Benny Urquidez facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Benny Urquidez
Urquidez in 1998
Born	(1952-06-20) June 20, 1952 (age 72) Tarzana, California, U.S.
Other names	The Jet
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight	145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st)
Division	Lightweight Super Lightweight Welterweight
Style	Kenpo-Shotokan, Ukidokan Kickboxing
Fighting out of	Los Angeles, California, United States
Team	The Jet Center
Years active	1974–1985, 1989, 1993

Kickboxing record
Total	67
Wins	63
By knockout	57
Losses	1
Draws	1
No contests	2

Other information
Notable students	Pete Cunningham, David Lee Roth, John Cusack, Richard Norton, Dave Mustaine, Duff McKagan

Benny Urquidez (born June 20, 1952) is an American former professional kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed "The Jet", Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the United States. 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. Urquidez is also known for once holding the rare achievement of six world titles in five different weight divisions, and remained largely undefeated in his 27-year career. His only loss came in a Muay Thai match which was shrouded in controversy, as Urquidez had only agreed to a no-decision exhibition, a clause which was ignored when the fight had ended.

Between 1974 and 1993, he amassed a documented professional record of 49–1–1 (win-loss-draw) with 35 knockouts and two controversial no-contests, although he is also supposed to have an additional record of 10–0–1 (10 KOs) in undocumented professional fights, making a total of 59–1–2–2 (45 KOs). However, sources vary with Ratings listing Urquidez as 63–0–1, (57 knockouts) and on his own official webpage, Urquidez lists his fight record as 200–0, and says he was 63–0, with 57 knockouts in title defenses. Also, he claims to have been undefeated in the "Adult Black Belt Division" prior to entering full-contact karate. Black Belt magazine voted Urquidez "Competitor of the Year" in 1978. In 2019, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.

He has appeared in occasional acting roles, including the Jackie Chan movies Wheels on Meals (1984) and Dragons Forever (1988), and played a hitman in George Armitage's Grosse Pointe Blank (1997).

Early life, family and education
Career
Movie roles
Titles and awards
Kickboxing record
See also

Early life, family and education

Urquidez was born in Los Angeles County, California, the son of a wrestling mother and a boxing father. His parents are of Spanish (Basque), Mexican and Blackfoot ancestry. He has said that his father was Spanish and his mother was Native American.

Benny began competing in 1958, at the age of five, in "peewee" boxing and wrestling in Los Angeles. His martial arts instruction started when he was seven years old; his first formal teacher was Bill Ryusaki. Urquidez received his black belt at the age of 14, a highly unusual feat in the 1960s. His siblings also achieved the rank of black belt. His sister Lilly Rodriguez was a pioneer in kickboxing for women, and their late brother Reuben Urquidez appeared with Benny in a documentary on the combination martial art budojujitsu.

Career

At the age of 12, Urquidez attended the Long Beach International Karate Championships in 1964. He witnessed a demonstration by Bruce Lee, including the one-inch punch which sent a 245-pound man flying back. This demonstration by Lee inspired a young Urqidez to start entering martial arts tournaments.

He entered the point circuit in 1964 and earned a reputation as a colorful fighter. At the 1972 Santa Monica Kempo Open, Urquidez lost in the finals to Brian Strian. In the 1973 Internationals, he fought John Natividad in what is considered one of the greatest non-contact bouts in history. In an unprecedented 25-point overtime match, Natividad won the match 13–12, receiving the Grand Title and the $2,500 purse. In May 1974, at the PAWAK Tournament, Urquidez lost a 4–1 decision to Joe Lewis. 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, effectively a tough-man contest with few rules. Over the next two decades, he fought under various kickboxing organizations (NKL, WPKO, Professional Karate Association (PKA), World Kickboxing Association (WKA), AJKBA, Shin-Kakutojutsu Federation, NJPW and MTN) to amass a record of 58 wins with no losses. This undefeated record, though official, is controversial and highly disputed.

