Rob from McDojo Life, speaking on the BE GREAT Podcast, raised concerns about how the martial arts community discusses Steven Seagal. He argued that ridicule of Seagal’s aikido demonstrations has distracted from far more serious assault allegations made against him.
“People make fun of Seagal for his martial art, and there is some horses**t about his martial arts for sure if you look back at his early footage.”
He pointed to a widely circulated news clip showing Seagal “holding two people back with his finger,” adding that the footage clearly does not reflect legitimate technique.
“But the real issue is what people are missing. People will make fun of the semantics. They’ll be like, ‘Oh, his martial art is bulls**t.’ Okay, maybe, maybe not, right?”
He acknowledged Seagal’s physical size and presence.
“He’s a big guy. He’s like what, 6’5″, 300? He’s a big guy.”
Rob said an untrained person would likely struggle against someone of that size with any martial arts background.
“But then they’re looking at his art. They’re completely ignoring the s**ual abuse allegations. Our industry messed that up so much. They care so much about laughing at this thing. It’s like a magic show. Let’s look at all this funny stuff over here. You know that legit guy just r***d somebody, right?”
He described how status is often used as a shield.
“No, no, no. He’s good because he’s good at martial arts. Well, no. That’s bad too. But that guy r***d somebody. No, but he’s a world champion.”
Rob questioned whether success in combat sports is being used to excuse behavior that would otherwise be condemned. He referenced other cases in the combat sports world where organizations have paid settlements to individuals accused of assault, arguing that the pattern extends beyond Seagal.
