach Don Nelson walks in (yes, it’s true), and luckily for Luke, buys him out of the game. He moved to sit at another little table in the room, where he’s the only one who can see down an adjoining hallway. Luke said he kept getting up to splash water on his face in the bathroom, and different people just kept bringing food out, while he’s just trying not to die and take it all in.

Willie Nelson The Karate Kid

At one point, I guess the game wasn’t exactly going Willie’s way, when Luke watched him get up and head down that hallway only he could see from his perch at the little table:

“And I remember Willie getting up, and he walks down, I’m sitting at this table, he doesn’t say anything to anyone, he gets up, these guys are playing poker. He gets up, he walks right past me, all the way down the hallway, and there’s this punching bag at the end of the hallway.”

And what does he do? The red headed stranger starts full-on punching this bag, crane kicks and all, thinking not a single soul can see him or knows what he’s doing…

“And he stands there, arms out, like full karate kid and starts just kicking this punching bag. Tossing crane kicks, dude, he’s 84… just hammering this punching bag. And I’m looking at the poker table, and I’m like, what is happening? Nobody sees this happen.

He goes out, is out for five minutes, could’ve been five hours, I don’t know the difference at this point… comes back in, stops at the thing, hits one more crane kick, walks back in, doesn’t say a peep about it. Sits back down like nothing happened, and I’m like, that’s my moment. I’ve had my moment with Willie Nelson, and it was him doing the crane kicks at God knows what time it is in Maui baked out of my gourd at his house. It was wild. It was absolutely wild.”

And if you want a really great a laugh today, do yourself a favor and watch Luke tell the entire story himself.

It is well worth your time, and that’s a promise:

God bless the Red-Headed Stranger for plugging along at 92-years-old… not all that long ago he was still ripping crane kicks at the heavy bag.

Is it considered “plugging along” if you are putting out albums and headlining festivals after your 90th birthday? Maybe I should instead say that Willie Nelson is still “thriving,” and we’re all better off because he is.The post Willie Nelson Just Reminded Everyone That He’s A 5th-Degree Black Belt first appeared on Whiskey Riff.