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Topic: Rikidozan

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	Rikidozan: A Hero Extraordinary (KOREA 2004)
		Rikidozan theorized that they were looking for heroes to root for, and that pro wrestling (and by extension, himself) helped fulfilled that need in spades.
		In a stunning bit of athletic theatre, Rikidozan turns the tables on the American "bullies," and in the process, wins over the hearts and minds of the Japanese in a sequence that is at once thrilling and moving, despite its pretty much telegraphed ending.
		Rikidozan as a person is a bit too rough around the edges to elicit the audience's total sympathy,but his story is a compelling, often exciting one.
	www.lovehkfilm.com /panasia/rikidozan.htm (774 words)

	Obsessed With Wrestling (Site not responding. Last check: )
		November 14, 1924: Rikidozan is born in Korea..
		Rikidozan, a former sumo wrestler, is the father of the phenomenon we call Puroresu..
		December 22, 1954: Rikidozan defeated Masahiko Kimura (a sumo wrestler) at Tokyo Sumo Hall..
	www.obsessedwithwrestling.com /profiles/r/rikidozan.html (194 words)

	Wrestling Encyclopedia
		Rikidozan then followed the group back to the U.S. in the spring of 1952, where he practiced the art of Western-style pro wrestling while performing in over 200 matches before he eventually returned to Japan the next year.
		Rikidozan thus became one of the biggest superstars in the entire country; and in 1954, he teamed with Masahiko Kimura against Ben and Mike Sharpe in one of the most memorable feuds in Puroresu history.
		Rikidozan then defeated Kimura on December 22, 1954 in Tokyo to become the first Japanese Heavyweight Champion; and on November 22, 1955, he beat Hong Kong representative King Kong in a tournament final to claim the All-Asia Title.
	www.wrestlingencyclopedia.com /top100-9.html (1132 words)

	Science Fair Projects - Rikidozan
		Rikidozan (Kanji: 力道山;) was a professional wrestler, known as the "Father of Puroresu" and one of the most influential men in wrestling history.
		Rikidozan gained worldwide renown when he defeated Lou Thesz for the International Heavyweight Title in 1958.
		Rikidozan also trained professional wrestling students, including soon-to-be wrestling legends Antonio Inoki and Shohei "Giant" Baba.
	www.all-science-fair-projects.com /science_fair_projects_encyclopedia/Rikidozan (584 words)

	NJPW.com >> About >> History >> Rikidozan: History
		Rikidozan, the quintessential Japanese hero and pioneer of Japanese pro wrestling, was both a warrior and a symbol.
		Rikidozan threw himself into the grueling and intense training schedule of Sumo wrestling which involved continual abuse from his superiors, brutal training regiments and backbreaking exercise.
		Rikidozan returned to Japan in 1953 and founded the Japan ProWrestling Alliance (JWA) which was to become the means through which Rikidozan would touch the lives of the entire Japanese population.
	www.njpw.com /about/rikidozan/history_1.shtml (664 words)

	Professional Wrestling Online Museum - Ring Chronicle Hall of Fame Inductee - Rikidozan
		Rikidozan often expressed his contempt for American wrestlers, whom he saw as overweight cheaters, and he often claimed that they were "soft" compared with their Japanese counterparts.
		It was a jesture Rikidozan would never forget, and a lesson he would pass on to his students (which included Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki) when training them for a career inside of the ring...
		Aside from being Japan's top pro wrestler, Rikidozan was also a successful businessman...and by the end of his life had acquired a vast empire which included his wrestling and boxing promotions, as well as hotels, golf courses, night clubs, and real estate holdings.
	www.wrestlingmuseum.com /pages/bios/halloffame/rikibio.html (795 words)

	Yeokdosan (2004) (Site not responding. Last check: )
		RIKIDOZAN is a fantastic work that illuminates the desire of a man who wants to be something more and how that same passion caused his self-destruction.
		One important aspect of this film is the portrayal of Rikidozan as a hero instead of the usual representation of wrestlers as animals and baffoons.
		The movie sees Rikidozan even change the finish of a match on the fly so he would not have to lose which was then topped by his already violent temper growing even worse due to his paranoia of the Yakuza murdering him.
	imdb.com /title/tt0435931 (680 words)

