Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil 1856-1949 (Volume 1) (15 page)

Two large photos were included. On the left side of the page Donato posed with Carlos and George. He was at least 6” shorter than either, and thin. The top of his head did not reach to the bottom of Carlos’ eyes. Donato, in the middle, wore a suit and bow tie. Carlos on the left was dressed in a suit and neck tie. George on the right wore a robe and sandals. The caption read “the director of the school with the two professionals” [
O director da Escola com os dois profissionaes
]. On the right side of the page Donato was shown executing a knife disarm on Carlos.

The article explained that “the teachers of the school had never been defeated and had the best records against all of the fight styles of the world
” [
O corpo de professors da Academia até hoje nunca vencido, mantem os maiores records contra todas as lutas de mundo
]. And “in a recent public fight in São Paulo one monitor of the academy defeated the best professional boxer from the Academia Box Caverzazio in 2:35 minutes” [
No ultimo encontro publico em São Paulo um monitor da Academia venceu em 2 minutos e 35 segundos de tempo, o melhor boxeur profissional de Academia de Box Caverzazio
].

The other instructor (Carlos) went up against the
São Paulo police department’s Swedish luta livre instructor in a test of the superiority of styles [
luta experience sobre superioridades da luta
]
.
It took Carlos no more than 2 minutes and 40 seconds to dispatch his 80 kilo opponent.

Coincidentally, the experiences Donato described teaching the police in Minas Gerais were identical to those that
Carlos later claimed to have had.
30

Along these lines, Carlos Gracie claimed in a 1981 interview to have been an amateur boxing champion. In fact, he said, he easily defeated almost 20 opponents and had never been hit [“
lutei na categoria leve e não encontrei difficuldades para superar os adversarios. Na quase 20 lutas que fiz, não levei um só murro
”]. His extraordinary skills earned him the middleweight amateur boxing championship of Brazil [
Campeonato Brasileiro de Amadores
], Carlos boasted. His brother George Gracie was the vice-champion.
31
Unfortunately, evidence that either one ever boxed a single regulation round of competitive boxing is entirely absent.

Donato Pires made no such claims, but he actually had been a boxer. He was a student of the well-known boxing instructor João Scherrer.

On January 19, 1924 Donato fought six rounds with the strong Vasco de Gama boxer Henri Fort.
32
On April 5, 1927 he fought Jorge Alexi in the
Campeonato Carioca de Amadores
, held at the headquarters of the Associaçáo Christa de Moços on rua da Quitanda, 47.
33
About a week later he was rated as one of the best amateur bantam (or rooster) weight [
peso gallo
] boxers in Rio. He weighed 53.3 kilos for his contest with Alexi.
34

Here as in the Bello Horizonte case, Carlos’ story bore a remarkable similarity to Donato’s. The difference is that there is documentary pro
of of Donato’s ring activities.

Donato was not the only jiu-jitsu man who registered to compete in the 1927
Campeonato Carioca de Amadores
. On Saturday March 26, George Gracie registered as a flyweight [
peso mosca
].
35
However he did not appear at the official weigh-in [
pesagem
] and medical check up [
exame medico
] on April 3.
36
There is no indication that he had any fights, and he certainly was not the champion, at least in any year for which there are records. But he did sign up. There is no record that Carlos did.
37

On Tuesday September 9
Correio da Manhã
added a few more details about the new jiu-jitsu academy on rua Marquez Abrantes. Carlos and George Gracie belonged to the teaching staff [
pertence ao corpo docente
], under the direction [
sob a direcção
] of Donato Pires dos Reis.

George was described as a young and agile fighter. Carlos was described as the “Brazilan champion” [
campeão do Brasil
], despite the fact that his ring record consisted of two exhibition matches with Geo Omori, neither of which he won.

Carlos demonstrated the efficiacy of jiu-jitsu by sparring with a local “sportsman” named Eduardo Rocha, who weighed 90 kilos. Carlos, at 59 kilos subdued Rocha in 160 seconds.
38

Mistake

Donato Pires dos Reis claimed to be the first Brazilian to teach jiu-jitsu in Rio, if not all of Brazil. He was mistaken. Even if he beagn taeching in 1923, as he claimed, he was not the first. Mario Aleixo was officially teaching jiu-jitsu in Rio as early as 1913, a year before Conde Koma came to Brazil.

