Choke

Choke is an American documentary film by director Robert Raphael Goodman. It was shot in 1995 around the Vale Tudo Japan tournament, but reached cinemas only on 1 February 1999; the running time is 98 minutes. It follows three fighters on their way to the tournament: Rickson Gracie, the defending winner from 1994, the American Todd Hays and the Japanese Koichiro Kimura. The film shows the preparation and Rickson's remarks on jiu-jitsu, especially work with breathing and sensitivity to the opponent, and supplements them with interviews with coaches and family. Also appearing in it are Rickson's father Hélio Gracie, then eighty-six years old, Hays's coach Dale Cook and Kimura's coach Yoshinari Watanabe. Hays is presented as a former American football player and kickboxing champion whose real goal is Olympic bobsleigh. The tournament was held on 20 April 1995 at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo as an eight-man, one-night tournament. Rickson won it, ending all three fights with a choke from behind. In the final he defeated Yuki Nakai, who entered it with injured eyes after his fight with Gerard Gordeau. Valerie Worthington of Breaking Muscle calls the film a primary source for an important moment in the history of grappling.

Martial arts in this work

Plot

In the tournament final Rickson Gracie defeated Yuki Nakai with a choke from behind in the first round after six minutes and twenty-two seconds. He defeated Koichiro Kimura with the same technique in the first round in two minutes and seven seconds. The third opponent was Yoshihisa Yamamoto, whom Rickson also choked; the fight lasted into the third round and the referee ended it because Yamamoto refused to tap out. We have not been able to determine the order of Rickson's fights clearly from the sources. Nakai reached the final by beating Gerard Gordeau, who repeatedly poked him in the eyes. Nakai permanently lost sight in his right eye and ended his MMA career. According to his biography, Todd Hays withdrew from the tournament because of a shoulder injury.

People and martial arts

• Rickson Graciethe real person the work is about· Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (real practitioner)
• Todd Haysthe real person the work is about· Kickboxing (real practitioner)
• Koichiro Kimurathe real person the work is about
• Hélio Graciethe real person the work is about· Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (real practitioner)
• Yuki Nakaithe real person the work is about
• Gerard Gordeauthe real person the work is about
• Robert Raphael GoodmanDirector