Keith Vitali is an American-born martial artist, actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, producer

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and child activist.

His introduction into martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 came in 1971 at the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

, where he was awarded his first black belt

Black belt (martial arts)

In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...

 after only 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 outstanding number of wins landed him an honored place in the Black Belt Magazine

Black Belt Magazine

Black Belt is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports founded in 1961 by Mitoshi Uyehara. During the early years of the publication, Uyehara was a hands-on owner and publisher...

's Black Belt Hall of Fame in 1981. The magazine also named Master 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

Revenge of the Ninja

Revenge of the Ninja is an action movie starring Shô Kosugi as a ninja. It is considered part of a ninja trilogy, starting with Enter the Ninja and ending with Ninja III: The Domination , but the stories are not directly related...

, Wheels on Meals

Wheels on Meals

Wheels on Meals is a 1984 Hong Kong martial arts action film written and directed by Sammo Hung. Starring in the film are Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao...

, The Cut Off, No Retreat, No Surrender 3, 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

Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...

's life. Trajen Pictures is schedule to shoot the film in 2012.

External links