Charles Istaz (August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007) was a Belgian-born German-American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and trainer, best known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projectin ...

Karl Gotch. In Japan, Gotch was known as the "God of Wrestling" due to his influence in shaping the Japanese professional wrestling style. He was no relation to earlier wrestler

Frank Gotch Frank Alvin Gotch (April 27, 1877 – December 17, 1917) was an American professional wrestler. Gotch was the first American professional wrestler to win the world heavyweight free-style championship, and he is credited for popularizing profess ...

Early life

Istaz was born in Antwerp, Belgium to a Hungarian father and German mother. He grew up in Antwerp, on the waterfront. He learned Greco-Roman wrestling in his early years and from the beginning he was a very well known sportsman. He wrestled in "The Hippodroom", a notable sports center in Antwerp, where amateur fights like boxing matches, savate matches and wrestling matches were fought. During World War II, Istaz was a forced laborer in the " REIMAHG" at Kahla. (Lager E - Kahla)

Amateur wrestling career

Istaz excelled in

amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

and experienced a major breakthrough in his career by competing as Charles Istaz for

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

in the 1948

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in both

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

and Greco-Roman wrestling. Gotch also trained in the

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

Pehlwani Pehlwani, (पहलवानी) also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in South Asia. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words '' ...

. This training led to Istaz's regime of calisthenic bodyweight exercise, which were used by Indian wrestlers and other athletes to build leg endurance and strength. He also adopted other Indian exercises, such as the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Hindu squat A squat is a strength exercise in which the trainee lowers their hips from a standing position and then stands back up. During the descent and knee joints flex while the ankle joint dorsiflexes; conversely the hip and knee joints extend and t ...

s, and Hindu press ups in his wrestling. Gotch's philosophy was later passed on to several of his students.

Professional wrestling career

Europe and the United States

Istaz's

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

career began after training in the "Snake Pit", run by the renowned catch wrestler Billy Riley. He debuted in the 1950, wrestling throughout Europe under the

Karl Krauser, and winning various titles including the German Heavyweight Championship and the European Championship. In the late 1950s, Istaz moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, and began wrestling as Karl Gotch. In the United States, Gotch's wrestling style and lack of showmanship held him back, and he did not experience any great popularity at the time. In 1961, he won the American Wrestling Alliance (Ohio) World Heavyweight Championship. Gotch held the belt for two years before dropping the title to

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

, one of the few American wrestlers he respected because of the similarities of their styles (the two also share a common German/Hungarian heritage). In 1962, Gotch was involved in a backstage altercation with the then- NWA World Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, in which Rogers was injured. The incident alienated Gotch from American promoters, and he began looking for work in Japan. He returned to the United States for a stint in the 1970s, with a brief run in the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...

from August 1971 to February 1972. On December 6, 1971, he teamed with

Rene Goulet Robert Bédard (July 12, 1932 – May 25, 2019) was a Canadian professional wrestler. better known by his ring name, the "Number One Frenchman" Rene Goulet. Early life Robert Bedard was born on July 12, 1932 in Quebec City and played hock ...

to win the WWWF World Tag Team Championship from the inaugural champions, Luke Graham and

Tarzan Tyler Camille Tourville (December 4, 1927 – December 24, 1985) was a Canadian professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Tarzan Tyler. He was one-half of the first WWWF World Tag Team Champions, along with Luke Graham. Profe ...

, in two straight falls of a best-two-out-of-three-falls match in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

. They lost the championship on February 1, 1972, to Baron Mikel Scicluna and

King Curtis Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musicia ...

Japan

During the 1960s, Gotch began wrestling in other countries. He wrestled in Australia as Karl Krauser, and in 1965 he defeated Spiros Arion to win the

International Wrestling Alliance The International Wrestling Alliance (IWA) was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the province of Manitoba in Canada. It was initially founded as the West Four Wrestling Alliance (WFWA) in 1973 by Tony Condello , under which ...

's Heavyweight Championship. He had also begun working in Japan, where he became very popular due to his amateur wrestling style. He wrestled in the main event of the very first show held by

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...

