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Most people recognize Master Rothrock as a Chinese Martial Arts
practitioner,
but many don't know of her extensive Tang Soo Do background which
she began at age 13 at
the Scranton Karate School under Grandmaster Frank Trojanowicz.
She soon earned her Cho Dan in Tang Soo Do followed by Black Belts in Tae Kwon Do,
Eagle Claw, Wu Shu and Northern Shaolin. A current student of
Grandmaster Robert Kovaleski, founder of the (ITMA)
International Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Association, she was was
appointed West Coast representative for the
organization in April 2010, and in August 2011 was
promoted to 7th Dan by Grandmaster Kovaleski.
Master Rothrock states, "I have always been proud of my Tang Soo Do
roots and look forward to passing on the art."
In addition to being an accomplished martial artist Master Rothrock is also a
noted martial arts competitor.
From 1981 to 1985 she was the undefeated World Karate Champion in
both forms and weapons. Competing in divisions
that were
not segregated by male-female categories, she captured
every title in open and closed karate competition.
As an accomplished performer with such Chinese weapons as the
Double Broad Swords, Staff, Nine-section Steel Whip Chain, Iron Fan,
and an assortment of Okinawan Kobudo and Japanese Bugei Weapons, she has traveled the
world performing demonstrations before hundreds of thousands of
spectators. She has been featured on the cover
of virtually every martial arts magazine in the world and was the
subject of over 300 articles in national and
international publications including Black
Belt Magazine, Inside Kung-Fu, Martial Arts Training, Martial Arts
Stars, Inside Karate, Kung-Fu Illustrated and dozens more
internationally.
She is also one of the select few to be inducted into the Black Belt
Hall of Fame and Inside Kung-Fu Hall of Fame.
In the early 1980s her acting career was launched following a
commercial she did for Kentucky Fried Chicken. With 30 action films and made-for-TV video
productions to her credit, her first full length motion picture was "Yes Madam"
also starring Michelle Yeoh. The movie
broke all box office records in Hong Kong and as a result, both she and
Michelle were on their way to becoming two of the most successful
female action stars in the world. She spent five years in Hong Kong
starring in Asian produced movies alongside Kung-Fu greats such as Samo Hung
and Yuen Biao. She was even offered a role opposite Jackie Chan in "Armour
of Gods", but Jackie got injured so she was instead cast in
"Righting Wrongs" with Yuen Biao. She left Hong Kong as
one of the most celebrated action stars in Hong Kong's cinematic
history.
Hong Kong based Golden Harvest Productions (co-producer of Enter the
Dragon starring Bruce Lee) then tried to launch her U.S.
film career with a series of action films called China O'Brien and
China Obrien 2. Though not as popular in domestic theaters, these
movies went on to become favorites in international video stores
and cable networks and are today still favorites among action
martial arts aficionados.
Her astounding motion picture career has earned her the undisputed title "Queen of Martial Arts films" and she is perhaps
followed more closely by martial arts enthusiasts than any other
martial arts actors with the exception of Chuck Norris and Jackie
Chan.
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