Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author.
The movie Bloodsport closely resembles the very early events of the UFC by featuring fighters with different martial arts backgrounds pitted against each other. It was style versus style in no holds barred bouts. Some suggest it inspired the birth of the UFC. As a result, this film has become a cult classic among MMA fans.
The producers of Bloodsport claim it is based on real-life events from the life of Frank Dux. Controversy has arisen about the truth of these claims and other events in Dux’s life that cannot be substantiated by hard evidence. It is a great movie, but whether fact or fiction remains a mystery.
Bloodsport was an epic martial arts movie that showcased combat sports with excellent fight sequences and a storyline that had us all rooting for the underdog Frank Dux. The movie is claimed to be based on a true story, which has seen some controversy over the years.
What is the Bloodsport movie about?
The movie is based around the central character, Frank Dux, a soldier in the American army and martial arts expert. Jean-Claude Van Damme played the role of Frank Dux, and it was a definitive movie for his career.
The movie relates the early years of Frank Dux when he was taken in by martial arts expert Senzo Tanaka, who lost his son in a Kumite tournament.
Tanaka took Dux in as his own son and taught him the art of ninjutsu as he would have done for his lost son. Years go by, and Dux enters the military. While in the army, he gets to hear of an underground fight tournament called the Kumite, about to take place in Hong Kong.
The Kumite only took place every five years, and Dux saw it as an opportunity to participate and regain honor for the Tanaka family. An invitation was sent to the Tanaka family to send a representative to the tournament because Tanaka’s son died in the previous event.
Frank Dux uses this invitation to gain a place in the tournament and intends to face off against the reigning champion, who had killed Tanaka’s son in the previous event.
The Kumite is a combat tournament where fighters from multiple disciplines are invited to fight in a no holds barred competition with no weight distinctions. The fight continues until a knockout or submission is achieved or a fighter cannot continue.
The movie follows the story of Frank Dux as he disobeys orders from the military not to participate in the Kumite and the fighters he comes up against throughout the competition.
Hi makes his way through the ranks of fighters to the final bout against the bloodthirsty, cruel champion, Chong Li, who killed his opponent in the semi-final bout.
The role of Frank Dux was played by Jean-Claude Van Damme and was a career-launching role for the martial arts expert. The role of his arch nemesis, Chong Li, was played by Bolo Yeung, a bodybuilder and martial arts expert from Hong Kong who also played a villain role in Bruce Lee’s movie, “Enter the Dragon.
Is the movie Bloodsport based on a true story?
The movie claims that it is based on tue life events, but there is some doubt as to the legitimacy of the story and the events.
The movie itself is an excellent martial arts action film and catapulted martial arts movies back into the limelight. The Kumite concept is similar to modern MMA bouts, where fighters from multiple combat disciplines match their skills against each other.
Many supporters propose that Bloodsport set the foundation for the development and popularity of the modern MMA concept and structure.
The controversy arose because the movie claims to be based on factual events from the life of Frank Dux, who is a real person. Investigations into the claims of the real Frank Dux led to some discrepancies in his story, which seemed to discredit parts of the story that he touted to be factual to the real events.
Many aspects of the story cannot be verified due to several circumstances and the passage of time, which makes it impossible to say whether the story portrayed in the movie accurately represents actual events.
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Who is Frank Dux?
Frank Dux, the main character in the movie, is a real person, and he was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1956. When he was 7 years old, his family relocated to California, USA.
While in the US, Frank Dux claims he met Senzo Tanaka, who trained him in martial arts and took him to Masuda, Japan, when he was 16 years old to train in ninjutsu.
Frank Dux joined the US Marine Corps and served from 1975 to 1981, and we are told that he participated in covert ops into southeast Asia during his service. Dux claims that he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in this region.
After his military service, Dux opened several martial arts schools, teaching his own style, Dux Ryu ninjutsu. He also claims to have a black belt in Taekwondo and other martial arts disciplines.
Frank Dux currently lives in Seattle, Washington, where he is an entrepreneur and facilitator. He still has ties in the movie industry, choreographed and co-wrote several martial arts action films, and is a published author.
As people began to investigate the claim that the Bloodsport movie was based on true events, holes began to appear in Frank Dux’s story.
Investigators could not find out much about the Kumite, but perhaps that is due to the secrecy around the underground event.
Further discrepancies came to light when the research was conducted into Dux’s military career. No evidence could be found that he went overseas nor that he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
While this raises eyebrows, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that covert missions and the participants were never documented by the military or have been swept under the proverbial rug.
Snippets of information have arisen that seem to corroborate Frank Dux’s story and the events depicted in the Kumite, but there is little hard evidence.
While the truth may never be known, there remains enough controversy about Frank Dux’s claims to cast doubt on the validity of his story.
Is there really a Kumite tournament?
According to the movie’s storyline, the Kumite was an underground martial arts tournament held every 5 years.
The tournament was illegal because it was not sanctioned by any formal fighting association and because of the brutality of the event. Some participants were killed in fights during the competition due to the lack of rules regarding full-contact fighting and the “no holds barred” nature of the event.
Is the Kumite tournament an actual event? Is there any proof that it exists?
While it is difficult to find facts about a secret underground tournament, Kumite tournaments do exist today but are not the brutal competitions depicted in the Bloodsport movie.
During the era when Frank Dux fought in the Kumite, there was no internet and no camera phones, which would have made documenting such a secret event easier.
The November 1980 issue of the popular Black Belt Magazine claims that an underground full-contact, no holds barred Kumite tournament does exist and is held every 5 years. The magazine claims the tournament is organized by the IFAA, or International Fighting Arts Association.
Vague threads of information from this era seem to indicate that the tournament is real, but there is no tangible evidence to back them up.
Is Bloodsport 2 movie coming out?
The Bloodsport franchise followed up with a 1996 sequel, “Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite,” which does not follow Frank Dux but changes to a new character, Alex Cardo, played by Daniel Bernhardt.
This second Bloodsport movie is entirely fictional and doe not claim to be based on any real-life events.
A third movie, Bloodsport III, released in 1997, continues the story of Alex Cardo, introduced in Bloodsport II.
Rumors have arisen that Jean-Claude Van Damme was planning to film a sequel to the original Bloodsport movie, but this has yet to come about.
Conclusion
It’s unclear how much of Frank Dux’s claim is true or not. Whatever you think of Frank Dux, one thing is certain about his contribution.
That is, whether you believe the Bloodsport movie was based on real-life events or not, there is no disputing that it was a visionary movie that inspired the style of multi-discipline fights we see in modern MMA bouts. That itself, at least, cannot be discredited where credit is due.