In 1977, Urquidez traveled to Japan and fought under the WKA's compromise US–Japan rules which included leg kicks and knees to the body. He defeated Katsuyuki Suzuki by KO in the 6th round (August 1977) as part of the professional wrestling event in which Antonio Inoki fought Everett Eddy in what was said to be a wrestler/karate fighter mixed match but was a pre-determined pro wrestling match. The Suzuki fight materialized because the newly formed WKA organization could not compete against the PKA in the US. At the same time, Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki, who gained the worldwide fame by fighting Muhammad Ali in the controversial 1976 boxer/wrestler mixed-match in Japan, had been looking for new opponents for what he called the world martial arts championship series. Eventually, promoter Ron Holmes discovered Everett Eddy for Inoki. By that time, Eddy had been coached by Arnold Urquidez, and lost in a knockout in the 1st round to PKA world heavyweight champion Ross Scott in the previous year. In the same event, Benny Urquidez knocked out Howard Jackson, but soon his lightweight title was stripped by the PKA, and so both Eddy and Urquidez had no action in the US, and had to look for fights overseas. Even though the Inoki/Eddy bout was successful, it was the fight between Urquidez and Suzuki, which shocked Japan, where Japanese kickboxing had been very popular. Though never tested for or achieved any rank in Japanese karate, Urquidez has decided to bestow upon himself the title of sensei, a Japanese honorific term which is given to experts and instructors meaning: "someone who precedes you in knowledge".

The All-Japan Kickboxing Association, for which Suzuki had been rated as No. 2, became interested in the American sport of full-contact karate, decided to promote series of mixed-rules bouts between the American full-contact karate fighters and Japanese kickboxers. On November 14, 1977, the AJKF held the first of such event which featured Benny Urquidez, his brother-in-law Blinky Rodriguez, Marc Costello, Brendan Leddy, Tony Lopez, Leonard Galiza and Freddy Avila. Only Benny Urquidez and Costello came out as the winners for the American team. Urquidez's victory over Kunimitsu Okao convinced the Japanese fight fans, and eventually began to be featured as the central figure for what was supposed to be the documentary comic book, The Square Ring, until he declined to avenge his loss against the Thai opponent Prayout Sittiboonlert. Urquidez's second loss came in August 1980 in Florida. American Billye Jackson dominated seven rounds including knocking Urquidez down. Urquidez protested the decision and petitioned the WKA's Howard Hansen to classify it as a no-contest.

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 modified Muay Thai rules (no elbows), winning by 6th-round TKO. His ring career largely came to a halt after 1985, and he retired after facing Yoshihisa Tagami at the age of 41. Subsequently, Urquidez became devoted to acting, teaching kickboxing and martial arts choreography. Urquidez's late brother Reuben was also a competitive martial artist and actor; they appeared together in a 1982 training video, World Of Martial Arts, along with Steve Sanders (karate), Chuck Norris and John Saxon. Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth dedicated the band's hit 1984 song "Jump" to Urquidez, of whom Roth was a student.

In 2000, Urquidez and Emil Farkas founded the Los Angeles Film Fighting Institute, which was one of the first schools of its kind in the United States to teach martial artists the intricacies of stunt work.

Urquidez has had training in nine styles: Judo, Kajukenbo, Shotokan, Taekwondo, Lima Lama, White Crane Kung Fu, Jujutsu, Aikido and American Kenpo. He is the founder of Ukidokan Karate. He continued to teach at The Jets Gym in North Hollywood, California. Urquidez has also authored various instructional books and videos. He also has a special friendship with actor/client John Cusack with whom talks of opening up a bigger gym in Santa Monica, targeting former champions as clients and trainers are in the works as Cusack has shown interest in taking part as co-owner. The Jets Gym in the North Hollywood location closed in 2007, to make way for a shopping mall. Today, he is still very active teaching privately, and working as a stunt coordinator in the entertainment business. He teaches ukidokan kickboxing at Team Karate Center in Woodland Hills, California.

Movie roles

Urquidez has played a number of roles 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), wherein he fights against the characters played by Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Urquidez is depicted as a relentlessly 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 among the finest fights of Chan's career, including by Chan himself.

Urquidez cameoed as a kickboxer in the Troma film Ragin' Cajun. The movie, filmed in 1988 and released in 1991, wrongfully asserted that it featured Urquidez's first film appearance, stating in the opening credits, "Introducing Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez". He appeared in the 1989 film Roadhouse as one of the fighters seen at a car dealership which is partially destroyed in elaborately choreographed mayhem. He trained Patrick Swayze in his own fighting techniques for the film. Urquidez appears in the 1991 film Blood Match, and in 1992, he played a referee in the James Woods and Louis Gossett Jr. film Diggstown. He has a cameo appearance in the movie Street Fighter (1994), playing one of several prisoners put in a truck with Ken, Ryu, Sagat and Vega. Urquidez was also responsible for the physical training of most of the Street Fighter cast. He was set to play a different character in the franchise, Raven, in a game based on the movie, but the character was later scrapped.

