Masahiko Kimura

Undefeated In Over 9 Years, Judo Legend Yasuhiro Yamashita

Judo is a traditional Japanese grappling art developed by Jigoro Kano, whereas the competitors try to throw or force their opponent to the mat.

When competing in judo one can score points by performing an effective throw, or by forcing an opponent into submission.

Judo players, a.k.a. judoka, will do their best to gain control of their opponent before applying a throwing or holding technique.

Along with such greats such as Masahiko Kimura, Yasuhiro Yamashita is considered one of the best judoka ever.

When his home country of Japan boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow for invading Afghanistan, Yamashita had a winning streak of 194 (!) fights to his record.

And there went his chance of winning an Olympic gold medal. Yamashita was devastated and even wept on Japanese television.

As the only judoka from the 1980 Japanese judo team to qualify, Yamashita got his chance four years later at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Very unfortunately in an early match of the tournament, Yamashita tore the calf muscle of his right leg. This painful injury did not deter him from continuining and winning this and several consecutive Olympic bouts.

In his final match against Egyptian Mohamed Ali Rashwan, Yamashita won the gold medal despite his calf muscle injury and became a national hero.

Noteworthy is also the fact that Rashwan did not attack Yamashita’s right leg. For his act of fairness he received an award from the International Fairplay Committee.

Yamashita went on to be awarded the Japanese National Prize of Honor and at the age of only 28 he ended his extraordinary with a whopping 203 total victories in 1985.

Ever since, 9th degree black belt Yasuhiro Yamashita has been an instructor and a trusted advisor for Tokai University and the All Japan Judo Federation as well as the International Judo Federation.

I enjoy watching ’16 Days of Glory’. I hope you do, too.

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Technorati Tags: fighting, grappling, Japan, jigoro kano, judo, martial art, Masahiko Kimura, Olympic Games, Yasuhiro Yamashita

Tags: fighting, grappling, Japan, jigoro kano, judo, martial art, Masahiko Kimura, Olympic Games, Yasuhiro Yamashita

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 fighting, grappling, Japan, Jigor Kano, judo, Masahiko Kimura, Yasuhiro Yamashita 2 Comments

Valentine’s Day And The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com

Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all!

I don’t understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine’s Day.

When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.

Anyway …

Let’s get back to what really makes the world turn and that would be martial arts, right?! Just kidding around here.

Check out The Week In Review that took us from Russia (with love) to Japan to Brooklyn, New York to Hong Kong to Houston, Texas.

Russian Systema Or Just When You Think You’ve Seen It All

Masahiko Kimura, The Best Judoka Ever?

Martial Artist Wesley Snipes Co-Starring In “Brooklyn’s Finest”

Teenager Tried To Kick Bruce Lee In The Face

Why Kick High If You Can Low?

Linda Denley, Karate Superwoman From Houston, Texas

Have a great Valentine’s Day wherever you are!

I will talk to you tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: Bruce Lee, Capoeira, fighting, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, grappling, Helio Gracie, judo, karate, Kimura, Kung Fu, Linda Denley, Muay Thai, Russian Martial Art, Shotokan Karate, Spetsnaz, Systema, Tang Soo Do, Valentine's Day, Wesley Snipes, wrestling

Tags: Bruce Lee, Capoeira, fighting, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, grappling, Helio Gracie, judo, karate, Kimura, Kung Fu, Linda Denley, Muay Thai, Russian Martial Art, Shotokan Karate, Spetsnaz, Systema, Tang Soo Do, Valentine's Day, Wesley Snipes, wrestling

Sunday, February 14th, 2010 Bruce Lee, Capoeira, combat, fighting, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, grappling, gung fu, Helio Gracie, jiu jitsu, John Cenatiempo, judo, karate, kicking, Kung Fu, martial art, martial artists, Martial Arts, Masahiko Kimura, Russian Martial Art, Shotokan Karate, submission fighting, submission grappling, Systema, Wesley Snipes, wrestling No Comments

Masahiko Kimura, The Best Judoka Ever?

Can you believe this?

Even though I trained in judo for a brief period quite a long time ago, it wasn’t until I started doing research on Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and even rolling around on the mat for a short while that I became familiar with the term ‘Kimura’. And even then I thought it was just some technique that could really hurt you or your opponent, depending on who’s on the receiving end of it.

Well, after digging a bit deeper, I too finally saw the light! Man, I must have been living under a rock or something.

Masahiko Kimura (1917-1993) is considered by many the greatest Judoka to ever live. He stood 5’6″ (170 cm) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84kg).

Kimura became the youngest ever 5th-degree black belt when he was just 18 and by the time he reached the age of 29 he was a 7th dan.

In 1937, Kimura did something very remarkable: He won the All-Japan Championship and remained undefeated for the next 13 years in matches held throughout Japan.

But what he accomplished later in life on the international stage really cemented the legend of Kimura.

In 1951, he defeated Brazil’s Helio Gracie, a legend in his own right, who publicly said that he thought nobody in the world could defeat Kimura.

At age 42, Kimura faced a much bigger and younger opponent by the name of Waldemar Santana, who he even battled to a draw.

Kimura’s prime came before judo was an Olympic event, but in his senior years he trained a number of notable Olympian judokas, including Canada’s Doug Rogers, who won silver in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games.

As far as I could find out, Kimura was never awarded beyond 7th dan and based on so many reports I am left to believe that Japanese judo officials were not quite amused with Kimura’s career moves from judo into professional wrestling.

What I find intriguing is how a guy like him standing at 5’6″ (170 cm) and weighing 185 pounds (84kg) could beat countless taller, heavier and at times way younger and faster opponents.

Kimura’s success is based on San Bai Ro Rioku. On this premise, Kimura did 300 pushups everyday in High School. While attending university he increased that number to 500.

After his first victory, Kimura decided to start doing 1,000 non-stop pushups to ensure future victories. As you can assume, doing pushups was just a small part of Kimura’s regimen. During his prime, he practiced 4 times a day, at least 6 hours every day. He trained at Taku-Shoku University, Local Clubs, Kodokan, and Police Academies.

Quite often he would practice against a tree, always at midnight. During one instance, Wushi-Zima, a two time champion, heard a commotion in the nearby woods. When he checked out the noise it turned out to be Kimura doing uchikomi against a tree. For better understanding of uchikomi: You actually practice a throw, where you take your opponent to the point just before he is thrown.

And coming full circle: So, what actually is a ‘Kimura’?

The Kimura lock is one of the most important submission holds in Jiu-Jitsu and other grappling styles. At times it referred to as hammerlock, chicken wing or ude-garami. Whatever you prefer, it is a very powerful and versatile attack. And wherever you see grapplers competing, you can be sure to see the Kimura lock used to submit opponents and win fights.

Le me know if you think that Masahiko Kimura is the best judoka ever.