Karl Gotch dies at 83

[Nate]

from Observer:

 

Karl Charles Istaz, known internationally as Karl Gotch, passed away at 9:45 p.m. Eastern time tonight. He was a few days shy of 83 years old.

 

A former place-winner in the 1948 Olympics in London, Istaz went to the famed Wigan school where he learned submission wrestling. He migrated to the U.S. where he had a reputation in some circles as the toughest man alive.

 

He ended up becoming a legend in Japan, where he was eventually nicknamed "The God of Professional Wrestling." He was the trainer for New Japan Pro Wrestling and later the original UWF, and his influence in students like Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada led to the rise of shootfighting and eventually MMA in that country.

 

may he rest in peace and God be with his family, i didnt know of his work, but we can thank him for Pro Wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts

[yankovic fan]

May he rest in peace and Nancy Grace not get her hands on this story.

[Richard]

It's nice to see that wrestlers can live to an old age.

[Zorin Industries]

I was watchinh some 70's era Japanese wrestling a while agao, a tag match. Don't know who the other three were, but Karl Gotch was in it.

 

Was expecting much, so accustommed to wrestling from the 80's onward I find stuff before then very slow. It was a match with a methodical pace but i'll be damned if Gotch wasn't so crisp and technically sound that I was transfiked for the whole 30 minutes.

 

There weren't any big flashy moves or anything like that, but Karl Gotch just had this presence that kept me watching. I'll have to go and check out some more of his stuff now I think.

[razazteca]

Would it be fair to call him one of the grand masters of western martial arts along with Karate Ed Parker and Judo Gene LaBell?

[Jingus]

Back in the days before Mixed Martial Arts (or before Bruce Lee if you want to go further), who could really tell? Most fights between martial artists were private, illegal affairs. Except for the tournaments, but most of those tended to be kinda wussy, over-regulated matches based on points, not which guy beat the other.

 

But considering that Gotch was the grand-trainer of Kazushi Sakuraba, I'd say he had at least some input into the modern fighting world.

[spman]

Was Karl Gotch any relation to Pro Wrestling pioneer Frank Gotch, or was the name just an homage or coincidence?

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

Was Karl Gotch any relation to Pro Wrestling pioneer Frank Gotch, or was the name just an homage or coincidence?

Homage.

[Jingus]

Homage.

French for "steal". One of the many, many examples of someone helping themselves to a past name/gimmick.

[TheFranchise]

May he rest in peace and Nancy Grace not get her hands on this story.

I don't know, it could show that wrestlers DO live a long and fulfilling life.

[Jingus]

The Nancy Graces of the world have absolutely no interest in telling happy stories. Their entire gimmick is to get all outraged about bad shit and act like they're crusading for the people's benefit. That's how they get ratings.