Masahiko Kimura

Masahiko Kimura was born on 10 September 1917 in Japan. Widely regarded as the greatest judoka of all time - undefeated from 1936 to 1950 and a 3x consecutive All-Japan Judo Champion, a feat never achieved before or since. His name is permanently embedded in martial arts through the 'Kimura lock' - the reverse ude-garami arm lock named after his legendary 1951 submission victory over Hélio Gracie, co-founder of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. That fight, in which he broke Gracie's arm after the Brazilian refused to tap, is one of the most famous contests in martial arts history. Kimura trained with extraordinary dedication - reportedly eight hours a day - and his technical innovations influenced generations of judoka and grapplers worldwide. He later became one of Japan's first professional wrestling stars before a controversial match with Rikidozan ended that chapter of his career. His techniques and philosophy remain studied and practised by martial artists across every discipline.