Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil 1856-1949 (Volume 1) (57 page)

The key to the development of jiu-jitsu over the succeeding decades lie in this. The Gracie brothers attempted to compete in judo tournaments, which is to say, they entered some of their students in judo competitions, and one even medalled, albeit as a white belt. Judo was well-regulated and as an international and finally Olympic sport, prestigious. Successful competitors became legitimate national heroes. Those who remained true to what they believed were jiu-jitsu’s roots in ground fighting, faced a dilemma. Judo had government support, without which any success as an amateur sport was going to be an uphill struggle, if possible at all.
Brazil has always been a highly bureaucratic society. Government approval is necessary for almost anything, and government support, permission to use public facilities, monetary subsidies, and the like, requires persuading the right people that there is some public benefit. Any Olympic sport automatically qualified. Jiu-jitsu was not an Olympic sport and the benefits, notwithstanding marketing clichés about self-esteem and self-discipline (which applied equally to judo, if not more so), seemed to be directed at a certain large family and a few individuals associated with them.

At this point, the jiu-jitsu story becomes largely co-extensive with the Gracie family, with a few exceptions.
The Gracies were not the only people who clung to the old ways, but they were in the forefront of the movement to win official recognition, popular support, and government subsidies for jiu-jitsu as an amateur sport. What the Gracies did was not new. They simply adopted judo’s organization, methods, customs, traditions, myths, even more so than they already had, inadvertently or not, owing to the fact that what they had learned was essentially an older form of Kodokan judo (as all of the Kodokan trained jiu-jitsu people pointed out to them). They obviously could not join forces with the judo people and they could not compete with them, under international, government approved judo rules. They needed to make jiu-jitsu an alternative form of judo, that is, one stressing ground fighting rather than throwing. That necessitated some minor changes in competition rules. For example, the notion of the “
ippon
” or one-point win, was retained, but not for a “clean” throw or pin, but rather for a “submission” to a choke or joint-lock technique. Procedures for determining a winner based on points were adopted from judo. Judo rules were not perfect but they were better than the alternative. Rather than invent a new set of rules, jiu-jitsu simply modified judo rules, and in a sense brought jiu-jitsu a bit closer to what Kodokan judo and some of its off-shoots and variants had originally been.
8

In a sense, jiu-jitsu returned to its source, which was Kodokan judo. It is true that judo derived from jiu-jitsu, as no one including
Kano ever denied. But the jiu-jitsu that the Brazilians learned was the jiu-jitsu that had been transformed by Kano into his Kodokan system. If anyone in Brazil learned “jiu-jitsu” from anyone other than a Kodokan associated man, there is no record of it.

But there were differences. Given enough time, and differing environments, cultural practices, such as languages or sports, will diverge in some ways, unless strong pressures prevent that from happening.
Accordingly, in time jiu-jitsu and judo diverged in certain relatively minor ways.

The first difference between jiu-jitsu and judo was that jiu-jitsu specialized in ground fighting while judo increasingly
specialized in throwing.

The second difference was that jiu-jitsu called itself jiu-jitsu, rather than judo. This was necessary from a marketing stand point. Jiu-jitsu could not compete with judo on price bec
ause judo was cheap or free (with a few exceptions) and it could not compete in the prestigious international competitions, which were necessarily conducted according to judo rules, which meant little opportunity for the jiu-jitsu people to do what they did comparatively well.

The third difference was that while judo rapidly shed any pretense that it was designed for self-defense or “real” fighting, jiu-jitsu retained the traditional (since 1904 at least) marketing points and re-doubled its emphasis on these aspects.

The fourth difference was that judo warmly embraced its status as an “amateur” sport (ignoring the fact that judokas were well subsidized in many countries). Jiu-jitsu continued to preserver in the realm of professional theatrical fighting. But just as jiu-jitsu could not compete with judo at judo’s game, so it could not compete with pro wrestling at pro wrestling’s game. Jiu-jitsu attempted to carve out its own niche within the theatrical fighting world. Jiu-jitsu entrepreneurs adopted an older name for their fighting sub-genre, “vale tudo,” or “everything goes”.
9
Vale tudo was basically grappling combined with striking, in  a sense catch-as-catch can mixed with savate, capoeiragem, and boxing, but without the choreography. It wasn’t “real” fighting, but it was pretty close. The problem was, for some people it was too close.

