62 Martial Arts Illustrated

ASKING THE MASTERS

The legendary name Frank Dux will befamiliar to many for his experiences in the‘Kumite’, an underground NHB tournament,were portrayed by Hollywood star Jean-Claude Van Damme in the cult classicBloodsport (1988).

Frank, however, has become acontroversial figure due to those whoquestion his martial arts abilitiesand claims about his background.So I felt it was important to givehim the opportunity to share withus the real facts in place ofmyth or third party hearsay.

‘Asking the Masters’ columnistHarjit Singh Sagoo continues hisinterview with controversialfigure Frank Dux.

Carrying on from last month whereFrank spoke about the Kumitetournaments, breaking records andhis time working for the CIA, thismonth Frank talks about his criticsand his biography The Secret Man.

Above

Jean Claude Van Damme in Bloodsporthad an uncanny resemblance to Frank Dux

whose life story is protrayed in the film.Opposite page

No its not Van Damme but Frank Dux, 1975 - notice the resem-blance to the actor casted to play Frank Dux in Bloodsport

Frank Dux.qxd 27/11/2008 16:00 Page 2

Martial Arts Illustrated 63

FEATUREThe Secret Man

concepts I call DUX FASST"! and acronym forFocus-Action-Skill-Strategy-Tactics.

DUX FASST"! is a proprietary combat proventechnology thats elements are utilized by USNAVY SEALs, Ukraine’s bERKYT and otherelite military and law enforcement units,world-wide; as well as, traditional MartialArt and MMA world Champions. Due to theobservable fact it not only transformed meinto the MMA archetype as an UndefeatedWorld Champion (16 World Records) butconsistently reproduces the same result inothers - it enables the novice or the "best ofthe best" to reflexively neutralize a non-compliant, combative or lethal threat,seemingly effortlessly.

Fighting skills are perishable, traditionaltraining methods produce the predictableConditioned Response, deceived by feints,and functions marginally in uncontrolled(real world) environments. DUX FASST"!is not a system. It does not replace oneskill set for another. It makes possiblethe highest state of readiness, as DUXFASST"! bridges the gap between theConditioned Response and the nextevolutionary skill level one mustacquire to optimally deploy theirarsenal - the Instinctive Reflex Actionor what is better known as thePRACTICED REFLEX RESPONSE(what martial art masters refer toas "Mushin" trans. "Mind NoMind").

Regardless of past experience,type or level of training youbenefit, as DUX FASST"! empowersthe practitioner through its proprietarytrade secrets on how to Manage Angerand Fear, instinctively ACT not REACT inaccordance to the USE OF FORCE

Harjit Singh Sagoo: Are you still able toperform your martial arts feats after havingsurgery to get your brain tumour removedback in 1993?Frank Dux: Yes and like anyone my age orinjured we all lose some strength, flexibilityand speed. I did not lose all of my abilitiesbut I did lose some. One I used to inspireothers by. There was a time if you ask mystudents they will confirm for you my hearingwas once so acute I could turn my back tothem, turn the lights off in a gymnasium andhave them reshuffle their positions and thenwithout turning around I could tell you whoout of twenty or more was standing whereand how far from me. Sceptics thought it wasa magic trick until I had an old master whowas blind from birth, repeat it. Like I alwaystell my students there is always something tobe gained by a loss, you just have to unveil it.I’m still unveiling mine. My struggle back tohealth has inspired a lot of people. I take myresponsibility as a role model very seriously,especially, when kids who are sick look up tome to encourage them.

However, I did not lose my thirst forknowledge; therefore, I am continuallysearching the world for its secrets ofwarriorship. I just recently returned fromMongolia to catalogue the ancient art of Ojaiand Bandizo from the last surviving masters;a whole story by itself. I still desire to sharemy knowledge with others. I just spent 7years authoring the first compendium of allmartial art knowledge I call The Martial ArtBible: Secrets of Warriorship. I still teach andI am very selective. You must have 5 years ofconcentrated martial arts study and be ingood physical health to train under and withme, because I can still pull your eyeball out ofits socket and shove it down your throat tochoke on before most people can blink. Iteach my own techniques composed of high

CONTINUUM, the defined acceptable type andamount of force lawfully, allowed.

