Masters
Portraits of founders and grandmasters — lifetimes of movement.
14 articles
India / China ·c. 5th–6th century
Bodhidharma — The Legend at the Origin of All Martial Arts
Bodhidharma (5th/6th c.) brought Chan Buddhism to China — whether he also taught the Shaolin martial arts is legend. But his cultural legacy is real and immense.
USA / Hong Kong ·1940–1973
Bruce Lee — The Man Who Reinvented Martial Arts
Bruce Lee (1940–1973) broke all boundaries between martial arts — his Jeet Kune Do and philosophy inspired MMA and a generation of fighters.
Brazil ·1902–1994
Carlos Gracie — The Patriarch of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Carlos Gracie (1902–1994) learned Judo from Mitsuyo Maeda, founded the first Gracie Academy, and with his family created the world's most practiced ground fighting system.
Korea ·1918–2002
Choi Hong Hi — The Founder of Taekwondo
General Choi Hong Hi (1918–2002) created Taekwondo as Korea's national martial art — a life lived between military service, politics, and the dream of a global fighting system.
Japan / Okinawa ·1888–1953
Chojun Miyagi — Founder of Goju-ryu Karate
Chojun Miyagi (1888–1953) fused Okinawan hardness with Chinese softness into Goju-ryu — the karate school that inspired Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid.
Japan / Okinawa ·1868–1957
Gichin Funakoshi — Father of Modern Karate
Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) brought Karate from Okinawa to Japan and shaped it into a philosophical discipline — his legacy is Shotokan.
Brazil ·1913–2009
Helio Gracie — The Father of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Helio Gracie (1913–2009) was too weak for classical Judo — so he invented a system placing leverage over strength, enabling the smaller to overcome the larger.
China ·1893–1972
Ip Man — The Grandmaster of Wing Chun
Ip Man (1893–1972) saved Wing Chun from obscurity and taught Bruce Lee — the quiet grandmaster whose life has become more myth than biography.
Japan ·1860–1938
Jigoro Kano — The Father of Judo
Jigoro Kano (1860–1938) transformed brutal Jiu-Jitsu into Judo — the first modern martial art with an educational mission and an Olympic legacy.
Korea / Japan ·1923–1994
Mas Oyama — The Strongest Karateka in History
Mas Oyama (1923–1994) knocked down bulls with bare hands and founded Kyokushin — the world's hardest karate with 15 million practitioners.
Brazil ·1899–1974
Mestre Bimba — Father of Modern Capoeira
Mestre Bimba (1899–1974) saved Capoeira from oblivion by transforming it into a structured martial art — and demonstrated it to a president.
Japan ·c. 1584–1645
Miyamoto Musashi — The Undefeated Swordsman
Miyamoto Musashi (c.1584–1645) won over 60 duels undefeated, then retreated to a cave to write the Book of Five Rings — a work on strategy, spirit, and the way of the warrior.
Japan ·1883–1969
Morihei Ueshiba — The Creator of Aikido
Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969) transformed the art of war into a philosophy of reconciliation — Aikido, the way of harmonious energy.
China ·1799–1872
Yang Luchan — The Invincible and Father of Yang-Style Taijiquan
Yang Luchan (1799–1872) spent 18 years secretly learning from the Chen family — and became so superior he entered history as 'Yang the Invincible.'