	Wrestling Encyclopedia
		Famous Matches and Storylines: Rikidozan was viewed as a National hero, as when wrestling first started in Japan was right after World War II.
		Rikidozan would defeat American after American wrestlers, rising his popularity.
		Rikidozan was stabbed to death by gangsters, over an argument about "mutual territory." Rikidozan was originally told the wound was not serious, but a week later he bleed to death.
	www.wrestlingencyclopedia.com /rikidozan.html (113 words)

	History of Puroresu : The Rikidozan Era (Site not responding. Last check: )
		Rikidozan defeats Masahiko Kimura to be the first Japanese Heavyweight Champion in a contraversial match.
		Rikidozan wins NWA International heavyweight title from Lou Thesz at the LA Olympic Auditorium to be the second champion.
		Rikidozan defends the title against Blassie in a bloody match which causes a death from shock to an aged person who was watching the match on TV.
	www.puroresumania.com /history/jwa-riki.html (965 words)

	Rikidozan - The Wordbook Encyclopedia (Site not responding. Last check: )
		Rikidozan gained worldwide renown when he defeated Lou Thesz for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship on August 27, 1958.
		Rikidozan also trained professional wrestling students, including soon-to-be wrestling legends Kanji "Antonio" Inoki, Ooki Kintaro, and Shohei "Giant" Baba.
		On December 8, 1963, while partying in a Tokyo nightclub, Rikidozan was stabbed with a urine-soaked blade by gangster Katsuji Murata.
	www.thewordbook.com /Rikidozan (797 words)

	Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
		Rikidozan was born Kim Sin-Nak in North Korea on November 14th, 1924.
		It was then that the name of Rikidozan had truly begun to build the reputation for which he is remembered as a legend today.
		The fact that the Japanese admired his achievements enough to overlook his South Korean heritage was a big win in general for humanity, as it promoted the movement of social conditions towards a more tolerant and harmonious end.
	www.pwhf.org /halloffamers/bios/rikidozan.asp (645 words)

	(some sumo) Rikidozan former rikishi from asahi shimbun
		RIKIDOZAN (1924-63) :Dynamite karate chop By RISA YUSE Asahi Shimbun 23rd May 1999 Forty years ago, when people said "karate chop" they were talking about Rikidozan, the founder of Western-style pro wrestling in Japan.
		Rikidozan and Masahiko Kimura, who was known as "the judo devil," took on the Sharp Brothers, the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) world tag team champions.
		Rikidozan was scheduled to leave for the United States on Dec. 13, 1963, to attend a title match.
	www.banzuke.com /99-3/msg01173.html (1798 words)

	The Destroyer Story
		In May of 1963, The Destroyer made his first trip to Japan as the WWA worlds champion to wrestle Rikidozan, Japan’s reigning pro-wrestling champion.
		While in Oregon, he made his 2nd trip to Japan, challenging Rikidozan for the NWA International title on December 2, 1963.
		Following this tour, Rikidozan, the father of pro-wrestling in Japan, was stabbed in a night club in Japan and died a week later from complications.
	www.thedestroyer.com /story.htm (1331 words)

	FANBOY PLANET.com .: cg-fallscount040803 :.
		Many say that Rikidozan was in with them deep and none but the highest up in the company knew, though others say that he just had made enemies through the success of his nightclubs.
		Rikidozan started Japanese wrestling, brought the second and third biggest Japanese stars ever into the sport, and scored the highest ratings of any wrestler ever.
		Most would say that Rikidozan and El Santo were the two biggest wrestling icons in their countries, far bigger than Hogan ever was in the US.
	www.fanboyplanet.com /chair/fallscount040803.php (1242 words)

	Rikidozan (JP - DVD R2) in News > Releases at DVDActive
		August 4th marks the Japanese region two release of Rikidozan, the true story of a Korean sumo legend trying to make it big in Japan.
		Rikidozan also suffers the jibes of his fellow sumo wrestlers, simply because he is a "Korean." One day, he meets a young geisha named Aya, and eventually they become husband and wife.
		Rikidozan is considered the father of Puroresu (Japanese Pro-Wrestling).
	www.dvdactive.com /news/releases/rikidozan2.html (297 words)