It was a risky business in more ways than one. Judo and pro
wrestling were either accepted or supported by society and government. Attitudes toward vale tudo were as mixed as the game itself was. Judo was clearly a “sport”, and pro wrestling was just as clearly “entertainment.” Brazilians were never really sure what vale tudo was, but at times it made certain people uncomfortable. In Brazil if the right person (or wrong person, as the case may be) doesn’t like what you are doing, you are well advised to stop. Very bad things can happen if you don’t.
10

But vale tudo was only a small part of the story, and it wasn’t the first part. Jiu-jitsu’s recrudescence occurred in 1951 with a fateful encounter between an under-employed ex-fighter and a pro
wrestler. The pro wrestler just happened to be the greatest judoka (or “jiu-jitsu fighter,” according to some versions) Japan had produced up to that time. His name was Masahiko Kimura. The under-employed ex-fighter was Helio Gracie.

.
Chapter 26 Notes

Epilog
ue

The Past and Future of Jiu-Jitsu

Shortly before ju-jitsu reached Brazil there was jiu-jitsu―and judo―in North America and other places in frequent contact with the major port cities of Brazil.
1
Brazilians were interested and well-informed about what was happening in the capitals and cultural centers of the advanced countries, primarily England, France, Germany, and the United States. They wanted to be part of it.

They were usually several steps off the pace, but as rule, what happened in
London, Paris, Berlin, and New York eventually happened in Rio, São Paulo and a few other cities.

All of the major powers, including
Russia, had been interested in Japan since Perry’s first visit in 1853. Around the turn of the 20
th
century, they became even more so, alarmed by Russia’s expansionist aims. Japan was seen as a potential counter-weight. Japan’s own imperial ambitions would draw Russia’s attention eastward. The Pacific region was becoming increasingly vital. One of those who was especially interested was American president Theodore Roosevelt.

The first noteworthy martial arts entrepreneur in
North America was John J. O’Brien. He had, he claimed, a diploma of professor of jiu-jitsu awarded by the Japanese government.
2

Theodore Roosevelt had an interest in the manly arts, and jiu-jitsu was seen as the “new manly art”. O’Brien was invited to teach the president in March of 1902. O’Brien proposed a course of eight weeks.

Roosevelt never finished his lessons. But in the field of marketing, a short and slim connection to the right person or group can be enough. Even a single word or picture can be worth millions. O’’Brien had offered to teach the president for free (or expenses).
3

The publicity would be more valuable than his usual fee of $100 for eight weeks, and O’Brien wasted no time exploiting it.
4

As it happened, everyone in the jiu-jitsu business profited, probably more than O’Brien himself. When
Roosevelt’s daughter Alice showed an interest in the Japanese game, it wasn’t O’Brien who was invited to teach her, but a Japanese expert, ironically, a Kodokan judo man, Professor Yamashita.
5

The real explosion in jiu-jitsu interest took place during the Russo-Japanese War (February 8, 1904 to September 5, 1905). It took almost no time for ambitious promoters to get into the act. Writers looking for sensational material were not far behind. Newspapers welcomed both. They provided content which attracted readers who attracted advertisers, which made the cost of copies of the paper lower which attracted more readers. Readers could buy tickets to professional matches. It was a highly symbiotic relationship.

Teachers could also offer their services. But there was one problem. To reveal the jealously guarded ancient secrets of the Japanese science of self-defense, one had to have access to them in the first place. But for two thousand years, jiu-jitsu masters had been prohibited by imperial edicts from teaching foreigners. Therefore, one almost had to be Japanese. Failing that, one needed a plausible connection to a lineage. John. J. O’Brien seemed to have a reasonably legitimate claim, with documentation of a sort. Other people made similar claims, sometimes of questionable validity. O’Brien had a formidable combination of assets. He had a diploma, friends in the media, and a personal link to a sympathetic American president. It was no wonder that jiu-jitsu became faddishly fashionable for a few years.
6

Like all fads, it quickly lost steam. Jiu-jitsu’s profitability, or sustainability, had to be maintained in more old-fashioned ways. Enter marketing and professional wrestling.

***

Technology can
change quickly. Basic human motivations don’t. What has happened before will happen again. What is happening now has happened before. Looking at the marketing and diffusion of jiu-jitsu in North America illuminates considerably what later took place in Brazil. The parallels are very close.

In many cases the phrasing used in marketing materials in 1904 in the United States is almost identical (allowing for translation) to that used in Brazil throughout the period reviewed in
Choque Volume 1 1856-1949
, and even in 2014. Secrets of an ancient scientific art, previously “closely (or jealously, or religiously) guarded”, suddenly are made available to the Western world, or to anyone anywhere with money to spend. The Imperial edicts prohibiting Japanese jiu-jitsu masters from teaching outsiders had been abruptly lifted. The reasons varied. It might be that newly formed friendly relations between America and Japan suddenly made it safe to teach Americans (while Japan was concentrating on learning how to build battleships, dive-bombers, and torpedoes). It might be an individual master’s feeling of gratitude for the courtesies extended to him by the natives of his host country, as Yae Kichi Yabe claimed.
7
Usually, no reason was offered.