In addition, students acquire invaluable verbaland psychological tools in order to de-escalatea threat and prevail without physicalcontention. DUX FASST"! is Multi-Ranged &Multi-faceted as it significantly HEIGHTENSSITUATONAL AWARENESS by empoweringyou with the capability to transition to, adaptand overcome any kind of threat/fightingrange, be it: Striking, Grappling or Weapons(use, retention or disarms).

HS: You even went on NBC television torefute your critics’ claims. Do you think thathelped change the opinions of your critics?FD: That depends on what critics you aretalking about. The one’s that are good peoplewho have been subjected to bad information,you bet! My only regret is not addressing whatis so deceptively false, sooner. Each time I putmore solid information out to the public Ireceive a huge positive response. I have come

to learn how disillusioned most people havebecome realizing they have been

misled by bloggers who are nowlosing their credibility with each

revelation of the truth.

I am inspired by BarackObama recently, who quotedAbraham Lincoln, "If youwont stop telling lies about

me, then I will have noc h o i c e

Frank Dux was dubbed Pha Ma (The Flying Horse) for his traitof finishing his opponent's off before they could drop by a flyingjumping spinning back kick, as seen here.

Frank Dux.qxd 27/11/2008 16:00 Page 3

but to start telling the truth about you."

My interview was supposed to be focused onthe 20th anniversary of Bloodsport and acharity I support that pays for blood testing offighters and builds awareness of the dangersassociated without it. The NBC interviewer,Paul Silvi, only went in the direction ofaddressing those other critics becauseserious journalists can’t understand howthese blogs are getting away with theseridiculous allegations as you yourself raise.

Especially, in light of the fact it is a matter ofpublic record I proved my bona fides first,when I sued for libel and slander over them.What prompted this on camera discussion ishow off camera I was offhandedly talkingabout how my wikipedia page is outrageouslycorrupted to the point that even after I hired aprofessional I couldn’t change something asinnocuous as where I live. I suspectmisstated in order to mislead others awayfrom finding me leading to discovery of thetruth as well as deny me economicopportunity. Observably, only after Iembarrassed wikipedia bymentioning on NBC whatwas transpiring was thaterror ever corrected butthat was it.

The motive behindthis is clear to meconsider ingt h e

founder of wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, alsoowns various websites that benefit from thecontroversy his website blogs have spunsurrounding me and others, sending trafficto them. Before my NBC appearance theirown rules don’t apply, using one of Wales’sbloggers as its reference source for citationsof these false allegations, which you havegraciously allowed me the opportunity todispel.

Ninjutsu practitioner, Ashida Kim, points outWales alleged martial ar t teacher is

someone who engaged in a pattern ofbehaviour throughout the 1980s

that lingers still today, which is toinsinuate anyone outside of hisown monopolistic Ninjutsu

lineage are frauds. Hiswikipedia page reads

more like his ownpersonal websitewhere his sourcesare his own self-published worksand containsl o c a t i o ninformation to

his schools and offering sale of his trainingvideo, which is all supposed to be againstwiki-rules. In contrast, with my Dux RyuNinjitsu system being deemed his rival, is it acoincidence my book The Secret Man,HarperCollins, 1996 is arbitrarily not allowedto be sourced in providing any balancedreporting and is declared self-published whenin fact it is vetted (substantiated andindependently verified) and published by amajor publishing house?

I am not alone in dealing with this kind ofdouble-standard and unethical behaviour, aselaborated below.Why you should care that Jimmy Walesignores reality…By HYPERLINK"http://forms.theregister.co.uk/mail_author/?story_url=/2008/03/06/a_model_wikipedian/"\o "Send email to the author" Cade Metz inSan Francisco

Wikipedia is built on a catch-22. If someonehas a conflict of interest, you can have thembanned. But everyone has the right toanonymity. That means if you try and provethey have a conflict, you're breaking therules, and they can edit all they want.

You see, the Wikipedia inner circle is a verysimple thing. It includes anyone who's madethe right online friends. This isn't an officialclub. There's no roster. And you can't quitesay how many members there are. But youcan recognize a member when you see one.They're the people with the pull - the peoplewho get the heavy support when they makean argument. HYPERLINKhttp://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/06/a_model_wikipedian http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/06/a_model_wikipedian

HS: Why do you think people have tried to

62 Martial Arts Illustrated

FEATURE The Secret Man

Above

Frank Dux’s BulletProof Glass break,

verified in courtand by

InternationalPress Corps,

Bercy, France,April 1993.

