When Christine Bannon-Rodrigues was a Rhode Island teenager of 13, she never realized that she one-day she would reign supreme as one of the super stars in the world of martial arts.
Christine was a student of Don Rodrigues, and she is currently an 8th degree black belt.
Christine studied Kenpo and Wu shu, and she earned her Black Belt at age 17. She quickly became the competitor to beat in fighting, forms and weapons. A formidable competitor, Christine was considered 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 became a Triple Crown winner at the WAKO World Championships in England astounding the martial arts world.
“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 she won her second Triple Crown, Christine Bannon-Rodrigues 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 television roles in Mortal Kombat Annihilation and WMAC Masters where she starred as “Lady Lightning” and she stunt doubled Alicia Silverstone (Batgirl) in the movie Batman & Robin. She acted in the feature films Sci-Fighter (aka X-Treme Fighter) and 27 Dresses.
Christine has been featured on the cover of every major martial arts magazine in the world. She has also written and starred in more than seven instruction videotapes. She was 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.
Christine teaches at the Don Rodrigues Karate Academy, where she is a co-owner with Shihan Don Rodrigues, her husband.
For more information about Christine Bannon-Rodrigues and Don Rodrigues Karate Academy visit their website at http://www.donrodrigueskarateacademy.com/ and their listing on the Martial Arts Schools and Businesses Directory by clicking on the image on the left.
