Keith Vitali * (Born December 24th, 1951 ) is an American

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

master, former number one ranked full-contact fight champion, martial artist,

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, producer,

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and child activist, best known for films such as '' Revenge of the Ninja'', '' Wheels on Meals'', '' No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers'', and '' American Kickboxer''. His introduction into

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

came in 1975 at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

, where he was awarded his first black belt after two years. Over the course of the next ten years, Vitali competed in a large number of martial arts tournaments, winning most of them, as well as being ranked the "#1 Karate Fighter in the USA". His number of wins landed him an honored place in '' Black Belt Magazine's'' Black Belt Hall of Fame in 1981. The magazine also named Vitali as one of the ten best fighters of all time. Vitali has appeared in a number of martial arts films, including '' Superfights'', '' Revenge of the Ninja'', '' Wheels on Meals'', ''The Cut Off'', '' No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers'', and '' American Kickboxer''. Vitali has since focused on producing child safety videos and writing children's literature. His book on bullying entitled, "Bullyproof Your Child" was released in fall 2007. Vitali has also written a screenplay on

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

's life. Trajen Pictures was scheduled to shoot the film in 2012.

References

External links

*
Archive of old website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitali, Keith 1952 births American male actors American children's writers American martial artists Living people University of South Carolina alumni