Ron van Clief

Ron van Clief

Ron Van Clief (born January 25, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American martial artist and an actor in Hollywood and Hong Kong action films. He is the father of slam poetry guru Shihan van Clief.

Martial arts

Clief began his martial arts career competing in both full-contact and non-contact karate tournaments in New York, going on to win several tournaments and championships. Clief was a student of Goju-ryu masters Peter Urban, Frank Ruiz, and Moses Powell, as well as WingTsun founder Leung Ting. In 1971, Clief created his own style of martial arts, called "Chinese Goju," attempting to unify Japanese style goju-ryu with its roots in Chinese martial arts. He currently holds the rank of 10th degree red belt ("shidoshi" or grandmaster), in this system.

On December 16, 1994, Ron Van Clief returned to the ring to fight in the 4th Ultimate Fighting Championship, as the oldest competitor to date to fight in the UFC at the age of 51. Clief's sole fight in the tournament was against Brazilian jiu-jitsu exponent Royce Gracie. Gracie won the match by submission with a rear naked choke near the four-minute mark.

Clief is also the author and creator of a number of instructional books and video recordings.

Film career

Clief's first acting job came when he was selected to star in the Hong Kong film "Black Dragon" (1974). Some of his film roles during the 1970s were Blaxploitation films which capitalized on the then-novelty of an African-American martial artist, following in the tradition of Jim Kelly's role in "Enter the Dragon". Clief's film roles earned him the nickname "The Black Dragon." Clief was also the fight choreographer for the film "The Last Dragon".

MMA Record

Bibliography

"Manual of The Martial Arts" (1981)
"Ron Van Clief White Belf Guide Book" (1984)
"Ron Van Clief Green and Purple Belf Guide Book" (1984)
"The Black Heroes of The Martial Arts" (1995)

External links

* [http://www.ronvanclief.com Ron Van Clief's official website]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0885885 IMDB entry]
* [http://www.mawn.net/ki9.htm An interview with Clief following his UFC match]
* [http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=49 Record of Clief's UFC fight]


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