Similarly, when the Gracies, or to be legally precise, The Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, 1951 W. Carson Street, Torrance CA 90501, decided to reveal the “closely guarded secrets” of the family’s fighting system
, using precisely the same phrase used 94 years before by Yae Kichi Yabe, or his copywriter,
8
no reason why the closely guarded secrets were suddenly being revealed was provided.
9

The author doesn’t point this out to make fun of anyone, but rather to remind that some things don’t change much. Young males want to be strong. People are easily panicked by media
-created threats. Bored people want to be entertained. Entrepreneurs want to make money. People like novelty. People are basically lazy and want secret easy ways to accomplish things that actually are neither secret nor easy but require time and effort. People want to impress other people with their extraordinary abilities and membership in select groups. They seek artifacts (such as belts and diplomas) to help them accomplish that.
10

Technology has changed. Instead of newspapers we now have computers and iPods. Human nature is the same. Readers who proceed to
Choque
Vol. 2 1950-1999
will have a head start if they keep that in mind.

.
Epilogue Notes

Appendix 1

.

Fighters

Jiu-Jitsu Representatives

Members of Conde Koma Troupes in Brazil
1

1914 São Paulo

Conde Koma (Maeda Mitsuyo)

Okura

Satake

Akiyama

Matsura

1915 Rio

Conde Koma (Maeda Mitsuyo)

Okura

Satake

Shimizu 

Raku

1915 After Rio

Conde Koma (Maeda Mitsuyo)

Okura

Satake

Akiyama

Raku

Shimizu 

***

Dates indicate first confirmed year of ring activity. A date to the right of the fighter’s name indicates the last year of reported ring activity.
2

1909

Ferreira, Arnoldo Jose

Jorge, Rich

Miyako Sada

Soares, Carlos Pinto

Silva, Waldemar

1915

Oliveria, Bianor de

1920

Ferro, Jacyntho

1928

Detti, Jose (1936)

Henkin (1930)

Letone, Dario

Okido

Omori Geo
(1936)

1929

Andriotti, Antonio

Arizunuma

Assumpção

Bandan

Contino, Felippe

Del-o

Dudú

Eukin

Gibin

Gotto

Gracie, Carlos (1931)

Henke

Kaveno

Kitajima

Louvas

Oliveira, Jose de

Rodolpho

Rogerio

Takada

Wada

Waldemar

1930

Alcides

Amilcar

Arthur

Gaucho, Jose

Mariano, Getulio

Gracie, George
(1948)

Mangerona

Peres, Benedicto (1940)

Zacharias

1931

Aleixo, Mario

Gracie, Oswaldo (1939)

1932

Fukushima Mineyoshi

Galdi, Jackas

Gracie, Helio (1937)

Miguel, Abra
hã
o

Namiki Takeshi

Saburo Senda (1936)

Uchida

1933

Costa Albino da

Muhai, Jack

Sugano

1934

Arlindo, Rubens

Brusque

Carvalho, Dante

Cirne, Ricardo

Miyaki

Munich, Simão

Neto Mirando
(1935)

Queirolo, Othello

Saldanha, Jorge

Santoro, Jose

Shigeo

1935

Goto Yakuro

Kioto Arake

Nibbon, Ricardo

Ono Yassuiti
(1946)

Salvaterra, Paulo

Yano Takeo (1948)

1936

Carper, Togo

Cruz, Carlos

Eguti

Figueiredo, Odemar

Guisher, Egrad

Iosika, Francisco

Marques, Vincente,

Massagoichi

Misuki

Yamada Tageshika

1937

Henrique, Helio

Ono Naoiti (1940)

Wolf, Mattos Filho

1938

Falção, Geraldo

Ferreira, Milton

Gomes, Zito

Dorn, Dudu (1940)

Gazal, Abrahão

Hollanda, Camillo

Ishio Sadao

Mazuke

Oliveria, Antonio
             

Soares, J. R. Macedo

Sugo Sadayuki

Suleiman, Alberto
(1939)

Tossio, Mazuko

1939

Cavalheiro, Jorge

Freiras, Jorge Cabral

Gomes, Braz I
(1940)

Lacerva, Victor

Maia, Antonio (1940)

Martins, Vincente

Merimossa, Matafiko

Nizak, Ser
(1940)

Pereira, Carlos
(1948)

