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Benny Urquidez (born June 20, 1952) is an
American kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed The
Jet, Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered
full-contact fighting in the USA. He made the transition from point to
full-contact karate in 1974 � the year of its inception in the US �
frequently fighting in bouts where the rules were ambiguous and
contrasts in styles were dramatic.
Blackbelt Magazine's 1978
Competitor of the Year
Undefeated World Champion
with 64-0 record and 53 Knock Outs.
Held 6 World Titles in 5
different weight divisions.
Remained undefeated in 27
years.
Urquidez was born in Los Angeles County
California, the son of a wrestling mother and a boxing father, and is
descended from Spaniards and Amerindians. He began competing in 1958, at
the age of five, in "peewee" boxing in Los Angeles. This was followed by
martial arts instruction at the age of 8, for which his first formal
teacher was Bill Ryusaki. He received his black belt at the age of 14, a
feat which was highly unusual during the 1960s. He entered the point
circuit in 1964, and earned the reputation as an extremely colorful
fighter. In the 1973 Internationals, he fought John Natividad in one of
the greatest non-contact bouts in history. He also competed in England
and Belgium as a member of Ed Parker's 1974 US team. Also, in 1974, he
began his move away from the non-contact style by entering and winning
the World Series of Martial Arts Championship, which was effectively a
tough-man contest with few rules. Over the next two decades he fought
under various different kickboxing organizations (NKL, WPKO, PKA, WKA,
AJKBA, KATOGI, NJPW and MTN) to amass a record of 58 wins with no
losses. There is a good deal of controversy surrounding this record.
In 1977, Urquidez traveled to Japan for the first time and fought under
WKA rules which included leg kicks. In his first fight he defeated
Katsuyuki Suzuki by 6th round KO (August 1977). To avenge this loss, the
undefeated fighter Kunimatsu Okau came out of retirement to challenge
Urquidez. Urquidez won this bout by 4th round KO (November 1977). After
1980, Urquidez' ring appearances became less frequent. Between 1981 and
1984 he fought only sporadically. In 1984, he fought Ivan Sprang in
Amsterdam under Muay Thai rules, winning by 6th round TKO. His ring
career largely came to a halt after 1985, after which he fought only two
fights: once in 1989 against Nobuya Azuka, and once in 1993 (at the age
of 41) against Yoshihisa Tagami. He won both fights by decision. From
that time on, he devoted himself to acting, teaching kick boxing and
martial arts choreography.
Urquidez has obtained black belts in nine styles:
Judo, Kempo,
Shotokan, Tae Kwon Do, Lima Lama, White Crane Kung Fu, Ju Jutsu,
Aikido,
and Karate. He is the founder of Ukidokan Karate. Today, he continues to
teach at "The Jets Gym" in North Hollywood, California. Urquidez has
also authored various instructional books and videos.
Urquidez played a leading role in various martial arts
movies. The first was Force: Five (1981) starring
Joe Lewis and
Bong Soo Han. Later, he made two movies
with Jackie Chan:
Wheels on Meals (1984) and Dragons Forever (1988), where he fights
against the characters played by Chan,
Sammo Hung and
Yuen Biao, with Urquidez
as a tough opponent who is defeated in the climactic fight scenes of
both movies. His final fight with Chan in Wheels on Meals is considered
to be one of the finest fights of the movie genre. Urquidez also starred
in the film Grosse Pointe Blank as a hitman sent to kill a character
played by John Cusack (whom Urquidez trained in the western style of
kickboxing).
Studied under
Tak Kubota and
Ed parker.
Benny Urquidez Movies - DVD
Benny Urquidez Movies - VHS
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