Masahiko Kimura
Japanese judoka and professional wrestler (1917–1993)
木村政彦 · 木村政彥
- Born
- 10 September 1917, Kumamoto
- Died
- 18 April 1993, Japan
- Citizenship
- Japan, Empire of Japan
- Sport
- judo
- Occupation
- judoka, professional wrestler
- Height
- 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
- Weight
- 85 kg (187 lb)
Masahiko Kimura (木村 政彦, Kimura Masahiko; 10 September 1917 – 18 April 1993) was a Japanese judoka and professional wrestler. He won the All-Japan Judo Championships three times in a row for the first time in history and had never lost a judo match from 1936 to 1950. In submission grappling, the reverse ude-garami arm lock is often called the "Kimura", due to his famous victory over Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder Hélio Gracie. In the Japanese professional wrestling world, he is known for being one of Japan's earliest stars and the controversial match he had with Rikidōzan.
Teachers
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q270727 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.