Also known as
Ivan Gene LeBell
Description
Ivan Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 – August 9, 2022) was an American judoka,
stuntman, actor and professional wrestler. Nicknamed "Judo Gene" and
"The Godfather of Grappling", he is credited with popularizing
grappling in professional fighting circles, serving as a precursor to modern
mixed martial arts. He worked on over 1,000 films and TV shows and authored 12
books.
Teachers (1)
-
Ishikawa Takahiko
sports_martial_artsKōdōkan Jūdō
Probable
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
expand_more
fact_check
Trained under Ishikawa Takahiko in Japan, mentioned in Mokuren Dojo interview as
one of his greatest judo teachers from training in Japan
“Who do you think were the greatest judo teachers you ever got to learn from?
Gene Lebell: In the U.S. Shig Tashma, Larry Coughran, Kenneth Kinyuki, Fuji
Nazawa (who just died 2 days ago), and of course I learned a lot from training
in Japan (Ishikawa)”
— Mokuren Interview: 'Judo' Gene LeBell
(Mokuren Dojo)link
Ranks (3)
-
military_tech10 dan
Probable
Dan-Kyu System (2005)
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
expand_more
fact_check
Promoted to 10th degree red belt in judo, mentioned in Wikipedia biography
“Rank: 10th degree red belt in Judo”
— English Wikipedia - Gene LeBell biography
link
-
military_tech9 dan
Probable
Dan-Kyu System (2000)
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
expand_more
fact_check
Promoted to 9th degree black belt in jujutsu by United States Ju-Jitsu
Federation in 2000, mentioned in Wikipedia
“Rank: 9th degree black belt in Jujutsu”
— English Wikipedia - Gene LeBell biography
link
-
military_tech10 dan
Probable
Dan-Kyu System (2004)
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
expand_more
fact_check
Promoted to 10th degree black belt in Kyokushin Budokai by World Martial Arts
Masters Association in 2004, mentioned in Wikipedia.
“Rank: 10th degree black belt in Kyokushin Budokai”
— English Wikipedia - Gene LeBell biography
link
Students (2)
-
Chuck Norris
sports_martial_artsKōdōkan Jūdō
Confirmed
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
2 sources
expand_more
fact_check
Independent sources state it.
“Norris continued his martial arts training with [...] Judo expert Gene LeBell”
“Bob Wall, a former world professional karate champion and a friend of
LeBell's, used to bring martial arts stars Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee to
train in karate and judo with LeBell.”
— Jacobs, Mark. (1995-04-03). Tough Guys Wear Pink:
In Any Color, Judo Master and Film Stuntman Gene LeBell Is One Hard Hombre
link
history
info
-
Bruce Lee
sports_martial_artsKōdōkan Jūdō
Possible
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source
expand_more
fact_check
One magazine profile has him brought to train in karate and judo with LeBell;
whether LeBell taught him is not stated.
“Bob Wall, a former world professional karate champion and a friend of
LeBell's, used to bring martial arts stars Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee to
train in karate and judo with LeBell.”
— Jacobs, Mark. (1995-04-03). Tough Guys Wear Pink:
In Any Color, Judo Master and Film Stuntman Gene LeBell Is One Hard Hombre
link
history
info
Identifiers
https://martial.is/entity/01KJJAWN28MWKKSN4J02MVY1SS
Cite and reuse
CC BY-SA 4.0expand_more
Plain text
Muñoz, Frederico (YEAR_PLACEHOLDER). Gene LeBell. In Martialis: Martial Arts
Lineage Database. https://martial.is/entity/01KJJAWN28MWKKSN4J02MVY1SS - CC
BY-SA 4.0. Accessed ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER.
BibTeX
@incollection{martialis_01KJJAWN28MWKKSN4J02MVY1SS, author = {Muñoz, Frederico},
title = {Gene LeBell}, booktitle = {Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database},
year = {YEAR_PLACEHOLDER}, url =
{https://martial.is/entity/01KJJAWN28MWKKSN4J02MVY1SS}, urldate =
{ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }
Database content on this page is CC BY-SA 4.0;
the database right is separately reserved. Licensing