Karen Sheperd (born November 12, 1961) is an American martial artist, stunt double, and actress who has worked in film, theatre, and television.

Sheperd was the first woman to hold the title of #1 Women’s Black Belt Forms Champion and was instrumental in pioneering recognition for female martial arts forms competitors.

Martial arts Career:

Sheperd was the first woman to be officially rated #1 World Karate Champion in forms, a title she held for two years, 1979 and 1980. Before 1979, separate ratings existed for female fighters but not for female forms competitors. Often competing against a field of men, Sheperd believed more women would compete if they had a title to compete for.

Sheperd organized a petition to establish the title and garnered the support of tournament promoters to begin offering a separate form division for female competitors. The editor of Karate Illustrated Magazine, Renardo Barden, established the first official ratings for female forms competitors in 1979. Having gained the highest accumulated 1st place points on the Karate competition circuit, Sheperd achieved the #1 rating by Karate Illustrated Magazine for 1979 and 1980.

Sheperd also had the distinction of being the first #1 Women’s Forms Champion in the STAR System World Kickboxing Ratings (Standardized Tournaments and Ratings) System which was established in 1980 by Editor Paul Maslak for Kick Illustrated Magazine.

Sheperd was the first woman to ever win the Grand Championship title overall male and female forms competitors at the US Open Battle of the Superstars at the Bay front Center in St. Petersburg, Florida on November 1, 1980. Her victory with her signature chain whip was featured on “The World of People” television show.

As the nation’s top-rated woman, Karen Sheperd continued her dominance by defeating Belinda Davis, Cynthia Rothrock and Lori Clapper in Women’s Black Belt Forms at the Diamond Nationals on May 2, 1981, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In 1992 Sheperd was voted the “Most Popular Female Martial Arts Superstar” by readers of Inside Kung Fu Magazine. In 1997 Sheperd was inducted into the prestigious Black Belt Hall of Fame as “Woman of the Year”.  In 2002, she was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame.

She currently holds the rank of 7th degree Black Belt (martial arts) in the art of Wun Hop Kuen Do, based on the Kajukenbo system founded by Al Dacascos. While Al Dacascos is her head instructor in Wun Hop Kuen Do, Sheperd was the protégé (for forms competition) of Malia Bernal, stepmother of Mark Dacascos.