Frank Dux
Frank William Dux ( /ˈduːks/; born April 6, 1956) is a Canadian-American martial artist and fight choreographer. According to Dux, a ninjutsu expert named Senzo Tanaka trained him as a ninja when he was a teenager. He established his own school of ninjutsu called Dux Ryu Ninjutsu, and has said he won a secret martial arts tournament called the Kumite in 1975. His alleged victory at the Kumite served as the inspiration for the 1988 film Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Dux's victory at the Kumite has been disputed, as has the existence of both the Kumite he described and Senzo Tanaka.
Frank Dux
Dux served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1975 to 1981, and claims he was sent on covert missions to Southeast Asia and awarded the Medal of Honor. He also asserts he was recruited by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director William J. Casey to work as a covert agent. His military records, however, show he was never sent overseas and has not received any awards; Dux states the military sabotaged his records to discredit him. He has been accused of falsifying his military service by authors B.G. Burkett, Ralph Keyes and Nigel West, and his claim to have worked for the CIA has been dismissed by Director of Central Intelligence Robert Gates, General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., Major General John K. Singlaub, and Soldier of Fortune magazine.
Dux worked as a fight choreographer for Bloodsport, Lionheart (1990) and Only the Strong (1993). He detailed his alleged work for the CIA in the book The Secret Man in 1996, and that same year co-wrote the story for the film The Quest alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. He sued Van Damme for breach of contract over the film, but lost the suit in 1998. He also lost a lawsuit against Soldier of Fortune for libel the following year, over their claims he had falsified his military and CIA service.
Early life[edit]
Dux was born on April 6, 1956, in Toronto, Canada.[1] His family relocated from Ontario to Los Angeles, California when he was seven,[3] and he later attended Grant High School.[2] Dux states that he was introduced to and trained in ninjutsu by Senzo "Tiger" Tanaka,[4] whom he described as a "world-famous" teacher and the descendant of 40 generations of warriors. Dux says that Tanaka brought him to Masuda, Japan, when he was 16, to train him as a ninja.[2]
Career[edit]
Dux served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1975 to 1981, and claimed he was sent on covert missions in Southeast Asia during this time. He also claimed he was awarded the Medal of Honor.[2] Dux wrote articles for the September and October 1980 issues of Black Belt magazine, giving advice on martial arts techniques including knife fighting. He was described as being "decorated for his blade fighting techniques in actual combat in Southeast Asia" and as holding black belts in "Taekwondo and other arts".[5][6] He also co-authored an article on knife fighting for Inside Kung Fu magazine in 1987.[7]
In 1980, Dux was interviewed by John Stewart from Black Belt, stating that he participated in a 1975 martial arts competition in The Bahamas called the Kumite, describing the event as a 60-round single-elimination tournament held in secret every five years.[8] According to Dux, he was the first person to be given permission to speak publicly about the event, and was the first Westerner to win the tournament, achieving several world records there including the most consecutive knock-outs (56) and the fastest knockout punch (0.12 seconds). The 1988 film Bloodsport is based on his alleged Kumite victory. At the time of the film's release, he was operating martial arts schools in Woodland Hills and North Hollywood, Los Angeles,[2] teaching his own martial art style, Dux Ryu ninjutsu, which is based on the Koga Ninja root principles of Ko-ryū, "adaptability and consistent change".[4] Dux worked as the fight coordinator for Bloodsport and also for the 1990 film Lionheart and the 1993 film Only the Strong.[9][10]
In 1993, Dux attended the 2nd annual Draka Martial Arts Trade Show in Los Angeles, where he had a confrontation with kickboxer Zane Frazier.[11] Dux had previously hired Frazier to teach classes for him, though Frazier alleges that Dux never paid him. A fight ensued, with Frazier proving victorious. Rorion Gracie and Art Davie witnessed the fight and subsequently offered Frazier a position in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.[12][13][14] Dux states that Frazier sucker punched him while wearing brass knuckles,[13] in contradiction to multiple sources, including mixed martial arts (MMA) referee John McCarthy, who make no mention of this in their accounts of the fight.[12][13][14]
Dux released the book The Secret Man: An American Warrior's Uncensored Story in 1996. In the book, Dux states that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director William J. Casey arranged to meet him in a restroom, and recruited him to work on covert missions, including destroying a fuel depot in Nicaragua and a chemical weapons plant in Iraq.[15][16]
Alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dux was a co-author of the 1996 film The Quest. Dux sued Van Damme after the film's release for breach of contract, on the grounds the finished film was too similar to the manuscript Enter the New Dragon, which the two had also written. In 1998, Dux lost the case,[17] with the jury foreman stating jurors found Dux's testimony "less than credible", including his assertion that audiotapes of his agreement with Van Damme were destroyed in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.[18][19] Dux appealed the verdict, though his appeal was dismissed in 1999.[20]
Dux's credits on martial arts films are as follows: