In this old footage (1935) Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, demonstrates numerous suwariwaza, hanza handachi (hanmi handachi), tachiwaza, multiple attacks, and sword and bayonet techniques. His partners are Shigemi Yonekawa and Tsutomu Yukawa. There are also brief appearances by Takuma Hisa and Rinjiro Shirata. Most of the techniques are advanced and performed in... more »
Doshin So was the creator and founder of Shorinji Kempo and the doctrine Kongo Zen. Born Michiomi Nakano, So (usually referred to as Kaisō which approximately translates as ‘the founder’) lived in the Manchuria region of China with his grandfather, and later from the mid 1920s to the end of the Second World War.... more »
Gichin Funakoshi (November 10, 1868 – April 26, 1957) was the creator of Shotokan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is attributed as being the ‘father of modern karate.’ As a boy, he was trained by two famous masters of that time. Each trained him in a different Okinawan martial... more »
Gozo Shioda Sensei was born in 1915. His farther, Dr. Seiichi Shioda was known as a famous doctor and a patriot. Gozo was his second son. When Gozo Shioda sensei was 18, he became a student of Morihei Ueshiba Sense (O-Sensei), the Founder of Aikido. He spent 8 years with Ueshiba Sensei, dedicating his life to... more »
Hélio Gracie (Portuguese (October 1, 1913 – January 29, 2009) was a Brazilian martial artist who, together with his brother Carlos Gracie, founded the martial art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, known internationally as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Until his death, Gracie was the only living 10th degree grand master of that system, and is widely considered... more »
Henry Armstrong was the first and only boxer to hold 3 world championship division titles at the same time. He would’ve won a fourth, something that no one has come close to doing ever, but fell short due to a controversial draw against Ceferino Garcia. Many thought he should’ve won. Regardless, his greatest achievement... more »
Willie Pep is an Italian-American boxer who fought for 26 years with a total of 229 wins out of 241 fights, perhaps the most impressive record in boxing. Pep was the World Featherweight Champion with an astounding record of 61-0 before finally losing to another World Champion and fellow future Hall of Famer, Sammy Angott... more »
Isao Okano (born January 20, 1944) is a retired judoka who competed in the middleweight (-80 kg) division. He was born in Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki, Japan. He entered the 1964 Summer Olympics while studying at Chuo University’s law school, and won the gold medal in the middleweight division. He won another gold medal at the... more »
Jack Dempsey is definitely one of the most popular American boxers in history. He is known for setting the highest attendance and purse records and had the very first million dollar fight ever. Jack Dempsey was worth it, he was known for being the most savagely brutal and entertaining boxers of all time. Missing... more »
Before Muhammad Ali or Roy Jones Jr., the biggest brash, bold trash talker around was the first African American Heavyweight Champ Jack Johnson. Being the first African American Heavyweight champ alone should secure him a spot on any top ten listing. For over a decade, nobody could beat him. He humiliated his opponents, holding... more »
Jigoro Kano was the founder of judo. Judo was the first Japanese martial art to gain widespread international recognition, and the first to become an official Olympic sport. Pedagogical innovations attributed to Kano include the use of black and white belts, and the introduction of dan ranking to show the relative ranking between members... more »
Known as “The Brown Bomber”, Joe Louis was an American Icon. He was clearly a shining star head and shoulders above the rest in his time. He couldn’t lose. Joe Louis only had 1 legitimate loss against Germany’s Max Schmeling which he later avenged in a sensational and historical 1st round KO. Joe Louis single... more »
This movie was demonstrated by Tomiki Kenji sensei and Ohba Hideo sensei who were two of the most important people of Aikido history, I believe. Especially, Tomiki sensei established Japan Aikido Association (people usually call it Shodokan Aikido or Tomiki Aikido) which has the students all over the world today. This movie said Tomiki... more »
Kenshiro Abbe (15 December 1915 – 1 December 1985) was a prominent Japanese master of Judo, Aikido, and Kendo. He introduced Aikido to the United Kingdom in 1955, and founded the Kyushindo system. Abbe was a graduate of the famous Budo Senmon Gakko, having studied judo and kendo there. Following an illustrious early career... more »