Kickboxer: The Untold Story Behind Van Damme's Classic!

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Why does Jean-Claude Van Damme's 1989 fight movie Kickboxer not receive the same love as other action movies from the time period? Could it be just because it's so close in nature to Jean-Claude Van Damme's arrival on the action scene in Bloodsport? Or was this a meaner and more fiery [music] follow-up overshadowed by the greatness of its predecessor unfairly? Strap in [music] and get ready to protect. It's the story of the movie that will have you chanting nak su kao from your couch.

[00:00:26]Nak su kao. It's the film that had Jean-Claude Van Damme so stressed out he was allegedly losing his mind on extras on set. That featured two directors despite one of them swearing there could be only one. And that might just be the most underrated film in an all-time action star's entire filmography. This [music] is what the [ __ ] happened to Jean-Claude's unheralded 1989 classic Kickboxer. You will stay awhile. We have many [music] things to discuss. In 1987, Jean-Claude Van Damme wasn't yet known as the muscles from Brussels. In fact, he wasn't yet known as anything. The handsome and charming man who, because of his big legs and karate, could do the splits no problem, was on again, off again homeless. Living in his car after he came to Hollywood with $3,000 in his pocket and tried to make it last as long as possible.

[00:01:14]Where are you from?

[00:01:16]I was born in Belgium, but now I live in Los Angeles. So far he'd shown up in Missing in Action as an uncredited background soldier, the movie Breakin' as an uncredited spectator, had been fired as a stuntman in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Predator, and played gay karate man in 1984's Monaco Forever.

[00:01:33]Hey, those are those are those are IMDb's character names, not not mine.

[00:01:37]Will this show make me look gay?

[00:01:39]No, man. The most proving thing Jean-Claude had put on film at that point in his early career was his Ivan the Russian and heavily dubbed karate movie that's actually pretty entertaining, No Retreat, No Surrender.

[00:01:51]His role was extremely limited in dialogue, but he was strange, mysterious, and had cool spinning kicks that grabbed the audience's attention, which is exactly how he landed Bloodsport, literally. [music] Van Dam had become obsessed with getting the attention of the producers of the Cannon Group. He knew deep down that the producers of low-budget, high-octane action films like American Ninja or Cobra would be into what he had to offer, but for whatever reason they ignored his attempts to reach them.

[00:02:16]Finally, when Van Dam spotted one of the Cannon founders outside with his friends, he was able to plead his case face-to-face, but was shut down again.

[00:02:24]So, he handled the situation exactly how movie Jean-Claude Van Dam would have handled the situation. He jumped in the air and provided a roundhouse kick to within inches of the man's face. As Van Dam tells it, the Asian men surrounding the Hollywood mogul started chattering in surprise amongst one another, gaining the man's attention, and a card was subsequently handed to Mr. Van Dam.

[00:02:44]Wait.

[00:02:46]Wait. Yo, hey, wait. Even after he got the meeting, Van Dam had to practically [music] beg for a chance and was eventually given the opportunity to star in Bloodsport, and the rest is history.

[00:02:56]The film was one of the greatest fight movies of all time, despite critics [ __ ] all over it, and was an instant success. So much so that Cannon had to push the planned VHS release back and release Bloodsport into more theaters.

[00:03:08]The movie made [music] $50 million on a lowly budget, and Van Dam was a superstar practically overnight. It's quite literally the reason today's film even exists. Obviously, the immediate plan was we need to line it up and run this [ __ ] back immediately. A sequel to Bloodsport probably would have felt strange at the time, considering the guy the movie was based on, Frank Dux, turned out to be completely and utterly full of [ __ ] This didn't stop them from making not one, but two sequels in 1996, but who cares? Instead, Bloodsport producer Mark Di Salle came up with the idea of writing a story that maybe shared a few of the same story beats [music] and bone structure elements, but would be powered by something with a little more of a bleeding heart. Di Salle and Van Dam would craft the story together, while also bringing in writer Glynn A. Bruce, who up to that point only had one writing credit on a show called Assaulted Nuts. Get it?

[00:03:56]Cuz they're not assorted, they're they're assaulted. This guy knows what I'm talking about. Van Damme told that he'd always wanted a brother, and so the idea became to bring the Sloan brothers to life with Kurt and Eric Sloan. Eric was the cocky champ who'd be played by actual kickboxing champion Dennis Alexio, and Van Damme would play the wide-eyed and meek Kurt. Always at his side and in his corner along his heavyweight kickboxing world [music] champion journey. I'm the best. This is just another chance for me to prove it.

