Emil Farkas (born 1946) is an American martial arts instructor and writer known for his appearances in numerous films and in television shows.

Life

Farkas was born in Hungary in 1946.[1][2][3] During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Farkas' father decided to escape Hungary [4] The family escaped through the border and went to a refugee camp in Vienna.[4] Farkas later came to live in Toronto, Canada.[2] He began training in the martial arts at a young age and he earned his black belt in Judo at age 17 and his black belt in Karate at 18.[2]

His family moved to Los Angeles and Farkas studied at the California State University, Northridge.[2] At age 22, he took a job as a bodyguard for Phil Spector.[5] In 1970, Farkas founded his own dojo, the Beverly Hills Karate Academy where he has been teaching now for over 45 years. The dojo is now however closed as of 2023. [2] Farkas wrote the first script for a ninja movie, but the film was never produced.[2] Farkas later became a stunt and fight coordinator for martial arts movies.[2] Farkas has co-authored and published books on martial arts.[2] One of his ideas for a film sent to Robert Kosberg was used in the book How to Sell Your Idea to Hollywood to illustrate how "the sheer simplicity of an idea can be coupled with fortuitous circumstances-catapult[ed] an outsider into the Hollywood game."[6]

Farkas has been on the cover and featured in many martial arts publications. In 1978, he was on the cover of Inside Kung Fu with the story "Emil Farkas vs. the Amazing Spiderman".[7]

Farkas holds an eighth-degree black belt in Karate and is both a fourth-degree black belt in Judo and Jujitsu.[4] He has been termed "Sensei to the Stars" for his martial arts training with celebrities.[4]

Filmography

Publications

  • The Complete Martial Arts Catalogue (1977) ISBN 9780671226688[11]
  • A Woman's Guide to Self Defense (1978) ISBN 9780030210518[12]
  • The Overlook Martial Arts Dictionary (1981) ISBN 9780879511333 [13]
  • Training and Fighting Skills (1980) ISBN 9780865680159[14]
  • Martial Arts : Traditions, History, People (1983) ISBN 9780831758059[1]
  • The Martial Arts Dictionary (1989) ISBN 9780850315981[15]
  • Mujeres, defiéndanse : no más víctimas indefensas : expertos les enseñan cómo dominar al agresor (English:Women Defend yourself: no more helpless victims: experts teach you how to master the aggressor) (1993) ISBN 9789684096820[16]
  • The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Tradition, History, Pioneers (1993) ISBN 9780961512637[17]
  • The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: A Century of Martial Arts Worldwide (2011) ISBN 9781478351788[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Farkas, Emil (1983). Martial Arts : Traditions, History, People. Gallery Books. ISBN 9780831758059. OCLC 8627221.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tugend, Tom (30 June 2005). "Menches You Don't Want to Mess With". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Beverly Hills Karate Academy - About Us". Beverly Hills Karate Academy -. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Double trouble: Hungarian native Emil Farkas' martial arts training made him 'Sensei to the Stars' and he's started a second career as a writer". Los Angeles Business Journal. 9 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. ↑ Brown, Mike (2008). Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector. Random House LLC. p. 187. ISBN 9781400076611.
  6. ↑ Robert Kosberg (2011). How to Sell Your Idea to Hollywood. AuthorHouse. p. 15. ISBN 9781463412562.
  7. 1 2 Sobel, Stuart (September 1978). "Emil Farkas vs. the Amazing Spiderman". Inside Kung Fu. 5 (4).
  8. ↑ Emil Farkas; Joseph Jennings (1989). Combat shotokan (VHS). Panther Productions.
  9. ↑ Emil Farkas; Don Warrener (2003). American Masters & Champions of the Martial Arts (DVD). Mastersline Video Productions.
  10. ↑ Emil Farkas; Y. Ishimoto (2000). Encyclopedia Of Self Defence (VHS). Rising Sun Productions.
  11. ↑ Farkas, Emil (1977). The Complete Martial Arts Catalogue. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780671226688. OCLC 2798261.
  12. ↑ Farkas, Emil (1978). Fight Back : A Woman's Guide to Self-defense. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 9780030210518. OCLC 3705957.
  13. ↑ Farkas, Emil (1981). The Overlook Martial Arts Dictionary. Overlook Press. ISBN 9780879511333. OCLC 7307696.
  14. ↑ Farkas, Emil (1980). Training and Fighting Skills. Unique Publications. ISBN 9780865680159. OCLC 7735219.
  15. ↑ Farkas, Emil (1984). The Martial Arts Dictionary. Allison & Busby. ISBN 9780850315981. OCLC 154166090.
  16. ↑ Farkas, Emil (1993). Mujeres, defiéndanse : no más víctimas indefensas : expertos les enseñan cómo dominar al agresor (Women Defend yourself: no more helpless victims: experts teach you how to master the aggressor). Edamex. ISBN 9789684096820. OCLC 28988737.
  17. ↑ Farkas, Emil (1993). The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Tradition, History, Pioneers. Pro-Action Pub. ISBN 9780961512637. OCLC 28100847.
  18. ↑ Farkas, Emil (2011). The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: A Century of Martial Arts Worldwide. Trans-Euro Film Trust. ISBN 9781478351788.
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