	Rikidozan (KR - DVD R3) in News > Releases at DVDActive
		The dramatization of the life of Kim Shin-rak, a Korean immigrant who became a wrestling hero in 1950s and ’60s Japan, the film often uses the ``sport’’ as a way to portray the inner turmoil of its main character, bringing a surprising ambiguity to his leg locks and karate chops.
		The irony that Rikidozan is actually Korean - a fact that wasn’t widely known in Japan at that time - isn’t lost on director Song Hae-sung, who plays out the contradiction through the spectacle of a wrestling match.
		In fact, there’s a feeling of punches being pulled throughout the film, as it doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to make Kim out to be a hero or show him for who he truly is. Instead, the film carefully tries to do a little of both.
	www.dvdactive.com /news/releases/rikidozan.html (641 words)

	Rikidozan - WrestlingFever.de
		Rikidozan konnte das Turnier gewinnen und am 06.12.53 kam es zum legendären ersten Aufeinandertreffen der beiden Pro Wrestling Legenden.
		In seiner Heimat war Rikidozan längst zur Legende geworden, denn er galt als Symbol für den Widerstand gegen die Amerikaner.
		Wenige Tage später wird Rikidozan in einem Klub niedergestochen.
	www.wrestling-history.de /Rikidozan.htm (469 words)

	The Best Of Rikidozan: The Father Of Japanese Puroresu
		Rikidozan, born of Korean descent, is the heart and soul of Japanese wrestling.
		Rikidozan, Kokichi Endo and Masahiko Kimura vs. Kengo Shanahashi, Kokoshibi and Taonuri Shinata.
		Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo vs. Kokoshibi and Taonuri Shinata.
	www.wrestletapes.net /bestofrikidozan.html (295 words)

	E-Budo.com - View Single Post - Mas Oyama for real?
		My recollection is that he, then a young guy, was accompanying a Japanese yakuza, and Rikidozan tried to bully this diminutive guy while passing him in the restroom.
		The gangster stabbed him in the gut, and Rikidozan, drunk, went out and kept drinking - stuffing a napkin in the hole in his belly.
		For whatever it is worth, the same man informed me that Kimura had purchased a gun and was on his way from Kyushu to shoot Rikidozan (for sucker punching him and knocking him out in the worked match) when the yakuza did Kimura the accidental favor of killing him.
	www.e-budo.com /forum/showpost.php?p=358693&postcount=45 (293 words)

	BBC - h2g2 - Puroresu: Pro Wrestling Japanese Style
		This secrecy surrounding Rikidozan's true identity stemmed from the fact that a certain degree of discrimination against the Korean nation and its people has always existed in Japan (and still does to this day).
		This coupled with the fact that Rikidozan's efforts to legitimise pro-wrestling in Japan and his shining performances in the ring (notably often against larger American opponents whom he felled with his deadly karate chop) went a long way to revitalise the down-trodden Japanese people, probably explains the effort to disguise his nationality.
		Tradgically, Rikidozan died in 1963 at the age of 39 after he was stabbed in a Tokyo nightclub in what was described as a Yakuza revenge killing.
	www.bbc.co.uk /dna/h2g2/A1083467 (2003 words)

	Rikidozan (aka: Yokdosan): (Region-All DVD) (Site not responding. Last check: )
		A chronicle of the life of Korean-born wrestler Rikidozan, who, after being barred from Japanese wrestling because of his ethnic origins, became a sensation in the United States in the 1950s.
		The irony that Rikidozan is actually Korean _ a fact that wasn’t widely known in Japan at that time _ isn’t lost on director Song Hae-sung, who plays out the contradiction through the spectacle of a wrestling match.
		In fact, there’s a feeling of punches being pulled throughout the film, as it doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to make Kim out to be a hero or show him for who he truly is. Instead, the film carefully tries to do a little of both.
	www.dvdasian.com /cgi-bin/dvdasian/19958.html (548 words)

