Jeff Speakman

Jeff Speakman
Speakman in Moscow, 2008
Born	Jeffrey F. Speakman (1958-11-08) November 8, 1958 (age 58) Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	American
Style	Kenpo Karate Goju-ryu
Rank	9th degree black belt in American Kenpo Karate      9th degree black belt in Japanese Goju-Ryu
Years active	1988-present
Occupation	Actor Martial artist
Website	Official website

Jeff Speakman (born November 8, 1958) is an American actor and a martial artist in the art of American Kenpo and Japanese Gōjū-ryū, earning black belts in each.

Speakman was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, where he was a springboard diver at John Hersey High School and achieved All-American status. He graduated from Missouri Southern State College.

He has said that the television show Kung Fu got him interested in martial arts, and he began by studying in the Okinawan martial art of Goju Ryu Karate until achieving black belt rank. His instructor then recommended that, if he was really intent in pursuing martial arts as a lifestyle, then he should go looking for Ed Parker, a friend of his master. Speakman sold his car to pay for the moving expenses and succeeded in meeting Parker at one of his tournaments. Speakman spent years training in American Kenpo under his principal instructor, Larry Tatum, as well as under Parker, the founder of the system.

Speakman received his 1st degree black belt in American Kenpo in 1984. He was promoted to 9th degree black belt in kenpo karate by Mills Crenshaw and Bob White, and 9th degree black belt in Gōjū-ryū karate by Lou Angel on July 2, 2013. He currently holds a 9th-degree black belt in the Gōjū-ryū Karate style which he began to study under Grandmaster Lou Angel starting in 1978.

Speakman started acting in 1988 and became an actor in 1991 with the release of The Perfect Weapon, He followed this up with the feature film Street Knight. In the United Kingdom, this movie was released straight to video in 1993. Other action films followed, including The Expert and Deadly Outbreak.