Khadzhimukan Munaitpasov is a legendary fighter from Kazakhstan. This article was created for his fans who would like to learn about how the career of this great athlete developed.
Khadzhimukan Munaitpasov. Who is he and what is he famous for?
This text material is dedicated to the famous Kazakh wrestler and strongman, who became widely known throughout the world. In addition to his sports activities, Hadzhimukan also engaged in various circus performances, during which he showed his amazing talents. Many people either forget or underestimate the circus career of this athlete, which is not good.
Not everyone knows that in the circus arena, he felt like a fish in water. In addition, even the famous heavyweight Georg Lurikh consulted with “Black Ivan” (as many called Munaitpasov) on how to attract people to circus performances. Therefore, we can safely say that he possessed not only unique physical capabilities, but also a rare talent for an advertiser, which is difficult to find among people in his profession.
Now we turn directly to the biography of Khadzhimukan Munaitpasov.
Childhood
The Kazakh hero was born on April 7, 1886 in the village of Karaotkel. It just so happened that the hero of this article was far from the only strongman of his kind. His ancestors on the father's side were famous for their remarkable strength and fighting abilities. Mukan's father did not possess any wealth, but he could boast of a series of victories in various wrestling competitions. Munaitpasova’s grandfather taught his grandson all the intricacies of the national Kazakh struggle.
But the mother line of the Kazakh wrestler was also rich in her heroes. Rumor has it that his mother’s father was so strong that he could tear a tree straight from the root! Therefore, it is not surprising that he continued the work of his relatives, using the abilities that were transferred to him genetically.
Youth
When Mukan Munaitpasov was only 17 years old, he was already well-known in his area. After adulthood, the young hero was taken to a visiting circus, where he studied professional fighting. At the beginning of the 20th century, Hajimukan made his debut as a wrestler - he became a participant in the French wrestling championship, which took place in Omsk. After the draw, he had to face off against Andrei Zlobin, a professional fighter who had many victories behind him. Munaitpasov may not have become the world champion in the French wrestling that day, but he also made Zlobin sweat. Seeing great opportunities in the young athlete, Andrei recommended Mukan to a professional school for wrestlers, run by then-popular athlete Ivan - "Uncle Vanya" - Lebedev.
Beginning of an official career
After graduating from an educational institution for young fighters, Khadzhimukan Munaitpasov began his professional sports activities. The organizers of the competition represented him as Muhanura, a fierce warrior from Japan. If this surprises anyone, then we hasten to assure that for those times it was quite normal practice. For example, Ivan Zaikin wore a black mask, Georg Lurich from Estonia pretended to be a native of Sweden, and Nikolai Turbas - a citizen of France. And in general, the performances of the wrestlers of that time were more like modern wrestling.
Starting his career in 1905, in less than 10 years, Hadzhimukan traveled to nearly 30 countries in different parts of the world. He was a guest in the United States of America, and in China, and in Argentina, and in many other countries. During this time, he managed to get 48 medals in various categories. Unfortunately, at the moment they are almost gone. There is only one reason for this - the famous Kazakh wrestler often handed out his awards. He happily gave them to his loved ones, as well as just ordinary strangers. In addition, sometimes he gave them to those who were in great need of money.
The year 1914 became one of the memorable ones in the career of Khadzhimukan Munaitpasov. During this period in Nizhny Novgorod, he was supposed to have a fight with Westergard Schmidt. The latter unexpectedly announced that he would enter the battle only if he was given a prize - 100 rubles. At first, this seemed like an impossible task, but two compatriots of Khadzhimukan were able to collect this amount. As a result, this battle ended in the defeat of Schmidt at the hands of the Kazakh heavyweight.
Even more remarkable is his victory over the Japanese Sarakiki Jindofu. After the competition for the world title in the French wrestling, an athlete from the Land of the Rising Sun announced that his Jiu-Jitsu technique is so good that he can defeat any opponent. Since many knew about how dangerous this kind of Japanese martial arts was, no one was especially called to engage in battle with Sarakiki.
But everything changed when Munaitpasov decided to fight with a mighty Japanese warrior. The fight was fierce: during the competition, Jindofu tore the ear and lip of Hadzhimukan, but the latter still managed to defeat his fierce opponent. This defeat left a deep wound in the psyche of the Japanese samurai. Over time, he could not come to terms with the victory of his opponent and went crazy.
Post-revolutionary time
When the Civil War in the Russian Empire ended, Mukan began to organize wrestling competitions in Kazakhstan. In 1926, he opened his theatrical institution in the city of Kyzylorda, from which many talented actors subsequently emerged.
The Second World War
The occupation of the Soviet Union by the German invaders affected the life of the Kazakh hero. Together with the organized circus tent he traveled with performances around the country. He handed over the proceeds to the needs of the army and the U-2 plane was subsequently bought on them, on which the pilot Kazhitai Shalabaev spent more than one successful battle.
Post-war years
When the war ended, the life of Khadzhimukan Munaitpasov, unfortunately, did not improve. Due to the caustic commentary towards the Soviet regime, he came under the supervision of the NKVD. They did not pay him a pension, and therefore he had to sell all his medals in order to feed a far from small family.
Unfortunately, not the greatest death awaited the great athlete. In August 1948, Mukan died of pneumonia, which he picked up while living in a cold stable. After himself, he left four sons and three daughters.
The descendants of the great athlete followed in the footsteps of their ancestor and began to actively use their talents to achieve success. For example, his grandson Shattyk has the title of master of sports in martial arts. His other grandson, Bakhytzhan, achieved considerable success in the field of music creation.
Interesting Facts
- When the fourth dozen hit Mukan, his weight was almost 140 kilograms, his height was 2 meters, his biceps were 47 centimeters, and his shoe size was 54.
- During his career, he had many nicknames. He received the nickname "Black Ivan" when he played on a team that consisted of wrestlers named Ivan. It included Ivan Poddubny, Ivan Zaikin and Ivan Shemyakin. When he participated in competitions in Turkey, he was nicknamed "Black Mustafa". In addition, there were also nicknames Haji, Red Mask and Muhanura.
- Mukan Munaitpasov maintained friendly relations with the Russian hero Ivan Shemyakin, whom we have already mentioned.
Now you know who Khadzhimukan Munaytpasov is. We hope this information was useful to you.