But
Donato was probably correct when he said that he was the sole Brazilian qualified to do so, being the only one with a diploma from Conde Koma.
39

Carlos Gracie believed that he was better at jiu-jitsu than Donato Pires.
40
Conde Koma obviously thought otherwise.

Donato obviously liked jiu-jitsu but apparently did not need to teach it to earn
a living. He had a government position as a tax collector (
agente fiscal do imposto
, also referred to as
inspector fiscal
in some reports), in the interior of Espirito Santo.
41
He was periodically reassigned to different locations in Minas Gerais and São Paulo states (Santa Catharina) and each time these were reported in the local press. His travels and activities were also publicly reported until as late as 1952.
42

Donato’s regular job kept him on the move and usually out of
Rio. It didn’t take long before he was out of the picture altogether. The Academia de Jiu-Jitsu evolved into the “Gracie Academy” in stages. First Donato left; Carlos and George stayed. Donato’s family was well connected.
43
Carlos and George had to hustle their way through life. Their qualifications and connections were limited. There may not have been a conspiracy to oust Donato Pires. He may simply have had more urgent business to take care of.

Soon after, George was replaced by Helio. At about that same time Donato Pires changed from being a hometown friend who got Carlos Gracie his first legitimate job and his first professional jiu-jitsu experience, into an enemy. People who found their way onto Carlos Gracie’s “enemies list” could not afford to let their guard down. Ambushes could come at any time and place
.

In December an article appeared in
Diario de Noticias
titled “The Origin of Jiu-Jitsu” [“
O origem de Jiu-jitsu
”] explaining the samurai origins of the art, which it incorrectly translated as “
quebra musculos
” [muscle breaking].
44
The photograph used in the September 7 article was reproduced, showing Donato Pires taking knife away from Carlos Gracie.

Donato was again described as the “director of the academy”
, Carlos as an instructor and George as a monitor. Both, it was mentioned, had a passion for the “beautiful Japanese game” [
tambem apaixonada do bello jogo jaoponez
]. The article cited one of Irving Hancock’s books (simply
do livro ‘jiu-jitsu’ de Hancock
) to explain why jiu-jitsu is effective.

Hancocks’s numerous books were available in
Rio from 1906 at the latest and probably from the year of publication. They were available in English and translated into several languages, including Brazilian Portuguese. Fighters later referred to a 1908 translation to clarify disputes over rules.

It is highly probable that many early practicioners learned from them and other books of the same genre. In fact, it is almost certain. The phrases, clichés, and historical and sociological misunderstandings that characterized jiu-jitsu marketing in
Rio (and elsewhere) came straight out of the books of Hancock and his peers. Conde Koma, like all of the other Japanese jiu-jitsu masters in Brazil, had learned his art in Japan at the Kodokan (or as it was writtern in Brazil “Kodokwan”) where jiu-jitsu was taught as an English style “sport” with the objectives of personal development and social harmony. Jiu-jitsu had not been a battlefield art in since 1600, if even then.
45

In a pair of articles titled “
O Jiu-Jitsu como sport e como Methodo de Educação Physica
” [“Jiu-jitsu as a sport and Method of Physical Education] professor Fernando de Azevedo propogated and summarized prevailing popular understandings of jiu-jitsu. He explained that “thanks to jiu-jitsu, the Japanese are the strongest, healthiest, and calmest people in the world. Their victory over the Slavs (Russians), was, according to Ph. Tissié, due to their jiu-jitsu, which is so ancient that it “antedates historical records”.