Urquidez performed in the film Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) as Felix La Poubelle, a hitman sent to kill a character played by John Cusack. He appeared in 1408 (2007) as a spectral killer with a hammer, again with Cusack. Urquidez is Cusack's long-time kickboxing trainer. Urquidez also appeared as one of several thugs who accost Kirsten Dunst's character in the first Spider-Man film during an attempted robbery; Urquidez plays the thug wearing a black-and-white-striped T-shirt who makes kissing noises at Dunst.

He was a fight coordinator for an episode of the television drama Criminal Minds, "The Bittersweet Science" (season 7, episode 10), and also appears in the episode in a 30-second role as an underground MMA referee.

Titles and awards

World Kickboxing League W.K.L - Hall of Fame 2013
Black Belt Magazine
- 1978 Competitor of the Year
KATOGI
- KATOGI super-lightweight (-63.6 kg) world champion (0 title defences - vacated): 1978
Muay Thai Bond Nederland
- M.T.B.N. welterweight (-66 kg) world champion (0 title defences - vacated): 1984
National Karate League
- N.K.L. lightweight (-70.5 kg) world champion (3 title defences - vacated): 1974-1975
Professional Karate Association
- P.K.A. lightweight (-65.9 kg) world champion (2 title defences - vacated): 1976-1977
STAR System World Kickboxing Ratings
- S.T.A.R. undisputed welterweight (-66.8 kg) world champion: 1985
- S.T.A.R. undisputed super-welterweight (-70.5 kg) world champion: 1974
World Kickboxing Association
- W.K.A. super-welterweight (-70 kg) world champion (0 title defences - vacated): 1993
- W.K.A. welterweight (-66.8 kg) world champion (0 title defences - vacated): 1985
- W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world champion (14 title defences - vacated): 1977-1985 Note that 1 of the defences were for the W.K.A. lightweight world title (-65.9 kg) but the weight classes were later restructured
World Professional Karate Organization
- W.P.K.O. lightweight (-65.9 kg) world champion (0 title defences): 1975
World Series of Martial Arts Championships
- W.S.M.A.C. lightweight (-79.5 kg) world champion (4 title defences - vacated): 1975-1976
- W.S.M.A.C. openweight (unlimited weight) world champion (1 title defences - vacated): 1974-1976

Kickboxing record

Note that the record below is the documented professional record of Benny Urquidez from the S.T.A.R. website. He also is believed to have 11 undocumented matches, winning 10, drawing one with all 10 victories by way of KO.