	sneersnipe film review
		What Rikidozan — a Hero Extraordinary does show us though is the story, the very, very long story, of Rikidozan, a Korean man who came to Japan in the ‘40s to make a career as a sumo wrestler.
		Discovering a new career possibility Rikidozan goes to Sakada’s school and learns how to wrestle; he becomes a pro wrestler and is instrumental in bringing it to a mainstream audience in Japan and making it the phenomenon it is in the country today.
		Overall Rikidozan - a Hero Extraordinary looks superb, the nightclub scene and the wrestling matches show the care the film makers have invested into their movie, but it is just too long, Rikidozan is just so unlikeable that you don’t want to spend too much time in his presence!
	www.sneersnipe.co.uk /review_title.php?id=301 (404 words)

	The Korea Times : `Rikidozan' Is Close But Doesn't Get the Pin (Site not responding. Last check: )
		After all, it might sometimes be fun to watch grown men in their underwear throw each other around the ring, but when it comes down to it, everyone knows the whole thing is fake.
		The dramatization of the life of Kim Shin-rak, a Korean immigrant who became a wrestling hero in 1950s and ’60s Japan, the film often uses the ``sport’’ as a way to portray the inner turmoil of its main character, bringing a surprising ambiguity to his leg locks and karate chops.
		Also, the lengths to which Sul went to play the character _ from putting on some 16 kilograms to portray the larger and heavier wrestler to intensively studying Japanese _ is admirable.
	times.hankooki.com /lpage/culture/200412/kt2004121417110311700.htm (511 words)

	Die größten Wrestling-Skandale (Site not responding. Last check: )
		Die Japaner liebten es besonders, wenn Rikidozan größere und vor allem ausländische Wrestler verprügelte, was damit zu erklären ist, daß der zweite Weltkrieg gerade erst vorbei war und der Nationalstolz der Japaner noch immer stark angekratzt war.
		Irgendwann legte sich Rikidozan mit dem Falschen in der Yakuza an und dafür bezahlte er.
		Rikidozan blutete stark und versuchte, vor dem Publikum einen Scherz daraus zu machen, indem er weiter sang.
	www.genickbruch.com /wrestlingskandale/skandale17.html (208 words)

	www.TheGline.com: DVD of the Week: (03-12-06): Rikidozan
		Before he was christened Rikidozan (力道山, or “Strength-Way-Mountain”), he was simply Kim, a Korean refugee who ran away and trained hard as a sumo in Japan in the years before World War II broke out.
		That said, you can watch Oasis and Rikidozan back-to-back and never realize the same actor is in each one: his presence in both films is totally dissimilar.
		Rikidozan is not just a good piece of work on its own but is also, I hope, a portent of even better things to come from both countries working together.
	www.thegline.com /dvd-of-the-week/2006/03-12-2006.htm (1366 words)

	BBC - h2g2 - Puroresu - Pro Wrestling Japanese Style
		This, coupled with the fact that Rikidozan's efforts to legitimise pro-wrestling in Japan and his shining performances in the ring (notably often against larger American opponents, whom he felled with his deadly karate chop) went a long way to revitalise the downtrodden Japanese people, probably explains the effort to disguise his nationality.
		Tragically, Rikidozan died in 1963 at the age of 39, after he was stabbed in a Tokyo nightclub in what was described as a Yakuza revenge killing.
		In the absence of Rikidozan, the JWA did not fare well in the early 1970s.
	www.bbc.co.uk /dna/h2g2/A1119449 (1987 words)

	CNN - y: Some notes on North Korea's way - September 16, 1999
		Rikidozan, while in a drunken stupor one night in Tokyo, was stabbed by one of his many enemies.
		While those who witnessed Rikidozan's final gesture thought it was a signal asking for one last soda pop, North Korean propagandists say the finger meant that Rikidozan's dying wish was to see Korea reunited.
		Rikidozan's heroic exploits are the subject of North Korean books and a TV docudrama series, which is televised again and again.
	www.cnn.com /SPECIALS/views/y/1999/09/jordan.korea.sept16 (964 words)

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