Ron Van Clief

Ron Van Clief, born in Brooklyn in 1943, is an American martial artist who became an actor in Hong Kong and Hollywood action films. He began competing in karate tournaments, winning national tournaments and world championships, and founded the Chinese Goju System in 1973. His first acting role came in the Hong Kong film The Black Dragon (1974), opposite Jason Pai Piao, and he went on to star in 1970s blaxploitation and kung fu movies. His nickname, The Black Dragon, inspired the titles The Black Dragon's Revenge (1975) and Way of the Black Dragon (1979). Other credits include Bamboo Trap (1975), The Squeeze (1977), and Kung Fu Finger Book. In the mid-1980s he was fight choreographer for The Last Dragon, and he later did voice-over work for Kung Faux. He served as commissioner of the UFC, and Black Belt Magazine named him Instructor of the Year in 2002. He was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.