Below

On set with DonGibb aka ‘Jackson’

in Bloodsport

GraduationDay - MarineCorp Recruit

Depot, SanDiego, 1975

GraduationDay - MarineCorp Recruit

Depot, SanDiego, 1975

Training Danbury SWAT, 1995Training Danbury SWAT, 1995

Frank Dux.qxd 27/11/2008 16:01 Page 4

defame you?FD: Bruce Lee when he was alive facedsimilar challenges that he likened to thechild’s game ‘king of the mountain’. Likepolitics it’s all about trying to take down theperson who is perceived on top. Of course, inmy case, I am made more vulnerable by the

fact I am a government whistleblower. Add tothe mix the rabid commercialization of martialarts today and it should not surprise anyonethat trade libel is epidemic in the martial artsand other business communities. Particularly,as I pointed out previously with websites whoconvey and/or deny selected information andindicators to influence emotions, motives,and objective reasoning, suppressing thetruth in order to benefit. I am far from beingalone. The crying shame of it all is martialartists are supposed to be above this kind oflowly conduct. Gossip is the antithesis ofacting honourably. These Martial Ar tdebunkers are themselves who are in need ofbeing debunked.

On an individual level, I believe the kind ofpeople who knowingly engage in or repeattrade libel lack for a disciplined mind andcharacter and are generally motivated bygreed and/or an insatiable ego. That is at theheart of the matter and that is why until theyalter that behaviour they will only know andpromote misery and can never truly attainenlightened mastery of any martial ar tdiscipline.

I must admit that I may have invited this kindof behaviour to target me, given the fact thatjust like what the Gracie family experiencedwhen they first came to the United States andissued an open challenge to fight anyoneanywhere, which is the custom and traditionof No-Holds-Barred fighters, like us, my openchallenge invitation, in 1980, embarrassedothers and alienated me. Without any doubtmy challenge exposed some martial artclicks to be made up of what some peoplelabelled "paper tigers" unwilling to ventureoutside their element but still gracing thecovers of Black Belt and other popular martialart magazines by denouncing others - “Calledto put up or shut up, by me.”

I suspect it is behind why the students of oneof my rivals were arrested and convicted forvandalizing my school and explains why theyare gossiping behind my and other Kumitechampion’s backs. Like Grandmaster, Irving

Sotos whose ‘handle’ I don’t remember or afighter known only by his handle ‘Cherokee’whose real identity is Joshua Westmiller, HidekiNishiama’s student, and if one is old enoughthey might recall, the open challengesadvertised in the back of magazines by ‘CountDante’, in the 1960s, that I am informed,

eventually, resulted in his untimely death, etc.

Perhaps we make it easy for others, given thefact in my small circle we were schooled not totalk openly about our fighting out ofconsideration and respect for those who dareand lost. Our Kumite wasn’t supposed to beabout ‘fighting for acceptance’. It was all abouttesting yourself - your knowledge and spiritwith a person who is considered an equal - asthere is no knowledge or honour to be gainedby engaging in battles with weaker opponents.A direct violation of the unwritten code ofhonour and martial art etiquette my generationand twenty generations before me wereinstilled with and still embrace.

HS: Has Jean-Claude Van Damme everquestioned your ability?FD: Only when I was showing him how I do thesplits, LOL. And the fact he was such a deadringer for me that the producers of Bloodsporthad mistaken old photos of me for him. Hewas my ‘mini-me’ considering our sizedifferences but he had real talent asa fighter and don’t let others tellyou, otherwise. He was asseen in Bloodsport drawnand quartered for real.

Over my objections,my attorney felt forcedto call Van Damme’sbona fides in questionin response to anattack made on myveracity by hisattorney whensubmitting a motionto dismiss the case,both sides given tolegal posturing. Notus two, personally.On the stand, in ourlitigation over theQuest, Van Dammeobviously postured furtherand attempted to concealthe fact I trained himthree times a week for

several months in preparation for Bloodsport,as acknowledged in the film’s credit role. AfterBloodsport we continued to work togetherbecause we had mutual respect and trust ineach other’s abilities.

HS: Could you please tell me a bit about yourbook, ‘The Secret Man’?FD: Call it my mea culpa, gone awry. Mymanuscript was written at a time when I wasdiagnosed with two brain tumours and wasn’texpected to live due to after-surgerycomplications of a spinal fluid leak, my fallingill to spinal meningitis.

