Robin Shou was born July 17th, in Hong Kong.  He is the fourth child of five children. There are two older sisters, and two brothers. One older, one younger.  Robin and his family moved from their home all the way to America. California to be exact. Robin was only 11 at the time.  As a teenager, Robin began to take Karate, a discipline of the Martial Arts. But he didn't always feel passionately about his form.  It wasn't until he saw a Wu Shu demonstration  that he found his true calling. Robin began studying Wu Shu with determination and pride. Robin was the 1982-1983 International Forms Champion and a member of the National Wu Shu Team. In competition in China he was awarded both a Gold and Silver Medal in Wu Shu and a Gold Medal in Weapons. He is a four-time Traditional Form Grand Champion in California.  

Our very own Robin Shou wasn't always going to be an actor.  He went to California State University where he got a degree in electrical computer engineering.  To qoute a RealAudio interview with Robin, (Which you will find on my links page...)

"That lasted about a year.    I was working for a year and a half.  I had a degree in Electrical Computer Engineering. Back in the 80's if you got a degree in that you were almost gaurenteed a job. So I tried it, I tried it...and Damn was it boring. All you do is sit in labs. Just sit and hooking up circut boards and calculating things. And I thought "Man this is really boring" And my brother was a civil engineer at the time. And he was always out in the field. So I thought maybe I should try Civil Engineering. I hate the indoors. I can't sit still So civil engineering might be good for me. You can work in the outdoors in the feilds, you don't have to dress up you can be casual. So I tried it. I got out on the field and I thought...Wow...this is still kinda boring to me."

And looking at his 37 year old boss, pott bellied and full of dandriff, 21 year old Robin had to ask himself if that was what he was going to look like when he was 37. So he headed in High gear back to Hong Kong on vacation.  It was there a friend got him to be a stunt double in a Hong Kong movie. Robin eventually went from Stunt double, to bad guys lackie, to bad guy, to good guy's friend, to good guy. But Robin Became tired of the same story lines, same endings and beginings of each movie. So he returned to California. Robin met his agent at a BBQ at a friends house. His agent quickly tried to get Robin to audition for the role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat, but Robin didn't want to listen to him. He thought it would be a role where a token Asian gets his butt kicked by a white guy. But he evenutally gave in.      The role awoke American's awareness to this talented actor, and brought many of his over seas films here.  Being the dedicated actor that he is, Robin cracked some ribs in the first Kombat, and broke his collar bone in Mortal Kombat 2.    Sadly, during the opening of the first mortal Kombat, his mother passed away. At this time, Robin became a Vegitarian and a Buddhist. Mostly because his mother, whom he was always the closest to, believed in it, and he did it to help her get into heaven. When Robin is not acting, he is doing ceramics. He makes wonderful pottery, he paints and welds. He likes to work with his hands. When making his pottery, Robin makes them from the ground up by hand, he prefers not to use a pottery wheel.   As I always said, as actor, artist and Martial Artist, he is very versitile. just another reason I admire this man so much.

Martial Artist, a great one with discipline and grace, an artist, a singer, a great actor who made us laugh in Beverly Hills Ninja, and held us on the edge of our seats in Mortal Kombat. This guy is great!!