Everyone in Japan trains jiu-jitsu, even geishas, according to Azevedo (in addition to Ph. Tissié, Azevedo also quoted Lagrange and Heckel, European authorites who were evidently well enough known that they did not require introduction. The information must have seemed authoritative and trust-worthy.
46

These views contrasted with those expressed by the people who actually had first-hand knowledge.
Geo Omori wrote (or rather someone wrote under his name) a four-part series of articles, published in
Diario de Noticias
in 1932.
47
He explained how jiu-jitsu evolved from what was called “
yawara
” or “
taijutsu
” and how Kano Jigaro adapted techniques from several older jiu-jitsu “
ryu
” into what became “judo”.
48

Another article, published in 1935 based on information supplied by the Japanese ambassador, Fumio Miura, re
-emphasized Kano’s role and omitted the exaggerations typical of Hancock and other popularizers.
49

Donato Pires voluntarily left or was forced out of the academy that he established on Marquez de Abrantes. But he didn’t give up on jiu-jitsu. He later established the
Studio Scientifico de Defesa Pessoal
in São Paulo. His assistant instructor was George Gracie, who had long before parted ways with his eccentric and overbearing older brother.

.
Chapter 10 Notes

Chapter 11

1931

On
Saturday, February 28, Carlos Gracie and some of his “students” at the “Academia Brasileira de Jiu-Jitsu” started out 1931 by giving an exhibition at the 3
rd
Fluminense Boxing Spectacular [
O terceiro espectaculo pugilistico do Fluminese
] featuring matches between boxers Isidro Sá and Sierrita, among others.
1
Taking advantage of crowds gathered to watch boxing matches was a common strategy for publicizing jiu-jitsu. New or recently arrived fighters often did likewise, performing demonstrations wherever there were crowds, such as sports festivals, charity events, fund raising events, and the like. Jiu-jitsu men didn’t invent the practice. Everyone did it. Even boxers occasionally engaged in exhibition matches in luta livre progams, when a suitable opportunity arose.

The Omori-Ruhmann Show

Omori’s first of four fights with Roberto Ruhmann took place in 1931 in São Paulo. The match was billed as luta livre
contra
[versus] jiu-jitsu. Ruhmann was said to have a deep knowledge of jiu-jitsu in addition to luta livre and had also trained boxing with world light heavyweight champion George Carpentier.
2

A
ccording to contemporary reports, Roberto Ruhmann was “syrio-libanez,” which in Brazil in the 1930’s referred to anywhere in the middle-east. He was sometimes described as Jewish. He was 25 as of April 18, 1931. His family name was Nephtali. Newspaper articles sometimes referred to him as “Bob” (in quotation marks). He was educated in Paris, Berlin, and Amsterdam. He made his ring debut in Germany at the age of 14 (i.e., 1920). He defeated Blank Perzel in a one hour and 40 minute match to become the 1924 Paris Olympic luta livre [free style wrestling] champion.
3
It was while studying electrical engineering in Cairo that he met Prailt Bert, at that time the strongest man in the world [
que era, na epoca, o homem mais forte do mundo
].
4
He made his Argentina debut at Theatro Cassino. As of April 1931, he had won all 115 of his fights to date. By February 1932, his record was 131 fights, with no defeats. He visited England, France, Italy, Egypt, Syria, Palestina, Mexico, Cuba, USA, Chile, and Peru and currently lived in
Sã
o Paulo with wife and infant son “Ruhmanito”. Although trained as an engineer, he was making a living performing strongman acts in circuses and variety shows. He was known as the man with the muscles of steel [
aç
o
] and despite weighing between 67 and 72 kilos (147.4 to 158.4 lbs.), could lift a 100 kilo man using only two fingers.

Strongman acts often segued naturally into professional wrestling and so it was with Ruhmann.
It was inevitable that he would cross paths with Geo Omori.

The first Roberto Ruhmann versus Geo Omori meeting took place on
Saturday June 13,at the
Sã
o Paulo Football Club at Ponte Grande.
5
Ruhmann, using the Herculean strength that he was famous for, defeated the Japanese jiu-jitsu master with an armlock. According to later commentaries and photographs, the armlock was applied from standing while Ruhmann executed his trade-mark “
tesoura de rins
” [kidney scissors]. Omori was not the last jiu-jitsu representative to fall prey to Ruhmann’s extraordinary power. But Omori would have a chance (three chances to be exact) to settle scores with Ruhmann.

