William Wayne Blanks is an American actor, martial artist and fitness personality. He was a nationally ranked competitor in semi-contact and point karate during the 1980s, winning a bronze medal at the 1981 World Games, before creating the Tae Bo exercise program.
Benny Urquidez is an American former professional kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed "The Jet", Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the United States. He made the transition from point to full-contact karate in 1974, the year of its inception in the US, frequently fighting in bouts where the rules were ambiguous and contrasts in styles were dramatic. Urquidez is also known for once holding the rare achievement of six world titles in five different weight divisions, and remained largely undefeated in his 27-year career. His only loss came in a Muay Thai match which was shrouded in controversy, as Urquidez had only agreed to a no-decision exhibition, a clause which was ignored when the fight had ended.
Bridgett Riley is a female boxer and motion picture stuntwoman from Oakville, Missouri, where she graduated in 1989. While working as an airline attendant, she decided to learn martial arts. The interest in the sport came from her brother Patrick's strong interest in mixed martial arts. She trained with her brother and a number of other high-profile martial artists early in her career. Notably, she was trained by former three time world kickboxing champion, Jim Boucher. She was a member of a competition team with other competitors such as: Ronnie "Diamond" Deleon, Patrick Riley, Donny Reinhardt, Russ Hogue.
William Louis Wallace, nicknamed "Superfoot", is an American karateka, actor, and former professional kickboxer. Considered one of the first American superstars of kickboxing, he was the Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Full-Contact Champion, and the Middleweight Kickboxing Champion for six years, retiring with an undefeated 23-0-0 record. He is currently the International Ambassador for PKA Worldwide.
Joe Lewis was an American martial artist, professional kickboxer and actor. Originally a practitioner of Shōrin-ryū karate and champion in point sparring competitions, he became one of the fathers of full contact karate and kickboxing in the United States, and is credited with popularizing the combat sport in North America.
Donald Glen Wilson, nicknamed "The Dragon", is an American martial artist, film actor, and former professional kickboxer. An 11-time world champion who scored 47 knockouts in four decades, he has been called by the STAR System Ratings as "perhaps the greatest kickboxer in American history. He has disposed of more quality competition than anyone we've ever ranked". In 2015, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
Masaaki Satake is a Japanese former heavyweight karateka, kickboxer, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, having been a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seidokaikan school.
Johannes Cornelius Bluming was a Dutch martial artist, instructor and actor. Known as a pioneer in a variety of martial arts, Bluming held 9th dan in Judo, 10th dan in Kyokushinkai Karate and 10th dan in Hapkido. He was also the coach of two-time Olympic champion Willem Ruska.
The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) also known as World Kickboxing and Karate Association, is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning body for kickboxing and Karate.
Patrick Smith was an American Kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He started his mixed martial arts career by participating in the first two Ultimate Fighting Championship events.
Héctor Echavarría is an Argentine actor, producer, filmmaker, martial artist, activist, businessman and screenwriter.
Omar Ashour is a British-Canadian security and military studies academic and a former martial arts champion.
Raymond Daniels is an American professional kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and former sport karate competitor. He currently competes for Karate Combat in the Welterweight division. He has formerly competed for Bellator MMA and Bellator Kickboxing, where he was the Bellator Kickboxing Welterweight Champion.
Mitchell Bobrow is a former martial arts fighter who was trained by Ki Whang Kim in the early 1960s. Bobrow was known for his continuous attacks using a unique combination of kicks, punches, and sweeps including his Trademark Jump Back Kick that scored on his opponents with either leg.
Robert Parham is a retired American kickboxer and former five-time World Kickboxing Champion and former four-time Sport Karate Champion. His kickboxing record was 17-1 with 9 knockouts. In his last match, he was stopped by Patrick Barry
Joe Corley is an American karate and kickboxing competitor, instructor, broadcaster and promoter who helped achieve the success of the Professional Karate Association and the early establishment of professional kickboxing in the United States. Joe Corley is CEO of PKA Worldwide.
Randall Kleck is an American martial artist and three time world champion. In a martial arts career spanning over 40 years he has been a student, competitor, judge, instructor, and author.
Kathleen Murphy, known as Katie Murphy, is an American martial artist. She is a twenty-two time World Champion in karate, a fifteen-time U.S. National Champion, and a ten-time New York State Champion.
Carlos Tearney is an American martial artist from Central New York. He's a nationally recognized karate instructor and 14-time Karate World Champion.
John Corcoran was an American non-fiction book author, magazine editor, screenwriter and martial arts historian.
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