Helio Gracie vs. Masahiko Kimura

It was October 23, 1951. The fight day between Helio Gracie and Masahiko Kimura had finally arrived and the sold out crowd at Maracana Stadium was thundering.

The fight began and the two men immediately went to a clinch. Helio felt Kimura begin to launch his patented shoulder throw, and Helio went limp, relaxing his body completely. He knew he would never be able to resist the throw. Kimura had perfected the move by wrapping his belt around a tree and trying to throw it, slammimg his hips and back against the tree until they were raw from the countless repetitions. Helio knew that he would be a lot easier to throw than that tree had been, especially since he weighed only 140 pounds.

Helio hoped that as Kimura put everything he had into the throw, he would be knocked off balance when Helio offered no resistance. His strategy worked. As Kimura threw Helio to the ground, he stumbled and fell to the mat from the force of his own throw. He landed on top of Helio and the fight was on.

At one point, Kimura clamped Helio into a dojime (waist vice), scissoring Helio's chest with his legs and pinning one of Helio's arms to his side as he pulled hard on Helio's collar. The move was effective. As Helio worked to escape, he passed out from the pressure on his chest. He woke up seconds later to find Kimura sitting on his chest, wiping the sweat off his forehead and complimenting Helio for being able to resist the move — Helio had passed out with his eyes open, and Kimura had not realized he had rendered Helio unconscious!

As the fight passed the three minute mark, the spectators began to chant "It's over, it's over.." in response to Kimura's statement that Helio should consider himself the winner if the fight lasted longer than three minutes, since no one outside of Japan ever lasted that long.

Late in the first round, Kimura clamped a crunching headlock on Helio so hard that a blood vessel in Helio's ear burst and blood ran out onto Kimura's sleeve. Kimura released the hold a little to see if Helio was all right. Helio signaled that he was, and Kimura clamped the hold back on and the fight continued.

The first round ended and, after a short rest, both men went at it again. Three minutes into the second round, Kimura caught Helio in an arm lock. Helio was struggling to get free when his brother and cornerman, Carlos, threw in the towel. Carlos said he was concerned that Helio may not tap, and wanted to save his arm.

Helio Gracie's fight with Kimura was a testament to the effectiveness of the techniques he had improvised and developed since the Gracie family learned Jiu-Jitsu from Esai Maeda. Kimura was so impressed with Helio's fighting technique that he invited him to teach at the Imperial Academy of Japan. Helio declined this invitation, but was honored by the gesture.

Helio Gracie, a living example of the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle, celebrated his 89th birthday on October 1, 2001. He continues to travel frequently to the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California where he loves to spend his time teaching and training his students here.