Kickboxing Record
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time	Record
49 Wins (35 (T)KOs, 14 decisions), 1 loss, 1 draw, 3 no contests
1993-12-04	Win	Yoshihisa Tagami	W.K.A. Event @ Mirage Hotel	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	Decision (split)	12		48-1-4
Wins W.K.A. super welterweight (-70 kg) world title. Vacates title after bout.
1985-11-16	Win	Tom Larouche	W.K.A. Event	Northridge, California, USA	Decision (split)	12	2:00	47-1-3
Wins W.K.A. welterweight (-66.8 kg) world title and receives recognition as S.T.A.R. undisputed welterweight (-66.8 kg) champion. Prior to fight vacates W.K.A. super-lightweight world title, while after fight he also vacates W.K.A. welterweight world title.
1984-01-15	Win	Iwan Sprang	M.T.B.N. Event	Amsterdam, Netherlands	TKO (referee stoppage)	4	1:37	46-1-3
Wins M.T.B.N. welterweight (-66 kg) world title.
1983-09-12	Win	"Iron" Fujimoto	W.K.A. Event	Tokyo, Japan	KO	6	1:37	45-1-3
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (14th defence).
1983-01-08	Win	Kunimasa Nagae	W.K.A. Event	Tokyo, Japan	KO	4		44-1-3
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (13th defence).
1982-06-21	Win	Yutaka Koshikawa	W.K.A. Event	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	KO (spinning back kick)	6	1:48	43-1-3
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (12th defence).
1982-02-02	Win	Jesse Orrozzo	W.K.A. Event @ Queen Elizabeth Stadium	Hong Kong	Decision	6	2:00	42-1-3
1981-04-09	Win	Kong Fu Tak	W.K.A. Event @ Queen Elizabeth Stadium	Hong Kong	TKO (cut)	4		41-1-3
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (11th defence).
1980-08-09	NC	Billye Jackson	W.K.A. Event	West Palm Beach, Florida, USA	decision loss	7	2:00	40-1-3
1980-04-19	Win	Frank Holloway	W.K.A. Event	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	Decision	9	2:00	40-1-2
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (10th defence).
1980-01-26	Win	Shinobu Onuki	W.K.A. Event @ Tropicana Casino Hotel	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	KO (left hook)	7		39-1-2
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (9th defence).
1979-?-?	Win		W.K.A. Event	Tijuana, Mexico	KO	4		38-1-1
1979-10-01	Win	Yoshimitsu Tamashiro	W.K.A. & A.J.K.B.A. Event	Tokyo, Japan	Decision	9	2:00	37-1-2
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (8th defence).
1979-09-14	Win	Frank Holloway	W.K.A. Event	Ensenada, Mexico	Decision	9	2:00	36-1-2
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (7th defence).
1979-?-?	Win		W.K.A. Event	Tijuana, Mexico	KO	2		35-1-2
1979-07-05	Win	Frank Lee	W.K.A. Event @ Northland Pavilion	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	KO			34-1-2
1979-05-02	Win	Rick Simmerly	W.K.A. Event	South Lake Tahoe, California, USA	KO	6		33-1-2
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (6th defence).
1978-08-02	Loss	Prayut Sitiboonlert	KATOGI Event	Tokyo, Japan	Decision	6	3:00	32-1-2
Loses KATOGI super-lightweight (-63.6 kg) world title.
1978-04-29	Win	Shinobu Onuki	W.K.A. & A.J.K.B.A. Event	Tokyo, Japan	TKO (injury)	3	1:17	32-0-2
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (5th defence). Fight was originally awarded to Onuki via a disqualification victory due to what was deemed an illegal throw by Urquidez. This was later changed to a no contest and then by the W.K.A. to a TKO victory for Urquidez.
1978-04-10	Win	Takeshi Naito	KATOGI Event	Osaka, Japan	KO (spinning back kick)	1	1:16	31-0-2
Wins KATOGI super-lightweight (-63.6 kg) world title.
1978-04-05	Win	Dave Paul	W.K.A. Event	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	TKO	4		30-0-2
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (4th defence).
1977-11-14	Win	Kunimatsu Okao	W.K.A. & A.J.K.B.A. Event @ Nippon Budokan	Tokyo, Japan	KO	4	1:31	29-0-2
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (3rd defence).
1977-08-03	Win	Katsuyuki Suzuki	W.K.A. & A.J.K.B.A. Event @ Nippon Budokan	Tokyo, Japan	KO	6		28-0-2
Retains W.K.A. super-lightweight (-64.5 kg) world title (2nd defence). Note that W.K.A. had reclassified their weight divisions with the super-lightweight replacing lightweight and weights being slightly lower.
1977-07-?	Win		W.K.A. Event	Tijuana, Mexico	KO (kick)	1		27-0-2
Retains W.K.A. lightweight (-65.9 kg) world title (1st defence).
1977-04-23	Win	Howard Jackson	P.K.A. Event @ Hilton Hotel	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	TKO (referee stoppage)	4	1:25	26-0-2