[00:04:23]Kurt was raised by his mother who went the educational route, making him learn three languages and taking ballet before learning karate. While Eric was raised by their father, who demanded greatness in every sport he played. That journey takes the reconnected brothers to Thailand to compete where kickboxing was started in an effort to further prove what a badass Eric was.

[00:04:41]>> [music] >> But one night in Bangkok would change everything. Well, actually it was it was in the middle of the day, but yeah, everything changed. Kurt witnesses Eric's opponent that day, a scary ass Tong Po, kicking a gigantic pillow with his leg in preparation for the fight.

[00:04:54]And he knows that they have once again traveled too far to the narrow corridor, [music] and it was time to protect your nuts, guys. Tong Po would savagely injure Eric in an attempt to prove a point. This despite Kurt attempting [music] to throw the towel and save his brother as Tong Po kicks the towel back out of the ring before landing a savage blow that would paralyze Eric for the rest of his life. Immediately afterwards, the brothers are thrown out into the street despite Eric's clear injury. Through tears, the untested and at the time incapable Kurt would vow revenge against Tong Po for his brother and go on an epic hero's journey to avenge him in the ring. Along the way, Kurt has to navigate Thailand and its many cultural differences. He's helped on his journey by a retired special [music] forces soldier turned party animal and lover of ladies of the night, Winston Taylor, played endearingly by Haskell V. Anderson III.

[00:05:40]I don't suppose we can just go back to THE HOTEL. BUT, NO! After being treated like a big old piece of [ __ ] by almost every gym in Thailand while looking for someone [music] to teach him the art of Muay Thai, Kurt is led to the famous but now secluded Muay Thai master, Xian Chow. Eventually, Kurt earns the respect of Chow [music] by defending his niece Miley, played by Rochelle Ashana, and agrees to train him in a most epic series of training montages that involve some very painful shin fu among various other tropical jigsaw tortured vices.

[00:06:10]When he's finally ready to face Tong Po, Kurt is faced with a far more unmovable situation than he thought. It's not just this scary [ __ ] he's after. He learns that his wheelchair-bound brother has been kidnapped [music] and will be killed unless Kurt goes the distance with Tong Po and loses in the final round. Thanks to that goddamn Freddy Lee. As if to take that [music] pain and rub it in broken glass, he also learns that Tong Po had beaten and raped Miley the night before. As Tong Po even taunts him throughout the match. It's all very painful to watch, but when Kurt hears that his brother has been rescued and is able to give this son of a [ __ ] what he deserves in the final round, it's the kind of pumped up holy [ __ ] here we go moment these movies are made [music] of and built on. Nak Suu Kow. Speaking of broken glass, they literally fight with their hand wraps dipped in it [music] because this ending is clearly hell-bent on making Bloodsport look like the buttercream gang, at least as far [music] as brutality and meanness are concerned. Thankfully, Eric is found and arrives at the fight for the last round and JCVD is able to unleash all the fixings on Tong Po's big, mean face.

[00:07:12]>> [screaming] >> Like I said, the structural narrative is quite close to its predecessor, but at least in my opinion, these films are very different from each other based on how intense Kickboxer becomes in these moments. And the filming of Kickboxer wasn't without its intense moments either, starting with the director's [music] chair. Producer and writer Mark DiSalle understandably saw Kickboxer as his baby and figured what the hell, might as well make himself director as well. The only problem being that he neglected to hash out that idea with his director he'd already hired in David Worth. Worth was a cinematographer turned director who's under the assumption that he would be directing the film himself. He claims that De Salle only told him that he'd be sharing the director's credit with him as they were working on the main titles of the film. And then he has the shot-for-shot storyboards to prove it. [music] He maintains that De Salle no more directed Kickboxer than he did Bloodsport, credited of course to Newt Arnold. He does concede, however, that Van Damme handled most of the choreography for the fighting and that he encouraged him to do so because he was an expert at it.

[00:08:10]So, why not? But this is a pretty big deal when you think about it for a movie based mostly on fighting. Van Damme in his second leading role was already acting in some ways as writer, producer, actor, and choreographer and was under a lot of pressure to succeed. Hell, he even acted as his own casting agent when the actor who was supposed to play Tong Po unexpectedly dropped out of the film.

