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

  Choque

  Choque

  .

  The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil

  .

  Volume 1

  .

  1856-1949

  Roberto Pedreira

  2014

  ALSO BY ROBERTO PEDREIRA

  Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone 1997-2008

  © 2014 by Roberto Pedreira.

  All rights reserved

  *

  .

  Cover by Derek Mayhew

  To those who are about to rock.

  Contents

  Preface

  Chapter 1: 1856-1899

  Chapter 2: 1900-1908

  Chapter 3: 1909

  Chapter 4: 1910-1913

  Chapter 5: 1914

  Chapter 6: 1915

  Chapter 7: 1916-1927

  Chapter 8: 1928

  Chapter 9: 1929

  Chapter 10: 1930

  Chapter 11: 1931

  Chapter 12: 1932

  Chapter 13: 1933

  Chapter 14: 1934

  Chapter 15: 1935

  Chapter 16: 1936

  Chapter 17: 1937

  Chapter 18: 1938

  Chapter 19 1939

  Chapter 20: 1940

  Chapter 21: 1941

  Chapter 22: 1942-1945

  Chapter 23: 1946

  Chapter 24: 1947

  Chapter 25: 1948

  Chapter 26: 1949

  Epilogue: The Past and Future of Jiu-Jitsu

  Appendix 1: Fighters

  Appendix 2: Fights

  Appendix 3: Lineages

  Appendix 4: Glossary

  Chapter Notes

  References

  Author

  Acknowledgements

  Illustrations

  Preface

  Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil (hereafter Choque) began as a short historical introduction to Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone 1997-2008. After writing 60 pages I realized that I hadn’t included a single concrete, specific, reliably referenced fact for anything that happened before 1951. The limited information available was uniformly of questionable quality, and was almost entirely marketing and advertising materials for one particular school or another. The combination of misinformation, dubious sources, gaps, and contradictions, made it difficult to write a historical introduction.

  The occasional exception was suggestive rather than reliable. In a series of articles written between 1997 and 2008 and published between 2000 and 2008, The Global Training Report (GTR) internet site provided some alternatives to the prevailing view. But GTR did not claim to be authoritative. GTR simply reported what its representative, Robert Pedreira (the author of Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone and Choque, saw, read, and was told while in Brazil between 1997 and 2008. No one was trying to deceive him. They simply didn’t have the answers. In most cases they didn’t care.

  With rare exceptions, the source of almost all available information was the same in every case. That was Rorion’s Gracie’s “documercial” (a commercial disguised as a documentary), known as Gracies in Action in two volumes, released in 1988 and to a lesser degree Pat Jordan’s 1989 Playboy article on Rorion Gracie. The handful of articles written in Brazil addressing history were written after UFC 1 in 1993. They were unavoidably influenced by Rorion Gracie’s version of events, primarily because it was the only version there was. In most cases, they had no other sources of information. At least one individual with first-hand knowledge regarded the story as fantasy. Others disagreed with particular aspects of the story, mainly in the matter of who should get credit for what.

  The only way to find out the truth about jiu-jitsu in Brazil was to go back to independent sources, and as far back as the sources went. That is what Choque is about.1

  Choque is organized chronologically rather than thematically. Rather than focusing on a particular event or individual, it describes everything of relevance within every year between 1856 and 1949, with the following exceptions. Chapter 1 treats the period from 1856 to 1899. During this period, organizational structures, venues, expectations, and cultural practices were established. They included the novel European concepts of “leisure”, “family entertainment”, “sport” and “physical culture”, among others. Essential forms of media, transportation, and technology evolved. Slavery was abolished (May 13, 1888) and the First Republic was created (November 15, 1889) which contributed to the formation of an incipient middle-class with modest amounts of disposable income, which stimulated the growth of professional fighting as one form of spectator entertainment. Certain individuals who would play major roles in the later evolution of the business of professional jiu-jitsu appeared. Paschoal Segreto was foremost among those.

