If you’ve ever seen the classic Bloodsport, then you saw the name Frank Dux in the credits. The film was supposedly based on his life and if you do a little research, you’ll be quite disappointed.
Here’s the story of Frank Dux and how he duped the world into thinking he was a real ninja. Detailing how he claims to have learned ninjutsu and the various other lies he’s told along the way.
How Frank Dux Became a Ninja
Going back to before Frank Dux was a famous ninja/soldier/martial arts master, he may have grown up in California. He said that his father was a decorated military veteran that was part of Britain’s Jewish brigade.
Frank said that from his service, his dad would encounter the Japanese martial art of ninjutsu. Meeting a ninja master known as Senzo Tanaka.
According to Frank, Tanaka is the greatest martial artist that ever lived. Coming from a family of forty generations of martial arts masters.
Especially in a style of ninjutsu since that’s what Frank Dux claims Tanaka taught him. This Senzo Tanaka ironically has the same backstory as the martial arts master in the James Bond film, You Only Live Twice.
This ninja master named Tanaka would become Dux’s “shodoshi” and not sensei like in most Japanese martial arts.
Frank Dux’s Ninja Training
Dux claims that Tanaka taught him a particular style of ninjutsu called Koga Yamabushi Ryu. If you saw the training arc in the movie BloodSport, Frank Dux claims that was exactly how his training went.
Basically taking his body to the point of breaking all day. Going through the crazy stretching and body conditioning routines depicted in the movie. Helping him transform into a martial arts master.
Frank Dux: The “Military Veteran”
In Frank’s story, he was said to have served in the US Marine Corps from 1975 to 1981. From his own auto-biography, Dux claims to have been a highly decorated soldier in the Southeast Asian Conflict.
Winning numerous awards from valor and self-sacrifice in clandestine operations behind operations. The Vietnam War ended in 1975, so this must’ve been a super secret war.
Because of this knowledge of experience in this war, Frank Dux was recruited as a special tactic instructor. Teaching numerous branches of the military, as well as numerous law enforcement workers across the world.
While he wasn’t doing all of that, Dux went on routine secret special ops missions around the world. Claiming to have killed hundreds of enemies with a variety of different weapons.
From all of these secret missions and acts of heroism, Frank Dux was honored by receiving the Medal of Honor(He never received the Medal of Honor.)
Frank Dux: Winning the Kumite
During his first year of service in 1975, Dux said that he went AWOL from the military. Claiming to receive an invite to a legendary underground fighting tournament known as the Kumite.
A sixty round single elimination tournament that is held every five years. Dux has claimed this underground fighting event took place in the Bahamas. But Frank does often change his mind about events that he says happened in his life.
He also said that his friend named Richard Robinson, who was a state wrestling champ also competed at the Kumite.
In much Dux fashion, Frank, of course, dominated this secret fighting competition. Making him the greatest fighter in the universe.
Dux Ryu Ninjitsu
After returning from winning the Kumite, Frank Dux would open his own ninjutsu school. Calling it Dux Ryu.
While running his own ninjutsu school, Frank would also find work on various and as a writer. He wrote two articles for Black Belt Magazine in 1979 and 1980 on different martial arts techniques.
The Making of Bloodsport
While working on movie sets in the 1980s, Frank would begin telling writers about his wild life. One of those writers that he told his stories to was Sheldon Lettich.
From the stories the Frank Dux told Lettich would result in a script for the movie Bloodsport. A story about a military veteran, who goes AWOL to fight in an underground fighting tournament.
This fighting tournament would take place in Hong Kong instead of the Bahamas, but Dux said it’s all true. Everything from him being a multi-time Kumite champion that holds numerous records.
Karate practitioner and action movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme and become a classic action movie. Most that love the movie try to ignore that the entire plot never actually happened.
Zane Frazier Beats Up Frank Dux
In 1993, Frank attended the 2nd annual Draka Martial Arts Trade Show in Los Angeles. At the event, he was confronted by UFC 1 veteran and Karate practitioner Zane Frazier.
Dux allegedly hired Frazier to teach at his school, but never paid Frazier for the job. Frazier would precede to beat Dux senseless in front of a large crowd.
Rorion Gracie, Big John McCarth, and UFC co-founder Art Howe were actually in attendance for the event.
Frank Dux claims that Frazier was wearing brass knuckles, but nobody in attendance corroborated his version of the incident.
The Lies of Frank Dux Exposed
The list of lies that Frank Dux has told throughout his life is quite long and we probably missed some. Here are some of the many lies that Frank continues to tell till this day.
The Military Record of His Father
Frank Dux claimed that his father served in the British army’s Jewish Brigade in 1943. The Jewish Brigade was not formed until 1944.
Senzo Tanaka
There is no ninja master named Senzo Tanaka that has ever lived. He took the origin story from the character Tiger Tanaka in the movie, You Only Live Twice.
When confronted with this, Frank claims that the film writer Ian Fleming knew the real Senzo Tanaka. Using his teacher’s story to write the character in the film.
Dux’s Military Record
Frank did serve in the US Marine Corps starting in 1975, but was stationed within the country. He was never shipped off to fight in a Southwest Asian war.
The Vietnam War ended in 1975 and he never won any medals. Let alone going AWOL to win a secret underground tournament.
His superior officers would even note in Dux’s record that he had a tendency to have delusions of grandeur. Never letting something like facts get in the way of a good story.
Richard Robinson
Richard Robinson is a real person and he does claim that he fought in the same Kumite event as Dux. The only problem is Robinson never went to the high school, where he said he won a state championship.
He never attended Lower Merion High School and actually went to the same high school as Frank Dux. How convenient.
The Kumite
Let’s put aside the obvious lies of a secret underground fighting tournament taking place in the Bahamas. Instead, let’s talk about the math of Dux claiming to fight in a 60 round tournament.
Not a 60 man tournament, but a 60 round tournament. Math is not our strong suit on the website, but a 60 round single-elimination tournament is mathematically impossible.
Did Frank really basically fight the population of an entire country to win his fight? He’ll probably tell you that is true.
Sheldon Lettich
BloodSport writer Sheldon Lettich has also come out to dispute Dux’s claims. On the set of the film, Dux would bring his apparent Medal of Honor medal to show the crew.
It would turn out that years later after an investigation on stolen valor that this wasn’t his medal. This particular medal that Frank had was actually reserved for only members of the army and not marines.
When confronted with this lie, Dux claimed that he never told Lettich this story or showed him the medal.
The Kumite Trophy
Frank Dux has a giant trophy that he claimed he got by winning the Kumite. Turns out that he bought it at a trophy shop in California.
When being exposed as a fraud, the trophy shop presented Dux’s receipt for the trophy. Proving that there never was a Kumite.
Is There Something Frank Dux Didn’t Lie About?
While Frank has fabricated many things in his life, he does seem to have learned actual martial arts at some point. From videos of Dux demonstrating technique, he seemed to have learned a form of Karate and maybe Japanese Jiu-Jitsu.
But there is nothing that he’s shown that indicates he knows anything about ninjutsu.
The Legacy of Frank Dux
Frank Dux is an icon in the world of fake martial artists. He was able to lie his way into fame and fortune and even get a hit movie made from his delusional fantasies.
Dux is an insane person that will never admit that he was a fraud. But the silver lining is that we got BloodSport out of it and get to laugh at this fake ninja.