Retains P.K.A. lightweight (-65.9 kg) world title (2nd defence).
1977-03-12	NC	Narongnoi Kiatbandit	W.K.A. Event	Los Angeles, California, USA	No contest (riot in crowd)	9		25-0-2
Fight was for Urquidez's W.K.A. lightweight (-65.9 kg) world title. Match resulted in a no contest after bout was stopped due to a riot in the crowd after Narongnoi was penalised for multiple fouls.
1976-10-01	Win	Eddie Andujar	P.K.A. & W.K.A. Event	Los Angeles, California, USA	TKO	8		25-0-1
Wins inaugural W.K.A. lightweight (-65.9 kg) world title. Also retains P.K.A. lightweight (-65.9 kg) world title (1st defence).
1976-08-28	Win	Earnest Hart, Jr.	P.K.A. Event @ Neal Blaisdell Center	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	Decision	9	2:00	24-0-1
Wins inaugural P.K.A. lightweight (-65.9 kg) world title .
1976-?-?	Win			Tijuana, Mexico	KO (kick)	3		23-0-1
1976-06-?	Win	Sanun Plypoolsup	W.S.M.A.C. Event	Dallas, Texas, USA	Decision	8	3:00	22-0-1
Retains W.S.M.A.C. openweight world title (1st defence).
1976-02-14	Draw	Earnest Hart, Jr.		Los Angeles, California, USA	Technical draw (Hart cut after throw)	1		21-0-1
1976-?-?	Win		N.K.L. Event	Detroit, Michigan, USA	KO	1		21-0-0
1975-12-?	Win		N.K.L. Event	Detroit, Michigan, USA	KO	2		20-0-0
Urquidez had initially been disqualified for knocking out his opponent with a 4th punch when the N.K.L. rules had stated that for every 3 punches a kick must follow. However, S.T.A.R. later overturned the decision due to a number of factors including the fact that the referee was Urquidez's opponent's martial arts instructor.
1975-10-11	Win	Bill Henderson	W.S.M.A.C. Event	Los Angeles, California, USA	KO	3	0:32	19-0-0
Retains W.S.M.A.C. lightweight (-79.5 kg) world title (4th defence).
1975-09-21	Win	Farrel Sojot	W.S.M.A.C. Event @ Honolulu International Center Arena	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	TKO	3		18-0-0
1975-08-?	Win	Marcelino Torres	N.K.L. Event	San Juan	KO	1	0:30	17-0-0
1975-07-26	Win	Burnis White	W.S.M.A.C. Event	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	KO (kick)	4		16-0-0
Retains W.S.M.A.C. lightweight (-79.5 kg) world title (3rd defence).
1975-07-?	Win	Sammy Pace	N.K.L. Event	Los Angeles, California, USA	KO	1		15-0-0
1975-06-28	Win	Eddie Andujar	N.K.L. Event	Los Angeles, California, USA	Decision	3	3:00	14-0-0
Retains N.K.L. lightweight (70.5 kg) world title (3rd defence).
1975-06-20	Win	Ken Riley	W.S.M.A.C. Event	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	KO	2		13-0-0
Retains W.S.M.A.C. lightweight (-79.5 kg) world title (2nd defence).
1975-05-30	Win	Sanun Plysoolsup	W.S.M.A.C. Event	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	TKO (cut)	2		12-0-0
Retains W.S.M.A.C. lightweight (-79.5 kg) world title (1st defence).
1975-05-16	Win	Roland Talton	W.S.M.A.C. Event	Los Angeles, California, USA	KO (knee)	2	2:04	11-0-0
Wins W.S.M.A.C. lightweight (-79.5 kg) world title.
1975-05-10	Win	Tayari Casel	W.P.K.O. Event @ Madison Square Garden	New York City, New York, USA	Decision	3	3:00	10-0-0
Wins W.P.K.O. lightweight (-65.9 kg) world title.
1975-04-?	Win	Demetrius Havanas	N.K.L. Event @ Tarrant County Convention Center	Savannah, Georgia, USA	Decision	3	3:00	9-0-0
Retains N.K.L. lightweight (-70.5 kg) world title (2nd defence).
1975-03-?	Win		N.K.L. Event	Atlanta, Georgia, USA	KO (kick)	2		8-0-0
Retains N.K.L. lightweight (-70.5 kg) world title (1st defence).
1975-03-?	Win	Ken Kolodziej		Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA	KO (knee)	4		7-0-0
1975-02-?	Win	Arthur Butch Bell	N.K.L. Event	Savannah, Georgia, USA	TKO	2		6-0-0
Wins inaugural N.K.L. lightweight (-70.5 kg) world title. Also receives recognition as S.T.A.R. undisputed super-welterweight (-70.5 kg) world champion .
1974-11-15	Win	Dana Goodson	W.S.M.A.C. Event, Final	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	Decision	3	3:00	5-0-0
Wins inaugural W.S.M.A.C. openweight world title.
1974-11-15	Win	Burnis White	W.S.M.A.C. Event, Semi Final	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	Decision	3	3:00	4-0-0
1974-11-14	Win	Bill Rosehill	W.S.M.A.C. Event, Quarter Final	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	TKO (forfeit)	3		3-0-0
1974-11-14	Win	Futi Semanu	W.S.M.A.C. Event, 2nd Round	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	KO	2		2-0-0
1974-11-14	Win	Tom Mossman	W.S.M.A.C. Event, 1st Round	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	KO (foot sweep)	3		1-0-0
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes