Citation

Noble, Graham; Journal of Asian Martial Arts. (2000). The Odyssey of Yukio Tani. InYo: Journal of Alternative Perspectives on Martial Arts and Sciences

Contributors

• AuthorNoble, Graham
• EditorJournal of Asian Martial Arts

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Cited by (1)

Tani Yukio

1881 - 1950-01-24

Description

Substantial biographical essay on Yukio Tani by martial arts historian Graham Noble, published in InYo - Journal of Alternative Perspectives (Oct 2000), reprinted from Warriors Dreams vol. 1. Reconstructs Tani's absence of reliable dates (Richard Bowen established the arrival in Britain as September 1900, correcting Tani's own memory of 26 September 1899), the Bartitsu Club years with Uyenishi under Barton-Wright, and Tani's decades on the music-hall challenge circuit under manager William Bankier ("Apollo"). Documents his record against professional wrestlers (Ernest Gruhn, Tom Connors, Tromp Van Diggellen, Maurice Deriaz, Jimmy Mellor, and others), the £100 challenge terms, the disputed 1904 Tivoli match with Miyake, the 1905 "world championship" contest against Katsukuma Higashi at Bostock's Hippodrome in Paris, and his unfulfilled challenges to George Hackenschmidt and the Great Gama. Covers Tani's early training (father and grandfather were jujutsu teachers; rumoured study with Mataemon Tanabe of Fusen-ryu, supported by Takao Marushima's "Maeda Itsuyo: Conte Koma"), joining Gunji Koizumi's Budokwai as member #14 from January 1918 as its first professional jujutsu instructor, the 2nd dan judo awarded by Jigoro Kano in 1920 (4th dan per the article's photograph caption), leading students (Masutaro Otani, Trevor Leggett, Marcus Kaye, Len Hunt), the crippling stroke in 1936, and his death on 24 January 1950. Also publishes several period photographs, including a portrait of Tani as 4-dan.

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