In no particular order whatsoever:
Rickson Gracie- BJJ and Vale Tudo Legend. Unprecedented 400-0 fight record
Rocky Marciano. Only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated.
Roberto Duran. even after "No Mas". He was still one hell of a boxer.
Dan Gable. Wrestling God.
Masahiko Kimura. Judo King. There was no man before Kimura, there will be no man after Kimura.
James Figg--A master of the backsword, smallsword, singlestick, and quarterstaff, who was also history's first heavyweight boxing champion. The man had fought some 271 fights during his career, and yet he had lost only once.
Peter Aerts- helped to make K-1.
Jack Dempsey--aside from being a great fighter, Demspey tried to keep certain aspects of an older (pugilistic) boxing style alive (hence, the "vertical fist" method of punching. One of Bruce Lee's favorite boxers.
Mitsuko(sp?) Maeda- Vale Tudo Man!
Bruce Lee - I'll defend him as a martial artist. The "Tao Of Jeet Kune Do" is of major importance
Frank Gotch- the Last Great Man of Catch Wrestling.
Muhammad Ali - enough said
Peter Jackson--one of the best of the later bare-knuckle boxers.
Daniel Mendoza- Introduced modern movement into Western Boxing.
Antonio Illustrimo- Best swordfighter the Phillipines have produced in the modern era.
Vlad Tepes ("the Impaler") Dracula--by all accounts, this guy was a badass, and not just in the mass-murder sense. Allies and enemies all acknowledged his fighting and commanding abilities.
Juan de Salcedo--in the 1570's, he commanded a combined Spanish/Filipino army to defeat the wako pirates led by the Chinese corsiar Lim-Ah-Hong and his Japanese ally, Sioco. Imagine the diverse fighting styles that Salcedo must have witnessed and experienced in his lifetime...
Dan Inosanto- true hoplologist
George Silver--for doing what he could to save his native English martial arts from falling victim to the "McDojo" rapier stylists in London.
John Blinkinsopps (aka "Blinkinsopps the Bold")--When Blinkinsopps first played his Free Scholar's prize, he fought a total of eighty bouts (10 at longsword, 12 at backsword, and 18 at sword-and-buckler), though he was not admitted because of a "misdemeanor" he committed. Certainly, cardio training was not something that Blinkinsopps ignored. He became a Master in 1583.
Jigoro Kano--for saving the various JJ styles from oblivion.
Hulk Hogan - Got me into amateur wrestling
Rickson Gracie- BJJ and Vale Tudo Legend. Unprecedented 400-0 fight record
Rocky Marciano. Only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated.
Roberto Duran. even after "No Mas". He was still one hell of a boxer.
Dan Gable. Wrestling God.
Masahiko Kimura. Judo King. There was no man before Kimura, there will be no man after Kimura.
James Figg--A master of the backsword, smallsword, singlestick, and quarterstaff, who was also history's first heavyweight boxing champion. The man had fought some 271 fights during his career, and yet he had lost only once.
Peter Aerts- helped to make K-1.
Jack Dempsey--aside from being a great fighter, Demspey tried to keep certain aspects of an older (pugilistic) boxing style alive (hence, the "vertical fist" method of punching. One of Bruce Lee's favorite boxers.
Mitsuko(sp?) Maeda- Vale Tudo Man!
Bruce Lee - I'll defend him as a martial artist. The "Tao Of Jeet Kune Do" is of major importance
Frank Gotch- the Last Great Man of Catch Wrestling.
Muhammad Ali - enough said
Peter Jackson--one of the best of the later bare-knuckle boxers.
Daniel Mendoza- Introduced modern movement into Western Boxing.
Antonio Illustrimo- Best swordfighter the Phillipines have produced in the modern era.
Vlad Tepes ("the Impaler") Dracula--by all accounts, this guy was a badass, and not just in the mass-murder sense. Allies and enemies all acknowledged his fighting and commanding abilities.
Juan de Salcedo--in the 1570's, he commanded a combined Spanish/Filipino army to defeat the wako pirates led by the Chinese corsiar Lim-Ah-Hong and his Japanese ally, Sioco. Imagine the diverse fighting styles that Salcedo must have witnessed and experienced in his lifetime...
Dan Inosanto- true hoplologist
George Silver--for doing what he could to save his native English martial arts from falling victim to the "McDojo" rapier stylists in London.
John Blinkinsopps (aka "Blinkinsopps the Bold")--When Blinkinsopps first played his Free Scholar's prize, he fought a total of eighty bouts (10 at longsword, 12 at backsword, and 18 at sword-and-buckler), though he was not admitted because of a "misdemeanor" he committed. Certainly, cardio training was not something that Blinkinsopps ignored. He became a Master in 1583.
Jigoro Kano--for saving the various JJ styles from oblivion.
Hulk Hogan - Got me into amateur wrestling
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