Biography
He was a strong, brutal hitter, with an explosive charge and a super-aggressive nature. Americans didn't know how to take him (when we first saw him), but we knew we loved how viciously he fought. He was the leading factor in the surge of Karate Movies, that were being shown in America. His film, The Street Fighter, was the first Martial-arts film to ever receive an "X-Rating" from the movie board for its violence (most know that, they're all violent). I guess, the movie board said, "That's true, but this is just too violent" (They were probably talking about where he snatches off a Black guy's genitals). His films were just punctuated with such Overkill, which was just uncommon as the time. Whatever the reason behind that rating, it increased the public's demand for his films and then, they really got violent.
What set him apart from others at this time, was that he didn't care who you were; if you were trying to kill him [Man or woman] it was cause to break your face or snatch a bodypart from you. Definitely, not a Kicker, but as we've seen in a number of his films, he could (definitely) get the job done. Yet, it's the things he can do with his Hands, will more than keep you on the edge of your seat. His movies packed so much viciousness, that had he been Chinese, they may have been calling him the next Bruce Lee. His friend and fellow actor Yasuaki Kurata [who sometimes trained at his gym] had met and became friends with Lee, was supposed to introduce him to Lee, to discuss a film project. But, busy schedules hampered this and Lee died (3) days before they were supposed to meet.
Japan loved him, after years of being depicted as villains in Kung-fu movies (and in real-life); they now had their own Hero. To his credit, he has created some stars of his own. Sue Shiomi (Sister Street Fighter, Dragon Princess) rivaled Angela Mao in popularity at the movies, because of her intense style of putting villains out of their misery. Henry Sanada (Roaring Fire, Shogun's Ninja) looked like a carbon copy of Chiba, himself. With fists & feet to match, his films had no shortage of body counts. He, too, would appear in a series of films, that would make him a household name as well. They would both go on to appear with him in the popular series, The Shadow Warriors. Later, he would reach new heights, as the lead villain in the action-filled, Shogun's Shadow.
He had the privilege of studying with the great Masutatsu "Mas" Oyama (1923 - 1994), one of Japan's living legends, who was also famous for chopping off the horns of live bulls. In the film The Bodyguard Chiba cuts the top off of a soda bottle with a karate-chop [another demo often performed by Oyama in his heyday] where his (chop) was referred to as The God Hand. His motto was "One-Strike, One-Kill" or Hissatsu (Sure Death), this obviously rubbed off on Chiba for his film-persona, as each strike meant instant death. He received a 2nd Degree Blackbelt in Kyokushin-kai Karate (Ultimate Truth) under him and would later portray him, in (2) [semi-autobiographical] films - Champion Of Death and Karate Bear-Fighter.
Hardcore fans, have always sought out such classics as The Killing Machine and (one of my personal favorites) The Executioner -- where he was at his best. Soul Of Chiba, showed why he was one of the best in the business -- with some interesting battles against the "Monkey Men" and lead villain Lu Chuen. He, also, ran an exclusive Training Center in Japan (known as the Japanese Action Club), which actually opened in (1969). There, he trained up & coming members of his Stunt Team and taught them both formal application and movie techniques. This may have been one of the forerunners of most Stunt Groups in martial-arts films, today. Last seen in a cameo role in Kill Bill -- he wasn't given much to do, considering his talent. While, this wouldn't further his career, he's already a living legend [yet] it was good to see him still active.