Takauki "Taky" Kimura (March 12, 1924January 7, 2021) was an American martial artist who was best known as being one of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

's top students and closest friends - and a certified instructor in Jun Fan Gung Fu, personally certified by Bruce Lee himself. Kimura was also the best man at Lee's wedding, and one of six pallbearers during his funeral, the others including

Dan Inosanto Dan Inosanto (born July 24, 1936) is an American martial arts instructor and actor. Inosanto holds instructor or black belt level ranks in several martial arts. He has studied traditional Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, Kung Fu, Shooto, Muay Thai, Tai ...

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...

, Peter Chin and Robert Lee, Bruce's brother.

Early life

Kimura was born in

Clallam Bay, Washington Clallam Bay is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Clallam County, Washington, Clallam County, Washington (state), Washington, United States, at the mouth of the Clallam River into Clallam Bay. Known for its natural en ...

, United States, on March 12, 1924.

Internment

Kimura and his family were interned in a War relocation center (or

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

) during World War II following the signing of

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a President of the United States, United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. "This order authorized the fo ...

, first at

Tule Lake Tule Lake ( ) is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon. Geography Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River. The ele ...

and later at Minidoka, due to their Japanese ethnicity. Kimura was actually taken to the camp one day before his high school graduation.Northwest Asian Weekly, June 8: Taky Kimura, 85, graduates from high school, http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2009/07/june-8-taky-kimura-85-graduates-from-high-school/ Emerging from the internment camp after World War II, Kimura found himself to be downtrodden, broken down and lacking motivation. Because he was unable to graduate from high school due to being taken to the internment camp, and because his family had no money to pay for his college education, his family began to operate a supermarket store in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

Bruce Lee and martial arts

Kimura first learned

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 Encyc ...

from a fellow internee during World War II. In his mid-thirties, during the year 1959, Kimura met a young, rising 18-year-old martial arts genius named

. Even before Lee opened his first Jun Fan Gung Fu institute in 1960, Kimura was a part of his first students in the US, among them Jesse Glover,

James DeMile James W. DeMile (June 6, 1938 – August 15, 2021) was an American martial artist, hypnotherapist and author. He was among the first group of students of Bruce Lee, whom he met in 1959, as they both attended Seattle Central College, Edison Techn ...

, Ed Hart, Skipp Ellsworth and LeRoy Garcia. Kimura then joined Bruce's early kung-fu club where Lee taught Jun Fan Gung Fu, literally translating to Bruce Lee's Kung Fu and his version of

Wing Chun Wing Chun (Cantonese) or Yong Chun (Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin) (, lit. "singing spring") is a concept-based martial art, a form of Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu, and a close-quarters system of self-defense. It is a martial ...

, Kimura became Lee's student, assistant and at that time, his "best friend." Together, they practiced, sparred, trained, and then founded Lee's first kung fu club (the Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute) renting a small basement room with a half door entry from 8th Street in Seattle's Chinatown, where he became Lee's first Assistant Instructor. Kimura was also the best man to Bruce Lee at Bruce's wedding to Linda Emery. Kimura was one of only three individuals to be personally certified by Lee to teach his martial arts, which include Jun Fan Gung Fu and

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do (/ˌdʒiːt kuːn ˈdoʊ/; zh, c=截拳道, l=stop fist way' or 'way of the intercepting fist, j=zit6 kyun4 dou6; abbreviated JKD) is a hybrid martial art conceived and practiced by martial artist Bruce Lee. It was formed from ...

. The other two are

and James Yimm Lee (no relation to Bruce Lee). After Bruce Lee's death on July 20, 1973, Kimura was also one of six pallbearers at his funeral, the other five being:

, Peter Chin and Robert Lee, Bruce's brother. Kimura held a 7th rank in Jun Fan Gung Fu. After Kimura was certified, he was allowed to teach small classes under the mantra of "keep the numbers low, but the quality high".

Appearances in films and documentaries

Kimura appears as himself in a number of documentaries, including Mellissa Tong's ''Taky Kimura: The Dragon's Legacy'' (2000), which was produced by

Quentin Lee Quentin Lee (; born 1971) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian-American film writer, director, and producer. He is most notable for the television series ''Comedy InvAsian'' and feature films ''The People I've Slept With'' (2009), ''Ethan Mao'' (2004), ...

. Documentaries Kimura appears in also include: ''How Bruce Lee Changed the World'' (2009), ''Bruce Lee in G.O.D.: Shibôteki yûgi'' (2000), ''Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey'' (2000), ''The Path of the Dragon'' (1998) (short documentary), ''The Life of Bruce Lee'' (1994), ''The Curse of the Dragon'' (1993), ''Bruce Lee, the Legend'' (1977) and ''Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend'' (1973). TV shows he has appeared in include a 1994 episode of ''

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

'' entitled ''Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon'' and a 1999 episode of ''Famous Families'' entitled "The Lees: Action Speaks Louder".

Later years

Known persons that Kimura has certified as instructors in Jun Fan Gung Fu are; Andy Kimura (his son) and students; Scott Lindenmuth, Abe Santos, Mike Hilow and Tsuyoshi Abe. Andy Kimura, Abe Santos, and Mike Hilow still teach Jun Fan Gung-Fu in the Seattle area. Original JFGF Instructor Lineage Chart

In 2009, nearly 67 years after his original, scheduled graduation date, at age 85, Kimura finally was allowed to receive his diploma from Clallam Bay High School in

, and was the high school's

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in Armenia, the Philippines, Canada, Afghanistan and the United States to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. ...

(the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class). Kimura grew up with his family in the state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Taky Kimura celebrated his 90th birthday in 2014. Kimura died at his home at the age of 96.

References

External links

Taky Kimura BioKimura Graduating from High School
*
Taky Kimura (Character)
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimura, Taky 1924 births 2021 deaths American Jeet Kune Do practitioners American male judoka American male karateka American people of Japanese descent Japanese-American internees American male actors People from Clallam County, Washington Sportspeople from Seattle 20th-century American sportsmen