(NJPW) on March 6, 1972, defeating

Antonio Inoki Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homage ...

. His final match occurred on January 1, 1982, when he pinned

Yoshiaki Fujiwara is a Japanese Professional Wrestler and trainer. He is famous for his long career in wrestling, having worked in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE (ZERO-ONE), and the two incarnations of shoot style promotion Universal Wr ...

with the German Suplex. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Gotch worked as both the booker and trainer for NJPW. He trained several wrestlers in Japan, including Hideki Suzuki, Hiro Matsuda,

Satoru Sayama (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, MMA and wrestling promoter and writer, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He has wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked S ...

, Osamu Kido, Barry Darsow,

Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...

, Tatsumi Fujinami,

Akira Maeda (born Go Il-myeong (Hangul: 고일명, Hanja: 高日明), January 24, 1959) is a Japanese mixed martial arts promoter, writer and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist of Korean descent. Maeda was also known by the ring name ...

and

Personal life

Istaz was married and had a daughter. They resided in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Legacy and death

Gotch became known as "Kami-sama (神様)" in Japan. Gotch's wrestling style, alongside fellow hooker

, had a big impact on Inoki, who adopted and popularized his submission-based style. Some of Istaz's trainees founded the Universal Wrestling Federation in Japan in 1984, which showcased the shoot-style of professional wrestling. The success of UWF and similar promotions influenced Japanese wrestling in subsequent decades, and changed the style of matches in NJPW and

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Bab ...

. Gotch was friends and training partners with

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

exponents

Masahiko Kimura was a Japanese judoka and professional wrestler who is widely considered one of the greatest judoka of all time.Jim Chen, Theodore ChenThe Man Who Defeated Helio Gracie.July 3, 2003. He won the All-Japan Judo Championships three times in a row ...

and Kiyotaka Otsubo, who also had tenures as professional wrestlers. Gotch was vocal in his opposition to the growing sport of

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

, decrying its practitioners as "old whores waiting for a consumer" due to their defensive usage of the guard position. The German suplex is named after Gotch. Gotch was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 1996. In 2007, he was inducted into the

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previ ...

. He Innovated the ''

Cradle Piledriver Cradle may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Cradling (painti ...

'' and the Kneeling Belly-to Belly Piledriver. Istaz died on July 28, 2007 in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

at the age of 82. His ashes were mostly spread in Lake Keystone, Florida. However, in 2017, ten years after his death, some of his ashes were interned at a grave in Ekoin Temple, Arakawa Ward, Tokyo.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Alliance (Ohio) **AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2009 * International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2022 *

** Real World Championship (2 times) ** Greatest 18 Club inductee * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum ** Class of 2007 *''

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of ...

'' ** Service Award (2007) *

World Championship Wrestling (Australia) World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978. History The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network, which were presented at noon on Saturdays and ...

IWA World Heavyweight Championship IWA World Heavyweight Championship is the name given for the principal title of a number of professional wrestling promotions that operate under the acronym "I.W.A." (despite not sharing corporate name). It may refer to: * IWA World Heavyweight ...

( 1 time) *

** WWWF World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

* Worldwide Wrestling Associates ** WWA World Tag Team Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) – with Mike DiBiase *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' ** Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ( Class of 1996)

Footnotes

References

External links

Website of the film 'Catch – the hold not taken', a documentary featuring Gotch on the history of Catch wrestling and Riley's gym, where Gotch trained

* ttp://www.guychase.tv/about-2/the-gcama-martial-arts-systems/shoot-fighting/ Overview of Shootfighting and Karl Gotch with large gallery of Gotch and Catch Wrestling photos* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gotch, Karl 1924 births 2007 deaths Sportspeople from Antwerp Olympic wrestlers of Belgium Wrestlers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Belgian catch wrestlers Belgian professional wrestlers German male professional wrestlers Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers Jewish professional wrestlers Stampede Wrestling alumni Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Belgian Jews Belgian people of Hungarian descent Belgian emigrants to Germany German emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Hamburg Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Japan 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Americas Tag Team Champions IWA World Heavyweight Champions (Australia)