Sometimes, movies are about the connection and memories that it brings to people. There comes a time when a movie comes out, and everyone knows that this movie is mainly for the “boys”. Bloodsport is one of those movies. The plot is very simple and easy to understand, but the fighting scenes and montages will draw you in. I seen this movie at about 7 years old and instantly loved it. I didn’t understand the plot at the time, I just remembered that the fights scenes were awesome and loved imitating them. Bloodsport was released in 1988, the same year that George W. Bush was elected as the 41st president of the United States and when Washington Redskins beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 22 by a score of 42-10. I was merely 5 years old and was a kindergartener at George Washington Carver school in Fresno, CA.

It’s a movie about an elusive fight tournament known as the Kumite which takes place in the shadows of Hong Kong. Invitations are only given to the best fighters from all over the world. The main character, Frank Dux, is played by Jean Claude Van Damme. I lived in a fairly poor neighborhood when the movie came out, so we couldn’t afford to watch movies in the theater. Most of the movies I seen back then were from a neighbor or relatives house which they rented. The first time I seen Bloodsport was at a neighbor’s house and many kids from the neighborhood were also in attendance.

The first 30 minutes of the film was slow, I didn’t understand much of what’s going on. After that, the fight tournament was about to start and I remembered the excitement and anticipation of my 7 year old brain.  First up was American fighter Ray Jackson who was befriended by Frank Dux. He defeats his opponent by grabbing his opponent’s hair and throwing a hard hammer fist against his face. Next up was the antagonist, Chong Li. While his opponent is preparing for the fight with stretching and somewhat showing off his muscles, Chong Li blows his nose and looks boringly at his opponent. Chong Li easily defeats his first opponent and earns a new world record by beating his opponent in 14 seconds. The third person to fight was the protagonist, Frank Dux. His makes a strong impression with the audience by defeating his opponent in 12 seconds and beating Chong Li’s record. After the three main character’s first fight in the tournament were shown in entirety, the rest of the day’s tournament fights were shown in glimpses of a montage. It was unlike any other movie I seen at the time. It instantly became one of my favorite movies.

Watching it now, I could understand the whole plot and what was really going on. To sum it up shortly, Frank Dux wants to honor his sensei, Senzo Tanaka, by using his teachings to win the Kumite, the tournament. The plot and acting was mediocre, but the fights scenes and montages are still memorable to this day. A review in 1988 from the LA Times mentioned the bad acting. The scene that stayed on my mind was when Chong Li blinded Frank Dux with a crushed up salt pill during their last fight. Frank used his training from Tanaka to overcome his blindness and defeat Chong Li. This movie brings back a lot of childhood memories and the emotions along with it.

I agree with Adam Raymond in a review he made when he said, “Bloodsport also gave us the fight tournament subgenre of action movies and mades millions of American boys learn to do the splits.” I knew I tried to learn to do the splits after watching the movie. It made the act of being able to do the splits look cool in my neighborhood.

In this original trailer, you can see some glimpses of the fight scenes and Frank Dux’s sensei, Tanaka, doubting Frank about being able to get trained because he’s not Japanese. Also, you’ll able to see many various characters, such as the two agents trying to stop him from participating in the tournament, the journalists trying infiltrate the tournament who later becomes his love interest, and many of the other fighters. Towards the end of the trailer, you get a glimpse of the protagonist, Frank Dux, and the antagonist, Chong Li, facing off in the championship round of the tournament.