Jigoro Kano, the man credited with creating judo, despite being the first and possibly greatest practitioner of a martial art that basically consists of trying to fuse a opponent’s collarbone with the pavement, was only 5ft 2 and weighed just over 90 pounds. Bear that in mind.
Kano got the idea for judo while jujitsu sparring with a man mountain known only as Fukushima, due to the immense size and strength of Fukushima, Kano found that no amount of jujitsu could put him on his giant ass. Determined to beat this seemingly unbeatable opponent, the diminutive Kano studied a book on Western wrestling hoping to implement it into his fighting, the next time the two fought Kano used this hybrid technique to flip Fukushima to the mat for the first time. Thus proving to Kano how effective his as yet unnamed style could be and inspiring him to develop it further.
Oh and in case you were wondering how big Fukushima actually was, he was once arrested for ripping a door off of the wall and trying to beat a guy into a bloody puddle with it.
So yeah, the entire reason judo exists is because a guy shorter than a table who weighed less than a large dog wanted a way to kick the ass of people literally able to use doors as a man-beating tool. The answer to which martial art is the best may still be a divisive issue, but at least now we all know which one is the coolest.
Source. Source.
2 Comments
I wonder if they used the name Kano in Mortal Kombat in honor of this guy?
I was thinking the same. Not very likely, though, or they’d have made him shorter and skinnier.