My book focused on several politically delicatetopics. Explaining why I earned the monikerfrom which the book takes its title ‘The SecretMan’. I am the descendant of threegenerations of intelligence operatives, whereWilliam Casey had served on one end of the

"rat line" and my father on the other.Given long standing family

ties, I served as a bridgebetween organized crime

and intelligenceagencies; I am the onlyperson to have served,simultaneously, forboth adversarial sidesof the cold war.

Whereupon, given thei n f l a m m a t o r ypolitical posturing,discovery or

Martial Arts Illustrated 63

‘‘

‘‘

The crying shame of it all is martial artists are supposed to be above thiskind of lowly conduct. Gossip is the antithesis of acting honourably. These

Martial Art debunkers are themselves who are in need of being debunked.

FEATUREThe Secret Man

Frank Dux inKimono. "Without

doubt, I have livedan extraordinary life

but that is onlybecause I am an

ordinary man whowas not afraid to

venture outside ofmy element, but notbefore having pre-pared myself to becapable to impro-

vise, adapt andovercome great

challenges."

Frank Dux.qxd 27/11/2008 16:02 Page 5

acknowledgment my cover t activitiessurrounding the alleged theft of biologicalweapon of mass destruction as well as myhunting for a rogue agent could result in ahuge loss of face to either side’s leadership.

I had come to the attention of movie greatsJohn Bishop, Lucas Foster and JerryBrucheimer, who were doing research fortheir proposed film Rogue Warrior, based onthe world of covert operations and ‘TheSharkman of The Delta’ Richard Marcinko,the founder of the US Navy anti - terror unitknown as SEAL Team 6. I would later serveas a technical advisor and consultant for theproject.

My initial meeting with the producersoccurred at the 1993 SPECWAR conference,held in San Diego, California, in which I wasbeing referred to by the different aliases Iused in the past with spooks and SpecWaroperators. This strange sight caught theproducer’s attention. Eventually, learning thetruth separate and apart from me regardingwhat I was involved with, further sparkedtheir interest, leading Lucas Foster and JerryBrucheimer to bring me to the attention ofJudith Regan of Simon and Schuster to do abook deal in combination with a proposedmotion picture project.

Interestingly enough, HarperCollins boughtmy contract from Simon and Schuster, priorto my first draft outline. According to myagent, Joel Gotler (whom Lucas Fosterintroduced me to), the publisher expressedthis contract occurred without my submittingthe outline because my credentials were thatstrong and experiences that unique. Theexpectation of what I may write had everyoneon the edge of their seats.

Sadly, I watched the heart of my story gonemissing. Given the repeated turnover ineditors my voice was lost in my book and mygalley changes went uncorrected. Forinstance, in my original manuscript I describeWilliam Casey as mumbling and ‘short ofbreath’ but due to editorial changes and a typoit appears in print as Casey being described asjust ‘shor t’ thereby, contradicting mydescription later he was a tall man. AdmiralSmith, whom I referred to as holding the rankof a SEAL Naval Commander during OperationDesert Shield, is transformed to be referred toas a Gulf War Commander and Lt. Col. OliverNorth is portrayed in a bad light but not by mebut the editor expressing their political viewsand conclusions.

I found the experience discouraging as well asenlightening. While the real teeth of mymanuscript never made it to print, enoughsurvived to upset the fascist hard liners in theintelligence community that is, polarized. I haddared to do the unthinkable and reveal ongoingcorruption and war crimes being committedby persons working under the colour ofauthority along with the skirting of the Bolandand Logan amendments, being covered up. Athread, if pulled, some could argue would alterthe delicate balance in a political party.

In the end, I left a lucrative contract with 7Locks Press for my book’s soft-back releaseand the $500,000 major studio motion picturedeal with Jerry Brucheimer on the table. I feltcompelled to take into account the sensitivenature of my book, The Secret Man,HarperCollins, 1996 given its revelations. Mystrong sense of duty prompted me to pull itfrom my publisher and to continue to withholdits circulation to this day, in light ofuncharacteristic behaviour of governmentagencies and shadowy requests, on theirbehalf.

