Benny Urquidez (born June 20, 1952), nicknamed The Jet, is a world-champion kickboxer, martial arts choreographer , and actor. He was born in 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 a "peewee" boxing division in Los Angeles. He entered the point circuit in 1964 and continued until 1973, when he began competing in full-contact karate .

Urquidez is very fast in applying his techniques, assisted by a small (5'7", 140lb) build. In an interview he tells that he limits himself to few techniques, mainly kicks, which he performs very accurately. He did get a black belt in nine styles (judo, kempo, shotokan, taekwondo, lima lama , white-crane kung fu , jujutsu, aikido, and karate), which implies among other things a good control over a very large amount of techniques. He is the founder of Ukidokan Karate .

Urquidez plays an important role in many martial arts movies. In various movies, like Wheels on Meals , he fights against Jackie Chan and his friends, playing the role of a very tough opponent, who can hardly be beaten at all.

In 1993, the undefeated Urquidez decided not to defend his title anymore. At that point he had won six world championships, and had won every single competition that he participated in. From that time on, he devoted himself to acting and choreography, and continued teaching kick boxing and martial arts choreography. For the latter he has written various books and produced instructional videos.

See also

• List of kickboxers and Thai-boxers