  Chapter 2 delves more specifically into this topic, which is absolutely essential for understanding what followed. Chapter 3 deals with the rise and fall of the first jiu-jitsu representative in Brazil, in 1909. He was Sada Miyako. Chapter 4 focuses on the period 1910-1913, when jiu-jitsu was an obscure and little-practiced amateur sport championed by an esgrimista [fencer] named Mario Aleixo. Chapter 5 deals with Mitsuyo Maeda (more commonly called Conde Koma in Brazil) and his first “troupe” of jiu-jitsu fighters in São Paulo in 1914. Chapter 6 deals with Conde Koma and his second troupe in Rio in 1915. Chapter 7 treats the period from 1915 to 1927, up to the arrival of the next Japanese master, Geo Omori.

  After chapter 7, all subsequent chapters focus on periods of a single year (the one exception being chapter 22, the war years (1942-1945), in which for obvious reasons, professional sports and entertainment were curtailed or modified to meet the objectives of the war effort.

  Appendix 1 lists every known jiu-jitsu representative in Brazil between 1856 and 1949, as well as all of their opponents from rival styles (including those who did not have a style). The list also includes important promoters, managers, writers, organizations, referees, and the names and addresses of major venues, gyms, and academies.

  Appendix 2 provides a list of all known and confirmed contests between jiu-jitsu representatives and any other stylist. Contests that were announced before and on the scheduled day, but no report of a result has been found, are included as “unconfirmed”.

  Appendix 3 attempts to reconstruct lineages of teachers and students.

  Appendix 4 is a historical glossary, containing words used between 1856 and 1949 to describe jiu-jitsu and other fighting techniques, and other relevant terminology.

  The epilogue sums up the story in very general terms and sets the stage for Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil, Volume 2 1950-1999.

  Sources are provided in the Notes section. Substantive notes are also included.

  The Illustrations section contains newspaper clippings from 1879 to 1922 and after.

  E-books do not have page numbers, but readers can find most of what they need by using Appendices 1 and 2 and then referring to the appropriate chapter. The print version of Choque contains a conventional, old-school index.

  Some readers may feel that Choque contains too much information and too much detail. It is true that there are copious amounts of both. That was a deliberate decision. In view of how little reliable factual information there is on the subject, I resolved to include everything of potential interest for the benefit of future researchers. Much of the detail and specifics (including most of the original Portuguese material) is contained in the notes section. Readers who do not need this information or level of detail can feel free to ignore it.

  Spelling in Brazilian newspapers was erratic, and essentially a m
atter of personal preference. There was no national standard, particularly before 1943, and the earlier we look, the more idiosyncratic the spelling appears. Newspapers had their own spelling conventions and sometimes asked their readers what they preferred. One newspaper conducted a survey in March of 1940, offering a chance to win a 6-valve Fada radio in a lottery, for readers who would say whether or not they preferred a newer simplified orthography.2 The result revealed that a majority (75%) preferred a simplified orthography, which the newspaper adopted from April 16.3

  In some cases, or many, no one really knew how a name was spelled, and it might be written two or three or more different ways in the same article (and still other ways in headlines and photo captions). I made no attempt to modernize or standardize spellings, especially names, where in many cases there probably was no one correct spelling. The selections quoted are reproduced as they were originally printed, including errors, as it is generally impossible to distinguish between errors and the normal spelling style of the time. Exceptions are when the meaning of the content is significantly altered or unintelligible. In those cases, I provided a clarifying note, if possible, or the legend [sic], meaning “that’s the way it was”.

  The conventions of international copyright law and the Lei de Direito Autoral (Lei 9.610 de 19 de fevereiro de 1998) have been observed in reproducing photographs that might conceivably still be protected by copyright, or whose status is unascertainable.

  Readers with research intentions should note that most of the supporting material, including original Portuguese language texts, are provided in the notes section. In the electronic version each chapter concludes with the phrase “Chapter Notes”, which links to the appropriate chapter notes. Individual note superscripts in the text are not linked to notes in the notes section. For example, “Chapter 2 Notes” at the end of Chapter 2, will link to the section “Chapter 2 Notes” in the Notes section. However, the superscript 10 (e.g., example10) is not linked to note 10 in the notes section. In the print version, readers will simply open the book to the referenced page.

