Cynthia Rothrock
| Cynthia Rothrock | |
|---|---|
Rothrock in 2010
|
|
| Born |
March 8, 1957 Wilmington, Delaware |
| Rank |
8th Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do Black Belt in Taekwondo Black belt in Karate Black Belt in Eagle Claw Black Belt in Wu Shu Black Belt in Northern Shaolin Black Belt in Pai Lum Tao Kung Fu |
| Years active | 1985–2004; 2011–present |
| Occupation |
Film actress Martial arts instructor |
| Website | www |
Cynthia Ann Christine Rothrock (born March 8, 1957) is an American martial artist and actress specializing in martial arts films. Rothrock holds black belt rankings in seven styles of martial arts and was a high level competitor in martial arts forms before becoming an actress.
Rothrock was five-time World Champion in forms and weapons between 1981 and 1985. These categories are not combat-oriented, being displays of fluidity of movement rather than fighting, and are therefore not segregated into male and female categories but fully open to both sexes.
She took first place in forms 32 times and first place in weapons 12 times in her first 38 tournaments, including competing in "Men's Forms" three out of four times as there was no Women's Division. She was "Grand Master" of five tournaments and came in first place in 4 out of 5 fighting events.
She holds seven Black belts in various Far Eastern martial disciplines, including Tang Soo Do (also "tangsudo", Korean), Taekwondo (Korean), Eagle Claw (Chinese), Wushu (contemporary Chinese), Northern Shaolin (classical Chinese), and Pai Lum Tao Kung Fu (contemporary Chinese). She received her 6th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan in 2006. She was tested by Grand Master Robert Kovaleski, 9th Dan and chair of the I.T.M.A., and was later promoted by him to 7th degree black belt in 2011 and 8th degree black belt in 2015. She is a martial arts instructor and her favorite weapons are the hook swords.
In 1983, Rothrock was inducted into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame as "Female Competitor of the Year". She was the first woman to appear on the cover of a martial arts magazine and in 1986 coauthored a book with George Chung titled, Advanced Dynamic Kicks. In 2014, she was honored with the Legacy Award at the Urban Action Showcase & Expo at HBO
Northern California was her home in 1983 where she was on Ernie Reyes' West Coast Demonstration Team. At this time Golden Harvest was searching in Los Angeles for the next Bruce Lee. Rothrock's forms and maneuvers were observed and Golden Harvest signed a contract with her. It was two years (1985) later that she made her first martial arts movie for them, Yes, Madam (also known as Police Assassins or In the Line of Duty Part 2) which also starred Michelle Yeoh. It proved to be a box office success. She ended up staying in Hong Kong until 1988 doing seven films there.
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