Usually, I write about television shows. However, after watching the recent Mission Impossible marathon, I thought I would take a break and do a series on celebrities and martial arts. Why you might ask? I can relate to martial arts. I’m a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and I’m training for my second degree, which if everything goes as planned, I should get next year.

With each post over the coming weeks, I will focus on one particular celebrity. This time, I’ve picked Tom Cruise. Over the years, Cruise has proven that he knows a thing or two about martial arts.

I realize his fight scenes are choreographed, but even with choreography, you have to be able to do a proper roundhouse or back kick–one of Cruise’s best moves. Cruise showed off a lot of his martial arts skills in the four Mission Impossible movies. In Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, we saw Cruise’s Jiu Jitsu moves. The fight scene in the parking garage is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Cruise’s hand technique is right on. To be successful at any martial arts move, you must have snap otherwise there’s no power behind the move whether it’s a block, punch, or kick. Cruise shows that he has plenty of snap in his moves.

While I enjoyed that fight scene in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, I thought Cruise really shined in my favorite scene from Jack Reacher. Surrounded by a bunch of thugs, Cruise as Reacher says, “Remember, you wanted this.” He then proceeds to take three of the guys out with his sharp and accurate moves and two others run off. That’s exactly how I take out the bad guys in my dreams. 🙂

It’s rumored that Cruise will be starring in Mission Impossible 5. With the success of the previous movies, I’ve no doubt that it will be another blockbuster and that Cruise, who is now in his fifties, will pull off another stellar fight scene.