Some interesting information here that disputes some of the Gracies claims, and calls Helio's fight with Kimura a set up fraud. The man is a Judo black belt under Kimura from the time of the Helio/Gracie fight so it's not just wind. He calls the Gracies "Liars and brawlers" and doesn't seem to like them much in general though he has instructed several of the Gracie offspring in Judo including Rickson, Rolls and Rorion. His name is Kastriot Mehdi (promoted 8th dan kodokan Judoka in 1979) who's lived in Rio since 1949 and still has a Judo dojo there, at least at the time of this article around 2001. Locals consider him a history book on martial arts in brazil, particularly if you want the story without the Gracie taint, or spin on it. I'm impartial myself and am not posting it to be anti Gracie, it's just another viewpoint you don't much get to hear with the Gracie's comandeering of BJJ and brazilian martial arts. It's a good read though and I thought I'd share it here.
http://www.geocities.com/global_trai...port/mehdi.htm
Of course any comments or discussion on it are welcomed.
Here, for those too lazy to read it, is a small exerpt from the article regarding the fight between Kimura and Helio. I recomend reading the article though it's quite interesting.
Kimuras’s fight with Helio, Mehdi says, "was a joke". Kimura agreed to stall for 10 minutes, Mehdi says, to give the fans their money's worth and begin fighting after that. Mehdi imitated Helio's footwork in the match, exaggerating its awkwardness. Thirteen minutes into the fight, Kimura finished Helio with a shoulder lock, which the Brazilians now call "Kimura" in his honor ("don't call it "Kimura", Mehdi admonishes—it's ude garami"). There was some talk of fixing the actual outcome of the fight, but the Japanese embassy reportedly warned Kimura that if he lost he wouldn't be welcome back home in Japan anymore. A certain degree of choreography could be accepted but for Japan’s greatest champion to lose to a scrawny gaijin, that would be too much.
