Most influential martial artists

[Zauriel]

I'm talking about the influence any martial artist have on martial arts.

1. Bruce Lee- the one who introduced kung fu to Hollywood silverscreen and is arguably resonsible for the popularity of martial arts films. Before Bruce Lee, there was hardly a film that centers entirely on martial arts action. But today, martial arts films have become so common it is an independent genre.

2. Kano Jigoro- the founder of Judo and creator of the modern belt rank system used by most martial arts schools.

3. Jhoon Rhee- brought Tae Kwon Do to North America.

4. Remy Amador Presas- the Father of modern arnis (Filipino martial art of stickfighting) who revived the dying art of arnis to levels of popularity. . Before Presas, arnisadors (arnis practitioners) used their sticks to hit each other's hand rather than the stick since the stick is considered a sacred weapon. "Long ago, Arnis was a dying art," Presas says. "The old practitioners believed the cane was sacred. This meant they would always aim at the hand of their training partner and not at the cane for practice. Most of the students got hurt right away and immediately lost interest. I modernized this and promoted hitting the cane instead for practice. Then I identified the basic concepts of the many Filipino systems I had learned to bring a unity to the diverse systems of my country. This way, we could all feel the connection.

http://www.professorpresas.com/Professor.htm

http://www.modernarnis.com/remy_a_presas.htm

4. Ed Parker- a Karate and Chinese Kempo teacher who established the first commercial Karate school in the US. He sponsored a tournament where Bruce Lee participated which brought him to the attention of Green Hornet's production studio staff and to his budding stardom.

5. Hatsumi Masaaki-the world's most foremost ninjitsu expert who is famus for having revived the combative techniques employed by the Iga and Koga ninja clans who carried out acts of espionage and guerrila warfare in Feudal Japan.

Sources: book called "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Martial Arts"

[White Warlock]

[viskous]

well i'd have to say all the other major film martial artists (jet lee, jackey chan, chuck norris,) played a role in popularising the martial arts but they also hurt it a bit by building kids images up to where when they do start martial arts there bound to be dissapointed when they find out its gonna be a long time before they'll be flying thro the air like super heros(if ever depending on the style), plus they never really added anything to there arts, so you really just gotta give it up to the traditional masters all over the world who keep there art pure IMHO

[pineapple]

I was personally influenced into training in the martial arts by Bruce Lee's movies. I loved his quickness but I didn't care too much for his cockiness.

[Muaythaiboxer]

i would have to say lee and the i to loved his skill and pliosophy but not his arrogance

[White Warlock]

I intentionally didn't watch a Bruce Lee movie until i was in the martial arts for at least a decade. Because of all the "Dragon" hype at the time (70's and early 80's), i simply didn't want to be stereotyped with all the people who were swinging around nunchakus like monkeys in the shower.

I went into the martial arts for my own reasons, and with influence by those in my immediate family, the instructors i had, and by a Korean kid back when i was in 6th grade (no, i don't know his name, nor is it relevant or all that significant). Television and movies had little to nothing to do with my involvement in the arts.

By the way, i parked the in my earlier post here because i couldn't figure out what the original poster's point was. I.e., Zauriel, are you asking for opinions, tossing out your beliefs, or posing general information carried by a postulation that was presented as fact? I just didn't, and still don't, see what it is you are asking of our participation in this thread.

If it were information posed to strengthen a postulation, then i would say the postulation is incorrect, in that you are grabbing modern celebrities in the arts and giving them credit for centuries of studies. No offense Zauriel, just attempting to understand intent.

[tufrthanu]

I get it I will add a few more names though...lets see

Gichin Funakoshi...created one of the most popular karate styles.

Dan Inosanto...helped bring indonesian arts to light in the west?

Actually there were so many influential martial artists its hard to pick just a few.

[y2_sub]

1- Gichin Funakoshi : Father of modern karate and the founder of shotokan , one of the most popular martial arts

2- Oyama Sosai : Founder of Kyokushinkai , one of the best karate-kas that have ever lived .

3- Gigaro Kano

4- Morihei Ueshiba Sensei : Founder of Aikido , I highly respect him .

I was influenced by karate kid movies to join the martial arts , so we got to give Hollywood some credits

[Menjo]

well id say bruce lee because i dont know someone who hasnt heard of him, and then the modern day movie stars that people see every day.

[Maddwraph]

how about the gracies? as someone on thos forum once said (cant remember who, sorry) they did revolutionize martial arts, because people realized the importance of ground fighting when royce won those matches.