Plot
American Frank Dux (Jean Claude Van Damme), trained from his youth in the ways of Ninjutsu by a Japanese master of the art, Senzo Tanaka (Roy Chiao), honors his mentor out of gratitude and respect for having been allowed to train in place of Tanaka's deceased son Shingo by going to Hong Kong to participate in the Kumite — an illegal and underground, freestyle, single-elimination and occasionally deadly full-contact martial arts tournament, to which the world's best martial artists are secretly invited every five years.
In Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong, a number of fighters prepare for the Kumite with their own individualized training regimens. Dux, currently enlisted in the Army, is one of the invited participants, but his superiors have learned of the dangerous nature of the Kumite and refuse to let him go. Therefore, he goes AWOL, says goodbye to his mentor and leaves for Hong Kong. Two ACID (Army Criminal Investigation Division) officers (Norman Burton and Forest Whitaker) are summoned to track down and arrest Dux for desertion.
A flashback sequence reveals that Dux, as a teenager, once reluctantly burgled Tanaka's house with friends, but, after they heard a noise and his friends deserted him, Frank returned the katana they had snatched, only to be apprehended by the Tanakas. Impressed by his honesty, Senzo kept quiet about the incident and instead explained to Dux's parents that he would train their son in martial science (although it first seems that Frank was only meant to serve as Shingo's 'practice dummy' as punishment for the burglary). Eventually, Dux and Shingo became friends, and Shingo told him that one day he would make Senzo proud by going to the Kumite. After Shingo's death years later, and despite initial resistance, Senzo agreed to train Dux as a member of the Tanaka Clan.
After arriving in Hong Kong, Dux befriends American Vale Tudo fighter Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb) and Victor Lin (Kenneth Siu), who becomes the manager/liaison for Jackson and Dux. The two Americans and the defending Kumite champion Chong Li (Bolo Yeung) — a fighter with a savage streak - all make it through the first day of the Kumite. Dux earns the enmity of Li after breaking his record for the fastest knockout. Dux becomes involved with American journalist Janice Kent (Leah Ayres), who is attempting to investigate the Kumite, but is horrified by its brutality. On the second day of the tournament, Jackson is set up against Li. Although Jackson gains the upper hand, he gloats instead of finishing Li, who brutally beats him, putting him in the hospital. Dux vows that he will avenge Jackson. Kent tries to convince Dux to pull out of the tournament, but he refuses.
On the last day of the competition, Dux is cornered by the ACID officers. After defeating the local police, he promises to give himself up once the tournament is over. Dux advances to the tournament final to face Li, who had shocked the audience by killing his previous opponent remorselessly. Dux is a formidable foe, so Li resorts to blinding him with a handful of quicklime. Dux uses his other senses (as Senzo had taught him) to overcome the handicap and force Li to shout "matté" (a cry of surrender), becoming the first Western winner of the Kumite. He then returns to the United States.
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