[00:08:29]Jean Claude went to his long-time close friend Michel Qissi, who himself had already impacted the film in a major way before ever transforming his kind, gentle exterior into the menacing Tong Po. Qissi says that he read the initial version of the Kickboxer script in which the early moments of the film had Tong Po actually striking the Sloan brothers sweet mother who was ringside during the initial fight and killing her. Qissi fought hard to change this aspect of the film and likely altered the course of it entirely. But when it comes to Tong Po, Jean Claude traveled back to the USA and met with Qissi about taking over the role, but the production was dead-set on the character being Asian. And so, the pair called up an old friend who was an associate of the great Stan Winston that they had met during the unfortunate Predator shoot and asked for his help.

[00:09:14]He obliged and with Qissi transformed into Tong Po and in full makeup, tight-ass [music] ponytail and all, they boarded a flight back as Van Damme called De Salle to inform him that he'd gone to the United States and found the perfect Tong Po. [music] Never mentioning that it was Qissi. As the story goes, they met him on the tarmac with Qissi walking up to him in a threatening manner.

[00:09:34]De Salle agreed with Van Damme that they had found their Tong Po. This guy was perfect. Still having no idea that it was Michel Qissi in disguise. While Qissi's physically intimidating appearance and obvious fighting experience made Tong Po an unforgettable villain, so did the storyline. Qissi reminisces to this day that he's able to travel the world and take [music] pictures and sign autographs because of his portrayal as this insanely savage beast of a human. And why [music] not?

[00:09:58]You'd be hard-pressed to find an introduction to a movie villain more intimidating than Tong Po [ __ ] kicking a concrete pillar like it was nothing. Working on location in Thailand was great for Jean-Claude Van Damme. He credits their healthy foods and diet as the reason he's so extremely cut in the film [music] and really enjoyed the accommodations. Not bad for a guy who was sleeping in his car just a couple years prior. But the pressure and fear of a sophomore slump was clearly mounting and would allegedly show itself in some onset yelling matches with the extras. Cinematographer John Kranhouse says that while he found Jean-Claude Van Damme to be otherwise gentlemanly, he witnessed on one occasion Van Damme screaming at the extras who were not back in their seats on time and muttering something about Stallone was right. He says that he really lost his temper when he saw the makeup guy laughing. He says that at the time something around 100 extras communicating with each other in a foreign language simultaneously stood up and walked out on Van Damme, leaving them [music] to get creative with a lot of the shots for the rest of the evening. And this was in the final fight scene. The lovable actor Dennis Chan who played his mentor in the film had a similar story.

[00:11:00]He says that he and JCVD didn't communicate much, which was fine, until one day when he witnessed Van Damme becoming extremely upset with the extras and the atmosphere during one particular scene. He said that Van Damme walked into Chan's trailer after the two made eye contact and that Chan explained to him the working conditions and pay for those extras, to which he says Van Damme immediately calmed down. Director David Worth, excuse me, one of two directors, says that Van Damme was very young and that he was also very high-strung like a racehorse. He concludes that this was due to his extremely rigorous exercise schedule and more importantly the diet that he was forced to be on to maintain his impressive physique. DP John Cranhouse joked that the crew had the option every day of eating whether what was being catered that specific day or what Mr. Van Damme would be eating, and that every day Van Damme's meal would consist of something like skinless chicken, broccoli, and pasta with no sauce. Do you like the food?

[00:11:54]Excellent.

[00:11:55]But, it was allegedly worth it as Jean-Claude admits the idea for the unnatural amount of butt cheeks during the final fight scene were actually his idea, wanting to show off how big those [music] damn legs were. And good for him. Hangry fits aside, Worth credits Van Damme as being the hardest working man on any production he's a part of, and Chan echoes that in his own way saying that you could tell that Van Damme was dedicated and he was just simply under a lot of pressure. You could see it in his eyes.

