An American low-budget action film celebrated an unexpected worldwide success in 1988: "Bloodsport". With its, the world of film fans and martial arts cinema discovered a new idol: Jean-Claude Van Damme. In the 1970s there was Bruce Lee, but at the end of the 1980s a Belgian won the day. Van Damme was a karate master and had unparalleled strength and flexibility. For ten years he was one of Hollywood's hottest action stars. But excessive overconfidence and drugs bring him down again. At home in Europe he becomes a laughing stock on talk shows. Only with "JCVD" does he manage to get back on his feet, playing his character with perspective and self-irony, but without ever giving up the reputation that his action films brought him and which has been a cult for several generations. The highs and lows of his eventful life are told through archive footage and contributions from people close to the popular Belgian actor.
Frank William Dux (born April 6, 1956) is a Canadian-American martial artist, fight choreographer and author. 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. 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Dux, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.