Jiu-Jitsu versus Capoeiragem

On May 28, 193, a tournament pitting representatives of jiu-jitsu against practitioners of the “national game” [
jogo nacional
] as capoeiragem was often called, was announced for June 20 at either Botafogo Football Club or Fluminense Stadium, to be decided later. George, Oswaldo and Helio Gracie would represent jiu-jitsu, and Coronel (Eduardo Jose Sant’Anna), Ma
né
(Manoel Tito Ferreira), and Demitrio, would represent capoeiragem.
6

The capoeiras were coached by former luta romana champion
Jayme Martins Ferreira, who confidently declared that he had not even the least doubt that capoeiragem was the best form of self-defense” [“
nã
o tenho a menor duvida que a capoeiragem supera
r
á qualquer meio de defesa
”].
7
Two weeks later he repeated his claim. “Capoeiraegem is the most useful method of self-defense….a complete capoeira would have no great difficulty dominating a practioner of jiu-jitsu” [“
o mais util de todas os methods defesa pessoal….um capoeira perfeito nao tera grande difficuldade em dominar um praticante do jiu-jitsu
”].

C
arlos Gracie, who coincidentally was present, disagreed. He and Ferraira immediately decided to promote a competition to test the merits of the styles (though this was almost two weeks after the competeiton was initially announced). In fact, they already had representatives picked out: Oswaldo, Helio, and George Gracie representing jiu-jitsu, andMa
né
(Manoel Tito Ferreira), Coronel (Eduardo Jose Sant’Anna), and Ca
ré
ca (who had replaced Demitrio), would represent capoeiragem.
8

Jayme Martins Ferreira was a
“professional wrestler” and 1910 champion of luta Greco-Romana.
9
He retired in 1916.
10
Currently, he was representing Club Carioca de Box, at rua Rosario n. 133, headed by Prof. Antonio Rodriques Alves.
11
A later article reported that he was the director of the Academia de Capoeiragem. Where he acquired his capoeiragem knowledge, if he had any, was not indicated, and some people were skeptical.

A Noite
reported in December of 1930 that he was directing a program at the Club, and his focus was “
gymnastica sueca scientifica e racional
” [scientific and rational Swedish gymnatstics].
12
In February of 1931,
A Noite
reported that dozens of young people were training boxing and luta romana. Ferreira and Alves also wanted to encourage interest in a purely national sport [
um sport puramente nacional
], so they hired two qualified capoeiragem masters as instructors.
13
The “national game” was described as the “art of maneuvering the legs” [
arte de manejar as pernas
], suggesting that the emphasis was on kicking.

In May he announced that he would be
offering lessons in both luta romana and capoeiragem in June at the Club Carioca.
14
The previously contracted masters were not mentioned again. Ferreira evidently did not have a deep knowledge of capoeiragem and therefore could not have produced high level capoeiras in time for the jiu-jitsu versus capoeiragem challenge.

Some people also doubted the qualifications of his fighters and later events proved that their doubts were well-founded. Other
people questioned the rules of this test of styles, what clothes should be worn, what techniques should be allowed, and so on.

One of the first critics was capoeiragem teacher Mario Aleixo. Carlos
wanted the capoeiras to wear kimonos and posed in a photograph showing that sort of costume he had in mind.
15
The kimono was a standard pre-1906 judo-gi
16
such as was depicted in the books of Irving Hancock and others of the period, with pant-legs and sleeves well above the knees and elbows, respectively. Mario Aleixo wore one exactly like it in 1916.
17

Capoeiragem supporters argued that capoeiras did not train or fight in kimonos, so this would
obviously give the jiu-jitsu representatives an advantage. A local fan named A. Duarte objected that “the kimono is a large factor in the fight, which will work to the capoeira’s disfavor”.
18
It was finally agreed that capoeiras would not have to wear kimonos but instead would wear
roupe de linho refo
rç
ado
[clothes of reinforced linen].
19

Other people objected that either the capooeiras were unqualified, or were using non-capoeiragem techniques. For example, a
pseudonymous writer called “Juca da Pinta” complained that the
prise de
tê
te
” [captioned
pri
sã
o de cab
eç
a
in the photograph], posed by Reynaldo (Bala de Bronze) and Manoel T. Ferreira (Ma
né
), published in a recent edition of the paper
20
was not a legitimate capoeiragem technique. Capoeiras don’t grab, he said: “Capoeiragem is characterized by the complete absence of techniques designed to prevent the opponent from moving”, he elaborated [“
capoeiragem se characterize pelo completa ausencia dos chamados ‘golpe de
mã
o
”
cujo objective e tolher os movimento do adversario
”].

