Katalin Zamiar

Katalin Rodriguez-Ogren (maiden name Katalin Rodriguez Zamiar, best known as Katalin Zamiar) (born August 12, 1971 in Chicago) is an American[1] martial artist, sportswriter, fitness instructor, gym owner and martial arts actress.

Katalin Rodriguez-Ogren
(Katalin Zamiar)
Born
Katalin Rodriguez Zamiar

(1971-08-12) August 12, 1971
Chicago, United States
Height5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)

Life and career

Katalin Zamiar holds a degree in anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she became a forensic science teacher.[2] She has studied martial arts since 1982 and is an accomplished martial artist holding black belts in kung-fu, taekwondo, Gōjū-ryū karate and Shōrin-ryū karate. She has owned POW! Mixed Martial Arts[3] and Chicago Krav Maga[4] training centers since 2001. Along with teaching at her training center in downtown Chicago, she has often covered the UFC for Grappling magazine, focusing primarily on features and interviews. She has published more than 150 articles in various martial arts magazines including Black Belt and Inside Kung Fu, and has been featured in magazines such as Shape, Allure and Self. She has worked as an international fitness and martial arts presenter and has spent some time as a spokesperson for the Martial Arts brand Revgear. She has also written conditioning materials and manuals and can be seen in more than a number of workout fitness/martial arts videos. Her other endeavors have included a summer training camp for upcoming basketball players and she working with non-for-profits. In 2014, she wrote the book Weight Training for Martial Arts.[5]

Acting

Zamiar remains best known for her characterizations of the three female ninja characters Kitana, Mileena, and Jade in the 1993 fighting video game Mortal Kombat II[6][7] (her video shoot costume was Kitana's blue; John Tobias created Mileena and Jade by altering the character colors to purple and green). The character of Jade was her idea.[1] In 1997, Zamiar, together with Philip Ahn (Shang Tsung in MKII) and Elizabeth Malecki (Sonya in Mortal Kombat), filed a lawsuit against Midway Games for royalties for the home ports of the game, a case in which Midway emerged victorious.[8][9] In 1995, she and fellow Mortal Kombat actors Ho Sung Pak (Liu Kang in MKII and her boyfriend at the time[2]), Daniel Pesina, and Phillip Ahn appeared in Thea Realm Fighters, a never-released fighting game produced exclusively for the Atari Jaguar, as well having been in the also unreleased game Chi Yong that was planned for the PlayStation in 1994.[10] In 1996, she portrayed a Jade-like ninja woman character named Chae Lee in the fighting game Catfight.[11] In 2003, she played a minor part in the low-budget martial arts film Book of Swords; in a cameo nod to her Mortal Kombat alter egos, Katalin once again portrayed a female ninja character, dressed in similar clothing as her MKII counterparts and even wielding two sai as Mileena does (the movie also starred Pesina, Pak, and another Mortal Kombat actor, Richard Divizio,[12] all of whom are seen in MK-style clothing/roles throughout the movie).[13] She has reunited with the rest of the MKII cast for the 20th anniversary event at the Galloping Ghost Arcade.[14]

References
  1. "The On Blast Show! Ep10: Katalin Zamiar (Kitana/Mileena) Part 1". Youtube.com. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2016 – via YouTube.
  2. Mortal Kombat II Behind the Scenes, Video Games, April 1994.
  3. "POW! Mixed Martial Arts". Powkickboxing.com. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  4. "Chicago Krav Maga". Chicago Krav Maga. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  5. Katalin Rodriguez-Ogren (Author) (2014-04-01). "Weight Training for Martial Arts: The Ultimate Guide: Katalin Rodriguez-Ogren: 9781932549713: Amazon.com: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  6. Katalin Rodriguez Ogren. "Video Gamer News: Mortal Kombat's Kitana - POW! Mixed Martial Arts". Chicagonow.com. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  7. "Mortal Kombat On The Spot: Katalin Zamiar (Kitana, Mileena and Jade) [HD]". Youtube.com. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2016 – via YouTube.
  8. "Mortal Kombatants killed in kourt". IP Councillors. 1997-06-16. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06.
  9. "ahn.html". Cyber.law.harvard.edu. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  10. "Secret Service Magazine (October 1996)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  11. "CatFight: The Ultimate Female Fighting Game - Windows Cover Art". Mobygames.com. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  12. "¿Que fue de los actores de Mortal Kombat?". Eurogamer.es. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  13. "Far East Films - Reviews - Book Of Swords". Fareastfilms.com. 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. "The Original Mortal Kombat Cast, Still Kicking Ass Two Decades Later". Kotaku.com. 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
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