h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yukio Tani was one of the early practitioners of judo who toured England, Scotland etc right at the end of the nineteenth/early twentieth centuries. He was originally part of a group from Japan invited to Britain by an Englishman whose intention was to popularize the sport here.

The first endeavours failed, but whereas his fellow countrymen returned to Japan, Tani decided to stay and make England his home. He made a career travelling throughout the country taking on all-comers. Despite his small stature he remained undefeated, being as cheeky as a slippery eel and having all sorts of tricks up his sleeve. He offered prize money of fifty quid to anyone who could withstand fifteen minutes without being flung through the air like so much chaff and trussed up like a turkey. Many tried, including some of the top wrestlers of the era. None succeeded.