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Meet Frank Dux
Part 2: Controversy
Click for large photo of Frank Dux
Frank Dux describes elements of his martial philosophy. (click for larger photo)
 More of this Feature
• Part 1: Meet Frank Dux
• Part 2: Controversy
• Part 3: Van Damme Lawsuit
• Part 4: Dux Ryu

LA Times Controversy

Johnson's article sought to debunk Dux's story of the Kumite and his secret life as a military/CIA operative. Johnson found a North Hollywood vendor stating that Dux's Kumite trophy wasn't earned for combat on some tropical island, but was merely ordered and picked up just a few miles from Dux's Southern California home.

In his interview with me, Dux tackled the controversy head on. "That article made a big deal that the Kumite trophy was fake. But the receipt they claimed was proof didn't even have my name spelled correctly! They spelled it Ducks: D-U-C-K-S!"

Soldier of Fortune Controversy

Dux got into hot water again in August 1996 when Soldier of Fortune magazine printed the article "Full Mental Jacket," and a November 1998 article titled "Stolen Valor: Profiles of a Phony-Hunter." In the articles, Dux was lambasted for falsifying his military record, with photos of Dux in a military uniform that brandishes both Army and Marine medals.

Dux explains that he was the target of a smear campaign by Soldier of Fortune publisher Robert K. Brown--and that he even sued Soldier of Fortune for libel and slander. Dux described how he, Brown, and Rogue Warrior author Richard Marcinko were seeking to launch similar movie projects--and how Brown sought to disparage his two rivals so his own project would succeed. Dux states that he doesn't claim to be a Vietnam veteran--he feels the confusion is due to him being active in veterans causes. And that incriminating photo? Just a snapshot from a cast party on a movie set--and the uniform was just garb from Central Costumes*.

 

These controversial articles were simple compared to the fight Dux would later have on his hands: a court battle with his former friend Jean Claude Van Damme.

*Correction: I was later told by David Silverman, Dux Ryu instructor at the University of Southern California, that the party was not a cast party, just a college Halloween party.

Next page > Dux vs. Van Damme > Page 1, 2, 3, 4

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