Karyn Turner

(1946-)

American martial art expert

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Karyn Turner (born 1946) is an American martial arts expert who has been variously known as “The Queen of Kata”, “First Lady of Kung Fu”, and “The Mother of U.S. Kickboxing”. Named as the “most outstanding woman in the history of martial arts” by Black Belt Magazine in 1978, she was the first woman to take a double victory in both fighting (kumite) and form (kata) in the International Women’s Karate Championship, a feat she accomplished in 1976. She was the first woman to enter men's divisions at the World Championships in kata and weapons (steel whip), and to become World Champion in the men's division in both. At the peak of her career in 1977, she entered twenty-three tournaments and swept three divisions, including men’s weapons kata. In 1990, Turner was the first woman in history to be nominated into the Black Belt Hall of Fame as “Competitor of the Year”, the same year she was selected by Black Belt Magazine as their “Woman of the Year”. In 2009, she was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum “Hall of Fame”.