When Christine Bannon-Rodrigues first bowed in
she was 13 years old. At the time the Rhode Island teenager never realized that
she would one-day reign supreme as one of the super stars in the world of
martial arts.
Christine studied Kenpo and Wu shu, earning
her black belt at age 17. She quickly became the person to beat in fighting,
forms and weapons. A formidable competitor Christine was a triple threat
wherever she went. Her skill as a fighter was proven time and time again, and in
forms and weapons Christine was unstoppable.
In 1991 Christine astounded the martial arts
world by becoming a Triple Crown winner at the WAKO World Championships in
England. �I won three gold medals in forms, fighting and weapons,� Christine
recalled. �Everyone thought it was a freak occurrence and that I was just
lucky. That got me worked up so I decided to prove my critics wrong, so in 1993
I did it again.�
After winning her second Triple Crown she
turned her talents and efforts into becoming a TV and movie star. Martial arts
legend and action choreographer Pat Johnson hired Christine to double the star
in �The Next Karate Kid.� This led to roles in Mortal Kombat, WMAC Masters
where she starred as �Lady Lightning and she stunt doubled Alicia Silverstone
(Batgirl) in �Batman and Robin.�Christine has also been featured on the
cover of every major martial arts magazine in the world and she has written and
starred in more than seven instruction videotapes.
She is also the darling of the trading card
set, being featured in the 1992 John Paul Mitchell National Karate Team Premier
edition, Karate Kards, Sport Karate Champions, Martial Arts Masters Trading
Cards, Premier Edition and the International Card Collection of Athletes
medallion collection. With an eye on the future, Christine says that the Black
Belt Registry will be of great benefit to all martial artists, �The access it
gives us (martial artists) to everything from training tapes to gear and so much
more is amazing,� she says. �One of the things I use it for is finding
authentic Chinese weapons. The Internet and the Black Belt Registry is going to
take martial arts to its next level.�
Christine has graced the cover of almost every major martial arts magazine in
the world, her relentless pursuit of working with the youth of martial arts
makes her a staple on Karate Kidz Online.
You can hear her interview with KKO Founder Louis Velazquez on
www.ucwradio.com