Willie Nelson's still kicking. Literally.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Today marks the legend's 92nd birthday. Although he hasn't posted anything online to commemorate the occasion, he is still fussing over the release of his latest album, Oh What A Beautiful World.
It being his birthday reminds me of an achievement that the singer accomplished a little over 10 years ago, around his 81st birthday. Not many of you may know this, or you may have forgotten about this, but Willie Nelson is a 5th-degree black belt.
When he earned his black belt, I was only around 10 years old, so forgive me for not knowing this fact about the Red Headed Stranger (more like the Black Belted Stranger).
The day before his 81st birthday in 2014. The country singer gets praised relentlessly thanks to his persistent contributions to country. But singing and writing aren't the only things he still does in his old age.
Before turning 81, Willie Nelson received his 5th-degree GongKwon Yusul black belt. GongKwon Yusul is a modern martial art with Korean roots that was founded in 1996 by Kang Jun. Nelson has been practicing the art for two decades, which is almost as long as the art has existed.
Per USA Today at the time, Nelson spoke to KVUE about his accomplishment and the joys of the martial art.
"It's just good for you physically. For your lungs. The more you're breathing, exercising, the better you're going to feel," he said.
Willie Nelson On Why He Still Practices Martial Arts
Although it's unknown if Willie Nelson still practices GongKwon Yusul at the ripe age of 92, although he spoke on the topic with AARP before his 90th birthday, only two years ago.
He never said if he still is out there kicking and hitting things, although he spoke highly of it. It's likely he doesn't practice anymore, at least not to the capacity he did when earning his 5th-degree black belt.
Reminiscing on why he was attracted to martial arts, he said, "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."
"In Abbott, we had a saying that all we do down there is fight, [f--k] 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."
Although he's now 92, I'm sure he's still got some black belt moves he could bring out on you, so be careful when picking a fight with Shotgun Willie.