[00:12:20]>> [music] >> The final fight scene in Kickboxer did nothing to massage the situation. The fighting area was surrounded completely by burning kerosene torches, which Cranhouse says would have never been allowed in America. The burning torches caused so much smoke and soot that those standing by would cover their mouths with white towels that would end [music] up black afterwards. It was not only uncomfortable for the extras and the crew at large, but it was a fire hazard as many of the prop statues were built out of Styrofoam. The final fight scene would take about 2 days to complete and is called the most difficult of his career by Michel Qissi because of the fire and the smoke in particular. He would [music] burn his face while wielding one of the torches and then have to deal with them applying the makeup over top of the injuries the next day, which is as painful as you can imagine. But, it was all of course worth it as he credits the film as so many others do for showing the art of Muay Thai fighting to an audience on a worldwide scale for maybe the first time ever, making a real difference in its popularity. This being one of the many reasons to not write [music] Kickboxer off as a simple Cannon Films cash grab rip-off of Bloodsport. From the angrier beating heart of the film story to the beautiful backdrop of Thailand, there are many underrated shots Kickboxer. One in particular that involves Kurt training [music] in the darkness appears to feature them doing so with smoldering sticks from fresh out of the fire. These are actually battery-powered light bulbs and a bit of ingenuity from the cinematographer for the scene. And you can't forget the one-of-a-kind training sequences where Kurt goes through absolute hell. For the scene involving the dog chasing Kurt as he runs away with raw meat hanging from his short shorts comes from Jean-Claude's actual formative years. He explains that as a teenager a man training him actually tied beef around his forearms and unleashed [music] his German Shepherd to chase after him on his property. This resulted in a young Jean-Claude being taken down by the meat arm, but thanks to a well-trained animal no injuries were incurred. As legend would have it, however, the good boy on set was anything [music] but. Allegedly the dog wasn't that well-trained and allegedly the dog, for whatever reason, had a constant erection on set, which is it's just a it's a detail none of us needed to know, but I have to know it and now so do you.

[00:14:23]>> BONER! YOU GOT A BONER! Brennan's [laughter] got a boner!

[00:14:27]And let's be honest, there's no movie on Earth, Bloodsport included, that has a scene as batshit and weird, but also lovable and hilarious as Kurt being set up by his master to get sloshed and dance like a [ __ ] to Bow Williams' >> [music] >> Feeling So Good Today while being attacked by locals wearing whatever the hell that blouse is. I'm sorry, but if you can pull ladies wearing those pants, >> [music] >> your name must be Jean-Claude Van Damme.

[00:14:50]But despite his high-jinks, who couldn't love his master? I mean, just look at this happy little guy just experiencing life, walking Kurt into a den of drunken embarrassment. The sounds of Kickboxer are equally important to it standing out amongst its brethren as soundtrack specialist Stan Bush compliments an unforgettable score by Paul Hertzog. The movie may be darker than Bloodsport, but nothing puts you in the mood for 80s action cheese like the opening to Kickboxer as it blares Stan Bush's Streets of Siam [music] with the most macho flute you've ever heard in your life.

[00:15:23]And [music] of course, the very Karate Kid-esque never surrender. Amazing soundtrack, scary ass bad guy, and unforgettable fight scenes included.

[00:15:31]Kickboxer debuted in cinemas on September 8th, 1989. The film was purposefully placed on the usually dead Labor Day weekend in the attempt to conquer a landscape with few new films premiering. Kickboxer kicked its way to just over 4 million on its opening weekend on its way to yet again around $50 million in box office returns on a budget of less than $3 million.

[00:15:53]Kickboxer had clearly endured its challenges and Van Damme was here to stay, despite critics' best attempt to deliver an unforgettable ass whooping of their own. The film was criticized by the usual suspects for not only being a rehash of Bloodsport, but for allegedly ripping off elements of both Karate Kid and Rocky. They complained of Kickboxer's unbelievable story and bad acting, but what they failed to realize is that the film would be a great addition to an awesome genre of fight films. The kind of movies that you just love to turn your brain off and your heart on to enjoy. It's inspiring, it's fun, and it's ass [music] kicking, at least in this writer's opinion.

[00:16:27]And not to mention Jean-Claude Van Damme's acting at times in this film, I feel is often underrated. His reaction to his brother's paralysis is both deep and emotional, and so is his unbridled anger when he's reminded of his brother during the tree fight sequence.

[00:16:41]Not only did Kickboxer solidify Van Damme as an action star that was here to stay, but once again it brought the fighting style of Muay Thai to the spotlight and left an enduring legacy that is enjoyed by so many of us to this day. Hopefully we can get a goddamn 4K release to show off all these awesome locations and impressive cinematography, not to mention those muscles. There are some amazingly upgraded versions of the film floating around YouTube that currently prove this.

[00:17:05]Kickboxer would endure to be beloved by JCVD and fight movie fans everywhere to the point where it has spawned multiple sequels and even a reboot which featured Van Damme returning as a guru with Dave Bautista filling in the role of Tong [music] Po. We don't have to discuss the quality of that film, nor do we want to mention the egregious thing they decided to do with Kurt Sloane's character in 1991's Kickboxer 2: The Road Back, [music] but that's a story for another day. But as far as Kickboxer goes, everybody loves a winner, and that's exactly what the happened to Kickboxer. [music] And now, you drive me in pedicab.

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