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Gene LeBell
Ivan Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 – August 9, 2022) was an American actor, judoka, stuntman and professional wrestler. Nicknamed "Judo Gene" and "The Godfather of Grappling", he is credited with popularizing grappling in professional fighting circles, serving as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts. He worked on over 1,000 films and TV shows and authored 12 books. Early life Ivan Gene LeBell was born in Los Angeles, California. He started training in catch wrestling and boxing from his early childhood, influenced by his mother, "Red Head" Aileen Eaton, a promoter of both sports who owned the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, Thomas Nilsson, ''A Conversation with "The Toughest Man Alive": "Judo" Gene LeBell Has Seen and Done It All in a 50-Year Martial Arts Career'', Black Belt magazine, February 1999 and who was the first woman to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. LeBell took up catch wrestling under Ed "Strangler" Lewis at age 7, and later moved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city limits , it is the List of United States cities by population, second-most populous in the United States, behind only New York City. Los Angeles has an Ethnic groups in Los Angeles, ethnically and culturally diverse population, and is the principal city of a Metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan area of 12.9 million people (2024). Greater Los Angeles, a combined statistical area that includes the Los Angeles and Riverside–San Bernardino metropolitan areas, is a sprawling metropolis of over 18.5 million residents. The majority of the city proper lies in Los Angeles Basin, a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manny Gamburyan
Manny Gamburyan (; born May 8, 1981) is an Armenian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the UFC's lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight divisions. A professional competitor since 1999, he was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter 5, and also competed in World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and King of the Cage (KOTC). Background In May 1991, Gamburyan's family relocated from Armenia to the United States. Shortly after his arrival, he began training in judo at Gokor Chivichyan and Gene LeBell's Hayastan MMA Academy, quickly becoming one of the top judokan in the country, winning junior nationals less than two years later. He went on to win junior nationals eight times, the junior Olympics once, and was a member of the 2000 Junior World Team. Later, Gamburyan also began training in Kyokushin Karate aged 15. Mixed martial arts career Early career Gamburyan began his career in mixed martial arts in 1999 at the age of 17. He won his first four fights, then los ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time. Although the term "boxing" is commonly attributed to western boxing, in which only fists are involved, it has developed in different ways in different geographical areas and cultures of the World. In global terms, "boxing" today is also a set of combat sports focused on Strike (attack), striking, in which two opponents face each other in a fight using at least their fists, and possibly involving other actions, such as kicks, Elbow (strike), elbow strikes, Knee (strike), knee strikes, and headbutts, depending on the rules. Some of these variants are the bare-knuckle boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Lethwei, savate, and Sanda (sport), sanda. Boxing techniques have been incorporated into many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catch Wrestling
Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by Pin (sport wrestling), pinning or Submission (combat sports), submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emphasizes adaptability and seizing opportunities during the match, with fewer restrictions than Styles of wrestling, other wrestling styles - techniques using or targeting the legs are allowed, submissions are allowed, and there are no mandatory grips. It was spread by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission holds, referred to as "hooks" and "stretches", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents, as well as immigrants through Europe and the Anglosphere. Catch-as-catch-can was included in the 1904 Olympic Games and continued through the 1936 Games; it had new rules and weight categories introduced similar to other amateur wrestling styles, and dangerous moves - including all submis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place throughout Japan and the countries of East Asia. At the same time, in Brazil there was a phenomenon called vale tudo, which became known for unrestricted fights between various styles such as judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, catch wrestling, luta livre, Muay Thai and capoeira. An early high-profile mixed bout was Masahiko Kimura vs. Hélio Gracie, Kimura vs Gracie in 1951. In mid-20th century Hong Kong, rooftop street fighting contests between different martial arts styles gave rise to Bruce Lee's hybrid martial arts style Jeet Kune Do. Another precursor to modern MMA was the 1976 Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki, Ali vs. Inoki exhibition bout, fought between boxer Muhammad Ali and wrestler Antonio Inoki in Japan, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grappling
Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Should there be no winner after the match time-limit has lapsed, competition judges will determine the winner based on who exerted more control. Grappling most commonly does not include striking or the use of weapons. However, some fighting styles or martial arts known especially for their grappling techniques teach tactics that include strikes and weapons either alongside grappling or combined with it. History Grappling appears in the earliest combat systems. In Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, depictions of wrestlers in grappling poses appear on tombs and artifacts dating back to 2000 BCE. The Greeks formalized grappling in the sport of pále, a key part of the Olympic pentathlon, and developed a hybrid striking-grappling art called pankr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professional Wrestler
Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrestling combat. is a form of athletic theaterEero Laine (2017). "Stadium-sized theatre: WWE and the world of professional wrestling". In Chow et al. (2017). ''Performance and Professional Wrestling'', p. 39: "The business of professional wrestling is the business of theatre. Even if on the surface professional wrestling seems anathema to theatrical sensibilities, it is hard to deny the formal similarities. After all, professional wrestling is scripted entertainment performed live in front of an audience by actors portraying characters." centered around mock combat with the premise that its performers are competitive wrestlers. In the United States, the term "professional wrestling" does not refer to authentic wrestling, which was never popul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stunt Performer
A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed to a daredevil, who performs for a live audience. When they take the place of another actor, they are known as stunt doubles. Overview A stunt performer is an actor skilled in both choreographing and safely presenting actions on-screen that appear to be dangerous, risky, or even deadly. Stunts frequently performed include car crashes, falls from great height, drags (for example, behind a horse), and the consequences of explosions. There is an inherent risk in the performance of all stunt work. There is maximum risk when the stunts are performed in front of a live audience. In filmed performances, visible safety mechanisms can be removed by editing. In live performances the audience can see more clearly if the performer is genuinely doing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). Judo was created in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō () as an eclectic martial art, distinguishing itself from its predecessors (primarily Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū, Tenjin Shinyo-ryu jujutsu and Kitō-ryū jujutsu) due to an emphasis on "randori" (, lit. 'free sparring') instead of alongside its removal of striking and weapon training elements. Judo rose to prominence for its dominance over Kodokan–Totsuka rivalry, established jujutsu schools in tournaments hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁武術大会, ''Keishicho Bujutsu Taikai''), resulting in its adoption as the department's primary martial art. A judo practitioner is called a , and the judo uniform is called . The objective of competitive ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Gotch
Karl Istaz (born Karel Alfons Ceclie Istaz; August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007), best known by the ring name , was a competitor and trainer in Professional wrestling, professional, Amateur wrestling, amateur, and catch wrestling, born in Antwerp, Belgium. Considered one of the most influential wrestlers of his time period, he is best known for training several acclaimed and influential professional wrestlers in Japan, and for becoming a catalyst in the faculty development of Puroresu#Strong style, ''Strong style'', alongside New Japan Pro-Wrestling founder Antonio Inoki and fellow trainer Billy Robinson. Born in 1924, he was raised into a Hungarians, Hungarian-Dutch people, Dutch family in Flanders, and was a victim of Holocaust persecutions Discrimination against atheists#Nazi Germany, due to his father's atheism. After 1945, he became involved in Olympic-level wrestling training, culminating in him representing Belgium at the 1948 Summer Olympics in both Wrestling at the 1948 Summ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional wrestling and described as the "quintessential athlete" and a "polished warrior who could break a man in two if pushed the wrong way", Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers and wrestling world champions in history, and possibly the last globally accepted world champion. Thesz won various version of the World Heavyweight Championship seven times, including three reigns as NWA World Heavyweight Champion, which he held for a combined total of ten years, three months and nine days (3,749 days) – longer than anyone else in history. In Japan, Thesz was known as the "''God of Wrestling" (like his Belgian counterpart, Karl Gotch) and was called "''Tetsujin''", which means "Ironman", in respect for his speed, conditioning and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ed Lewis (wrestler)
Robert Herman Julius Friedrich (June 30, 1891 – August 8, 1966), better known by the ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, was an American professional wrestler and trainer. During his wrestling career, which spanned four decades, Lewis was a four-time World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and overall recognized officially as a five-time world champion. Considered to be one of the most iconic and recognizable sports stars of the 1920s, often alongside boxer Jack Dempsey and baseball player Babe Ruth, Lewis notably wrestled in over 6,000 matches (many of which were real contests) and lost only 32 of them. He was posthumously inducted as a charter member into the following halls of fame: ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Professional Wrestling, George Tragos/Lou Thesz and WWE's Legacy Wing. One of the most legitimately feared grapplers of all time, Lewis was known for his catch wrestling prowess and trained many future champions, most notably Lou Thesz, Danny Hodge, Dick Hutton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
