38 Facts About Frank Dux

Frank William Dux is a Canadian-American martial artist and fight choreographer.

Frank Dux 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.

Frank Dux's alleged victory at the Kumite served as the inspiration for the 1988 film Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Frank 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.

Frank Dux asserts he was recruited by Central Intelligence Agency director William J Casey to work as a covert agent.

Frank Dux worked as a fight choreographer for Bloodsport, Lionheart and Only the Strong.

Frank Dux sued Van Damme for breach of contract over the film, but lost the suit in 1998.

Frank Dux lost a lawsuit against Soldier of Fortune for libel the following year, over their claims he had falsified his military and CIA service.

Frank Dux's family relocated from Ontario to California when he was seven, and he later attended Grant High School.

Frank Dux says that Tanaka brought him to Masuda, Japan, when he was 16, to train him as a ninja.

Frank Dux served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1975 to 1981, and said he was sent on covert missions in Southeast Asia during this time and was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Frank Dux wrote articles for the September and October 1980 issues of Black Belt magazine, giving advice on martial arts techniques including knife fighting.

Frank Dux 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".

Frank Dux co-authored an article on knife fighting for Inside Kung Fu magazine in 1987.

Frank Dux worked as the fight coordinator for Bloodsport and for the 1990 film Lionheart and the 1993 film Only the Strong.

In 1993, Frank Dux attended the 2nd annual Draka Martial Arts Trade Show in Los Angeles, where he had a confrontation with kickboxer Zane Frazier.

Frank Dux had previously hired Frazier to teach classes for him, though Frazier alleges that Frank Dux never paid him.

Frank Dux released the book The Secret Man: An American Warrior's Uncensored Story in 1996.

Alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme, Frank Dux was a co-author of the 1996 film The Quest.

Frank 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 written.

In 1998, Frank Dux lost the case, with the jury foreman stating jurors found Frank Dux's testimony "less than credible", including his assertion that audiotapes of his agreement with Van Damme were destroyed in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Frank Dux appealed the verdict, though his appeal was dismissed in 1999.

Burkett says that Frank Dux fabricated his military history and awards, and had not served in Vietnam, noting the war had ended before he enlisted.

Frank Dux responded to the allegations by saying he never claimed to have served in Vietnam, only in covert missions in Southeast Asia, though, in 1980, he was described in Black Belt as having "a distinguished military record during the Vietnam conflict", and an interview with him in a 1987 issue of Inside Kung Fu describes him as a Vietnam veteran.

In 2012 Sheldon Lettich, co-writer of Bloodsport, said that Frank Dux originally showed him a Medal of Honor he claimed to have been awarded, though years later, after people began questioning if he had "won" the medal, Frank Dux then tried to convince him he had never made such a claim.

In 1988 Jim Coleman, then editor of Black Belt, said that Frank Dux's story was "based on false premises", adding that they could find no evidence of such a competition; he made a similar statement again in 1996.

Frank Dux told Johnson to speak to a man named Richard Robinson, whom he said he had met at the Kumite.

Robinson initially confirmed Frank Dux's story, saying that he was invited to the Kumite as he was an undefeated wrestler at Lower Merion High School.

Frank Dux introduced him to a man named Richard Bender who claimed to have been at the Kumite and verified the story, though a few years later confessed to Lettich that he had been lying and that Frank Dux had instructed him on what to say.

John Johnson reported he could find no evidence of Frank Dux's alleged teacher Senzo "Tiger" Tanaka in history books or from other martial arts experts.

Frank Dux told Johnson he did not know the whereabouts of Tanaka or even if he was still alive, though in later years changed his story to say it was Tanaka's dying wish for him to compete in the Kumite.

When Johnson pointed out that Frank Dux's teacher has the same name as a ninja commander from Ian Fleming's James Bond novel You Only Live Twice, Frank Dux responded by saying that Fleming "used to base his characters on real people".

In March 2017, Frank Dux wrote an article saying he had found Tanaka's death certificate, which showed he had died in Los Angeles in 1975, though as of 2016 Frank Dux's website said that Tanaka died in Japan.

In 1980, Frank Dux told Black Belt that his fight record so far was 321 wins, one loss and seven draws, though in 2014 he told AXS TV that he had retired with a fight record of 329 wins, zero losses.

Curtis Wong, an editor of Inside Kung Fu, doubted whether Frank Dux's alleged 56 consecutive knockout record was possible.

Frank Dux alleged in the book that his father Alfred had worked for Mossad before the Second World War and joined the Jewish Brigade in 1939.

Lieutenant Commander Larry Simmons, a novelist who formerly commanded SEAL Team 5 and who had the same literary agent as Frank Dux, posed with Frank Dux for a photograph.

Frank Dux featured the photo in the book, with the caption saying he was "talking shop" with the SEAL Team leader.