Masahiko Kimura
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Masahiko Kimura (1917-1993) is considered one of the greatest judoka (Judo practitioners) of all time. By the age of eighteen, he had achieved the astonishing level of 5th degree black belt (5th dan), the youngest judoka ever to achieve this rank. He won the 1937 All-Japan Championship at age twenty and remained undefeated for the next thirteen years until his retirement from competition. Kimura's remarkable success can in part be attributed to his fanatical training regimen -- at the height of his career, this involved a thousand push-ups and nine hours' practice each day.
In 1951, Kimura participated in one of the legendary bouts of martial arts history, defeating Hélio Gracie of the famous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (also known as Gracie Jiu Jitsu) family in a submission jiu-jitsu match held in Brazil. Kimura reportedly joked before the match that if Gracie lasted three minutes against him, he would consider the fight a loss. In fact, Gracie lasted for over thirteen minutes, but finally succumbed to a broken arm after refusing to submit to one of Kimura's joint-locking techniques. At this point, Helio's older brother Carlos decided to end the match. (In 1994, Helio admitted in an interview that he had in fact been choked unconscious earlier in the match, but had revived and continued fighting.)
The respect between the two fighters after the fight was extraordinary, with Kimura asking Gracie to come to Japan to teach his approach to fighting. Gracie's tribute was less direct but just as respectful, as the bent armlock he was defeated with is still affectionately known in the Gracie fighting system as "the Kimura."
References
- Masahiko Kimura Biography (http://www.judoinfo.com/kimura3.htm)
- My Judo (http://www.judoinfo.com/kimura2.htm) Excerpts from the book by Masahiko Kimura
- Interview with Helio Gracie (http://judoinfo.com/helio.htm) Gracie recalls the famous challenge match