Pinto, Walter

Riquetto, Alfredo             

Riquetto, Arthur

Soares, Irineu Macedo

Yamada Sinssuke

1940

Alves, Eduaro Junior

Andrare, Emery de

Araujo, Jose de

Conca, Manoel

Gomes, Braz II

Malheiros, René

Menezes, J
oã
o

Meri, Jung

Miele, Arthur

Peres, Francisco

Prado, Alvaro

Proise, Vicente

1941

Rocha, Manoel

1943

Steinhardt, Willy

1946

Abiduch
             

Alvim, Joviano

Assahama Jun

Borges, Fernando

Burti, Arnaldo

Collo, Paulo

Comodoro, Thomas

Fiori

Gomes, Adão Lucas

Liguori

Masuro

Melo

Milan 

Mira

Pava

Rocha

Tambucci, Luiz (1948)

Troncoso, Casimiro
(1949)

1947

Cardia, Salvador (1949)

Galvão, Eduardo

Hollo, Paulo

Matsuoka

Matsui Giro

1948

Oka 

1949

Alves, Antonio Afonso

Cadeco, Floriano

Matsuy Seizo

Moreira, Luiz Alberto

Sarty, Batista

Shymada, Mario

Rivals
3

Grapplers

1914

Jorge, Miguel

1915

Alves, Joaquim Guadencio

Azevedo, Benjamin Constant

Assef, Nagib

Bowler, Alfredo

Goldbach

Jeolas, Paulo

Leconte, Alfredo

Matuchevich

1916

Leconte, Alfredo

1920

Segato, Victorio

1928

Abreu, M. de

Archimedes, Rogerio
(1929)

Farina

Francisco

Zacharias, Benedicto

1929

Jirkus, Estavan
(1936)

Klausner, Ervin (1937)

Marianno

Marin, Jack

Pedro “O Caipira”

Ritter

1931

Baldi, João

Ferreira, Jayme

Fernandes,
Manoel (1937)

Rufino, Manoel

Ruhmann, Roberto (1939)

Sa
m
sã
o (Sanson)

1932

Ebert, Fred

Ritter, Francisco

Smith, Geo

Victorino, S
ebastião

Youssouf, Salim

1933

Crespo, Tavares

Gutovski

Silva “Hyena do Braz”

Soledade, Tico

1934

Conley, Jack

Dudú
(1937)

Zbyszko, Wladek

1935

Burg, Muniu

Eberle, Haubert

Platchek, Marcos
             

Salvaterra, Paulo

1936

Amorim, Jose

Barbosa, Geronicio

João Peçanha

Roque, Antonio

1937

Atlas, Jim

Grillo, Manoel

Oliveira, Torquato de

1938

Campbell, Joe

Fazio, Luiz
(1940)

Gardini, Renato

Russell, Jack (1940)

1939

Kolt, Jose

Ulsemer, Charles
(1941)

Weber, Fritz
(1946)

1940

Budip, Sarkiz

Orlando, Angelo

Santos, Silviano dos

1941

Rocha, Manoel

1942

Moraisinho

Stock, Luiz

Tatú (1947)

1946

Bagley, Jack

Bargach, Eduardo

Bettini, Moacir

Caduc, Basilio

Collado, Roberto

Memel
 

Mesnick, Carlos

Strika, Yerkos (1948)

Tarzan Argentino

1947

Bogni, Aldo

Gattoni, Ricardo

Ho
mem Montanha

King Kong

Kostolias, Juan (1948)

Norki

1948

Aurichio, Carlos

Baronti, Alfio

Cernadas, Ramon

Gorila

Herrera, Tanque

Kid I

Nick (the) Policeman

Olaguibel, Pedro Juan

Roque, Antonio

Strikers

Boxers

1930

Toon, Johannes
4

Gabriel
5

1932

Crespo, Tavares

Portugal, Antonio

1935

Ceará

Capoeiras

1909

Cyriaco

1915

Silva, Leonel

1929

Feitosa, Argemiro

Vasques, Oswaldo

1931

Bahiano

Bala da Bronze

Coronel

Mané

Ozéas

1932

Dentinho

1935

Andre Jansen

Jiu-Jitsu
Instructors (other than above listed fighters)

Barbosa, Francisco Jose (1932-1934)

Corderio, Augusto
(1949)

Gracie, Gastão Jr.
(1936-)

Maia, Manoel Azevedo
(1943-)

Okura
(1920)

Pires, Donato dos Reis
(1930, 1939)

Prins, Waldemar
(1934)

Organizations, Managers, Referees, Promoters, Writers, Venues and Facilities

Managers

Kid Pratt

Kid Simões

Antonio Luis
(Lins)

Carlos Gracie

Gastão Gracie Jr.

Romeu Cotta

Referees
6

Eugenio Brandão Duffressey

Gumercindo Taboada

Angelo Ledoux

Jayme Ferreira