Lucy Liu tells of long time love for martial arts

Lucy Liu was a martial arts fan long before she became a crime fighter in Charlie’s Angels and her new film Ballistic: Ecks Vs Sever.

She tells People magazine: "My father watched kung fu films so it was normal for me to watch them too."

The 33-year-old former Ally McBeal star grew up in New York after her parents emigrated to the States from China.

But she says ethnic stereotypes are to be avoided: "I do watch martial-arts movies and eat rice but not every Asian person does that.

"One reason I decided to pick up martial arts was because I was so sick of people saying, ‘Do you know kung fu?’ Now I can say, ‘Yes I do’."

The lithe actress has also been trained in karate, not to mention knife-and-stick fighting.