Martial Arts Greats

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was a popular martial artist who made the art famous through movies. He featured in movies like “Enter the Dragon” and “The Way of the Dragon.” His amazing skills in martial arts influenced a lot of people. Lee used his unique Jeet Kune Do signature style to make great influence in the art. He founded his style on principles of practical street fighting, which focused on simply what works. He changed the traditional mentality of arts that focused on “this- is –how- you –do- it.” He was even named “the father of mixed martial arts” by Dana White who was the UFC president.

Masahiko Kimura

Masahiko Kimura surprised his fans when he made a unique move that broke his opponent’s arm. This saw him win against Helio Gracie in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in 1951. “Ude-garami” which was the reverse shoulder-lock technique that he used was later referred to as “Kimura,” in his honor.

Kimura practiced martial arts for six years and at a tender age of 15, he was promoted to yondan (fourth dan). He later became the youngest godan (fifth degree black belt) in 1935 at the Kodokan Dojo, after defeating eight opponents. By the time he turned 20, he had bagged the All Japan Open Weight Championship title, which he retained for 13 years. His winning records exposed martial arts to the entire world. He had tough workouts that lasted for nine hours, on a daily basis.

Yip Man

He was an expert when it came to the technical Wushu and Wing Chun. His students qualified to be teachers and they taught his techniques not only in China but to the rest of the world. In fact, his students, the Grandmaster Bruce Lee and William Cheung influenced the entire world with their skills in martial arts.