Introducing Team Macho

If you have been a longtime fan of Macho Martial Arts and often go to competitions, then you have probably come across someone from Team Macho. Started in partnership with 9x WAKO World Champion Christine Bannon-Rodrigues, Team Macho is a group of extremely talented individuals who represent Macho at various martial arts competitions every year.

Every member of Team Macho is a dedicated black belt, and they make up an integral part of our mission – to support people’s love for martial arts and those who pursue it to their full potential. Keep reading to learn more about the amazing people who make up Team Macho.


Coach Christine Bannon-Rodrigues Christine Bannon-Rodrigues is one of the most well-known and respected martial artists of her time. After getting her black belt at 16, she has been inducted into 15 Hall of Fames, has been featured in numerous TV programs and movies, and is still the only person to have ever won three WAKO World Titles at a single event. Christine has been a product designer, model and spokesperson for Macho Products for over 20 years. After retiring, she became the co-owner of Don Rodrigues Karate Academy and serves as the coach for Team Macho.

Kodi Molina

Rank: 2nd Degree Black Belt
Style: Songahm Taekwondo
Age Started: 4 years old
Age Became a Black Belt: 6

Kodi currently has over 200 tournament victories, and her most recent accomplishments include:

3x World Champion
2019 AKA Warrior Cup 13 & Under Traditional Weapons Grand Champion
2018 TKO Mongoose Open Grand Champion
2018 NASKA Black Belt Sparring World Champion
2018 NASKA Black Belt Creative Forms World Champion
2018 ATA World Expo Point Sparring Champion
2018 ATA World Expo Creative Weapons Champion
2017 ATA X-Treme (XMA) Forms World Champion
2016 ATA World Expo X-Treme (XMA) Forms Champion
2016 ATA World Expo Creative Forms Champion

At just 10 years old Kodi has already established herself as a tough, powerful, and passionate martial artist. Her commitment to her craft, education, and family are a testament to her values, and she has a personal drive to constantly improve both herself and her skills.

Dante Rodrigues

Rank: 1st Degree Black Belt

Style: Oki-Ryu Kenpo

Age Started: 2 years old

Accomplishments include:

Appearances in numerous movies and TV shows in a variety of roles, including a reoccurring role in a Netflix Original series that is coming out very soon!
Certified by and member of the Screen Action Stunt Association
2015 KRANE #1 16-17 Open Forms
2014 WAKO World Champion Musical Forms (Karate)

As the son of Coach Christine, Dante has grown up completely surrounded by martial arts. He has been practicing for 19 years and is not only a professional martial artist/tricker, but he is also an actor, stuntman, and the co-owner of Newport Martial Arts. He seeks to teach both children and adults how to achieve confidence, leadership and fitness skills through the practice of martial arts.

Emma Cullinan

Rank: 1st Degree Black Belt
Age Started: 5 years old
Age Became a Black Belt: 14

Her most recent accomplishments are

2019 Compete Nationals, California
- 1st place 14/15 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting
- 1st place 14/15 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting Grand Champion
- 1st place 15-17 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting Open
KRANE 2018
- 14/15 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting State Champion Massachusetts
- 14/15 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting National Champion
- 14/15 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting Overall Grand Champion
- 14/15 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting Triple Crown Winne
NASKA 2018
- 14/15 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting World Champion
- 14/15 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting Overall Grand Champion
- 12-14 Girls Black Belt Point Fighting Open Weight World Champion
- World Top Ten in 14/15 girls Black Belt Extreme Weapons (2nd in world)
- 14/15 Girls Black Belt Musical Weapons (2nd in world)
- 14/15 Girls Black Belt Extreme Forms (3rd in world)
- Black Belt Musical forms (4th in world)

Our newest member of Team Macho, Emma, recently received her black belt last November at the age of 14. She is driven to continue to excel in fighting, forms, and weapons, and specifically wants to become a world champion fighter in the women’s adult division.

Ashley Sacrey

Rank: 5th Degree Black Belt

Style: Oki-Ryu Kenpo

Age Started: 8 years old

Age Became a Black Belt: 13

Achievements:

55 Grand championships between Forms, Weapons, and Fighting in KRANE
Ocean State Grand Nationals Senior Forms Grand Champion (2018)
9x KRANE Triple Crown Winner
10x KRANE Female Competitor of the Year Hall of Fame Inductee
International Kenpo Council of Grandmasters Forms and Fighting World Champion Title

After her first karate class at the age of 8, Ashley has relentlessly pursued and honed her skills for the last 23 years. She is passionate about karate because it enabled her to come out of her shell and gave her more confidence in life. With those tools at hand, she soon succeeded in school and learned that with a lot of hard work she can accomplish anything. Ashley said that she keeps going because to her karate is not only a sport, but also a way of life.

Kathryn Tian

Rank: 2nd Degree Black Belt

Style: Taekwondo (12 years), Karate (7 years), Chinese Wushu (2 years)

Age Started: 6 years old

Age Became a Black Belt: 10

Currently, Kathryn is attending Harvard University where she is still performing and competing. In 2018, she:

Was named Triple Crown Champion
Was inducted into the KRANE Hall of Fame
Won 3 National Overall Grand Champion titles and all 4 divisions Champion titles at KRANE Nationals

Kathryn Tian is one of the most passionate martial artists of her age. She initially began studying Taekwondo as a way to deal with being bullied in school, and since then has received a total of 23 World Champion titles in Karate and Taekwondo from 5 famous international martial arts circuits.

Ryker Weaver

Rank: 2nd Degree Black Belt
Style: Songahm Taekwondo
Age Started: 2 years old
Age Became a Black Belt: 10

Recent titles:

ATA Sync World Champion
Compete Internationals Men’s CMX World Title
NASKA 2019 Chicago 2nd in the Men’s Weapons Division

Ryker comes from a family of dedicated martial artists and grew up practicing in their studio at just 2 years old. He recently returned to martial arts after taking a break to play football and has quickly started racking up wins. With multiple 1st places and already 1 world title, he is driven to continue the sport because he loves it and has a great time competing with other talented individuals. He says that one of the most rewarding aspects of competing is the ability to inspire and encourage children from all over the world, and will strive to be a great role model for them to look up to.

The WILL to WIN

Mar 6th 2019