The Secret Man prompted an official anduncharacteristic denial by the CIA, which tothe best of my recollection had not been doneoutside of G. Gordon Liddy, in anticipation ofthe "Watergate fiasco" and the CIA denial ofEugene Hasenfus, in anticipation of ‘Irangate’.I felt it was my moral imperative to also takeinto consideration how, similar to CBS 60Minutes caving to outside sources in killing itsexpose on tobacco industry, ABC PrimetimeProducer, Michael Bicks, had contacted myattorney, Michael Frankel, to inform ussignificant sources outside of ABC Networkand its parent company Walt DisneyCorporation came to bear, resulting incensorship of ABC Primetime News magazineshow featuring my story and the book.

62 Martial Arts Illustrated

FEATURE The Secret Man

Left

Death Touch‘Dim Mak’ first

performed byFrank Dux onnumerous TV

shows andexhibitions -

the fragileceramic tilesremain intact

while onlybottom

concrete slab(not a wall

cap) breaks.

Left

Jean ClaudeVan Dammeportraying

Frank Dux inBloodsport

and inset thefilm cover.

Frank Dux.qxd 27/11/2008 16:02 Page 6

However, I anticipated this response fromABC when I read the Publishers WeeklyReview that is so over the top deceptive, it didnot escape notice, as one book reviewer onAmazon.com writes, in 2005:

“The Publishers Weekly Review is soapparently off base and tainted it is painfullyobvious it was crafted by someone who ispolitically bias or has a personal axe togrind.”

Sadly, I had no way to know back then that Iwas actually being led astray by my ownconvictions, my sense of honour to countryand duty, ‘Semper Fi’ (forever faithful). I couldnot understand how my story and findingsmay have compromised ongoing operationsprompting the highly unorthodox denials andpressure coming to bear down on the media.I couldn’t ignore this was happening. Iequally could not perceive how my findings ifbrought to the forefront of public awarenessthis might have prevented a terrible mistake,in the future. How conceivably it might haveplanted the seed to question the source andquality of the information an honourable manlike Colin Powell was given, who was ledastray, due to the untruths he repeated.Corrupted information fed him by the CIA hellbent in promoting a hidden agenda, yearslater, resulting in Powell’s resignation.

One could argue my book’s findingscould have put under scrutinythe sources andj u s t i f i c a t i o nused in

motivating my country going to war with Iraqbased on fabrications and internal politicalagendas within the intelligence community,corrupting it. A chain of events driving homethe old spy adage: “Fiction is never in need ofdenial.”

HS: And finally, do you have a directmessage for your critics?FD: Remember the words of ThomasJefferson:“Show me a man without controversy and Iwill show you a man without character”

I welcome and invite all to meet me inperson and judge for themselves who I amand what I am capable of. Numerousgreat grand masters recognized for being‘in the know’ regarding No- Holds-Barred fighting and who have alsoconsulted and taught special forcesunits, like Irving Sotos and ReylsonGracie also share with me commonground to enter into discussions on ourjointly conducting seminars. Anyoneinterested in pursuing this kind ofopportunity can contact me, directly, viamy myspace page:http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.view profile&friendid=346595645

FEATUREThe Secret Man

ABOUT T

HEAUTHOR

Harjit Singh Sagoo,

born in 1984, in the UK, began

his martial arts journey at the age

of 9. He is a proud Sikh who has informally

studied several fighting methods. After many

years of serious research on realistic

fighting, he has developed a fighting system

which he has named ‘Harjit Singh Yuddh

Kalaah’ (which translates as ‘Harjit Singh‘s

fighting art‘ in the Panjabi, and Sanskrit

language). He continues to adopt and develop

more effective fighting techniques. He enjoys

reading martial arts manuals but

loves writing his own.

Harjit Singh Sagoo,

born in 1984, in the UK, began

his martial arts journey at the age

of 9. He is a proud Sikh who has informally

studied several fighting methods. After many

years of serious research on realistic

fighting, he has developed a fighting system

which he has named ‘Harjit Singh Yuddh

Kalaah’ (which translates as ‘Harjit Singh‘s

fighting art‘ in the Panjabi, and Sanskrit

language). He continues to adopt and develop

more effective fighting techniques. He enjoys

reading martial arts manuals but

loves writing his own.

Martial Arts Illustrated 63

Above

Frank Dux, in late1980s, sports abeard as heconcentrates histalents on druginterdictionefforts, inductedKnight Chevalierby Police Hall ofFame; AdjunctFaculty Memberof CriminalJustice Centre,St. Petersburg, Fl.

Right

If you want toread more aboutFrank Dux's lifeyou can do so inhis biography ‘TheSecret Man’available from allgood bookstores.

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