H
e wrote again after the program saying “the capoeiragem of the boys who confronted the jiu-jitsu players was lamentably weak” [“
a capoeiragem praticada pelos rapazes que enfrentaram os lutadores de jiu-jitsu, sexta-feira, dia 3, fracassando lamentavelmente
”].
21

June 20 came and went.
The tournament was rescheduled for July 2 and then July 3 at the Botafogo Football Club.
22
George, Oswaldo, and Helio would fight, while Carlos would give a demonstration of his “deep knowledge” [
profundos conhecimentos
] of jiu-jitsu.
23
He was not shy about extolling his own mastery of the Japanese sport: “I will try to demonstrate the superiority of the jiu-jitsu which I have imbibed and synthesized from the inexhaustible source of the profound knowledge of conde Maeda Koma”.
24

Among the critics and doubters was a luta livre instructor named Manoel Rufino dos
Santos, who would become a major thorn in the Gracies’ side.
25

At last the day arrived,
Friday July 3, 1931 to decide which was the better method of self-defense, capoeiragem or jiu-jitsu [
qual dos doi
s
é o melhor meio de defesa pessoal
]. Carlos posed with two “
munitores
” [students] of the academy, Guenthger Budiheister and Antonio Rocha, both shirtless, Carlos wearing a suit and tie. Nineteen year old George “Grane” [Gracie] was introduced. The only one among his many adversaries yet who had been able to resist George’s jiu-jitsu was Getulio Mariano (98 kilos, 183 cm.), of the
Sã
o Paulo Civil Guard. The match terminated without a winner or loser
[empate
] after 3 rounds.
26

Helio had
suffered a serious trauma to his
figado
[liver] which was confirmed by an “
exame de raios x
”. In his place,
Sã
o Paulo jiu-jitsu champion and former Gracie student Benedicto Peres would “measure forces”with O
zé
as (who had replaced Ca
ré
ca). The fighters were matched by weight. The ring was 6 x 6 meters, without canvas or padding.

Seven rules were in
effect. They were: (1) the fighters will be examined by a doctor who will be present at the fight as well, (2) the rounds will be five minutes with one minute between, (3) the loser will be the fighter will stops fighting [
desistia
] or says that he is beaten, whether conscious or unconscious [
se
dé
por vencido consciente ou inconsciente
], (4) the fighters will begin standing up, face to face, (5) if the jiu-jitsu fighter is thrown or knocked down and unable to get back to his feet within 10 seconds, he will be considered to have lost the fight, (6) the jiu-jitsu fighters will wear kimonos and the capoeiras will wear clothes of reinforced linen, but not shoes, (7) if the capoeiras appear in torn pants, they will be required to wear a kimono selected by the jiu-jitsu representatives. Nothing was specified about prohibited techniques.
27

In a last minute plug,
Diario de Noticias
informed readers that “the fight between capoeriagem and jiu-jitsu will be absolutely brutal. There is no similarity with boxing or luta romana”. The location was rua General Severiano, accessible by the Praia Vermelha
bonde
[street car]. The matches were preceded by a demonstration of luta livre by the Smith brothers and began at 9:00 p.m. The referees were Carlos Gracie and Jayme Ferreira. Peres’ opponent was Reynaldo Neves da Silva (Bala da Bronze).
28

The results were not immediately reported. According to later commentaries however,
George Gracie beat Coronel because the capoeira slapped him on the ground
thereby being disqualified, indicating that the rules barred the capoeiras from striking on the ground, while at the same time not rewarding them for putting their adversary there.
29