  Preface Notes

  Chapter 1

  1856-1899

  By 1909, Rio and a few other cities in Brazil were well supplied with professional fighting. But between 1856 and 1909, there was only luta romana and occasionally savate (from 1864) generally as part of esgrima (fencing). They were presented via circuses and variety shows. Eventually, individuals began offering instruction in some arts. Under the influence of the English concept of sport and the various continental concepts of “physical culture”,1 clubs and associations were formed and incorporated the fights (luta romana, esgrima, and luta livre) into their menu of offerings. Sport was viewed as an activity, or “school,” where both leaders and followers learned moral and spiritual lessons. Winning was one possible outcome of competition but it was secondary to learning the lessons of “life” and developing “character”.2 Of course, gamblers had their own perspective on that, and paying customers had still another. In this way a “combat art”, or form of fighting, could be modified to serve many purposes.

  Circuses and variety shows were sites for family entertainment, as a typical theater, Gabinete de Illusão, at 33 rua do Cano, 1st floor, emphasized: “This entertainment is for families. People who are not decently dressed will not be admitted”.3 The entertainment consisted of trained animals, singers, dancers, illusionists, freaks, exotic foreigners, comedians, clowns, musicians, dramatic and comic actors, trick riders, acrobats, contortionists, magicians, precocious children, strong men, in short, anything and everything that could be found in any of the many circuses and myriad vaudeville theaters and music halls of the period in any European or North American city.

  Significantly, for the purpose of this book, that included professors of esgrima (fencing) and foot fighting (savate), and after 1856, luta romana. Within a short period, luta romana was a standard and nearly ubiquitous offering.

  By 1909 (in Brazil) luta romana had become and remained the foremost style of entertainment fighting, or professional wrestling, but not the only one. It was augmented by luta livre (also called “catch as catch can”, “catch”, and “luta livre Americana”). Luta de jiu-jitsu, or simply “jiu-jitsu” made its stage debut in 1909, as did “luta de box”. Capoeiragem was associated with slaves or their descendants. It was not thought of as a sport or as a form of family entertainment, or something that a respectable person would want to be associated with.

  The Victorian concept of sport had not yet arrived in Brazil, as eager as upper-class Brazilians were to adopt the latest fads and fashions from Europe. The notion of physical exertion as a sophisticated leisure time activity must have seemed quite bizarre to middle-class Brazilians (or rather people with enough money to be able to afford entertainment) at that time. Sports and “physical culture” seemed too much like labor, which was something to be done by slaves, and slaves were a familiar part of everyday life, up until May 13, 1888.4

  Slaves often did not like being enslaved. They sometimes ran away. Slaves were valuable property, so “owners” sought to recover them, frequently by placing an “Escravo Fugido” [runaway slave] or “Preto Fugido” [runaway black man] ad in newspapers. Just above the announcement for the day’s lucta romana show at Theatro de S. Jose, in São Paulo, featuring the brothers Hogle and Keef (the sixth of ten acts that day), there was an offer of a generous reward [uma boa gratificação] for the return of a runaway slave named Rufina. Rufina was about 35-40 years old, tall, big [corpo grosso], had good teeth and a “grey” [parda] complexion.5 Similar ads were not uncommon.

  Also in every edition of every newspaper were ads for the rental or sale of slaves. Escravos[male slaves] could be rented to perform whatever work they were capable of。Escravas [females slaves], or negrinhas [young black girls] girls, took care of children, did housework, and breast-fed babies. Moleques [black boys] could be employed peddling vegetables or other work that did not require adult strength. People also placed ads seeking to buy or lease slaves. Notices for slave auctions were not unusual.6

  This was the social context in which luta romana arrived.7

  Luta romana was Greco-roman wrestling (although it was known by various names). The rules of the sport were established in 1848.8 It was then essentially what it is now, upper-body wrestling. At first it was described simply as “two gladiators”. Eventually, after Brazilians had become familiar with the concepts of sport and physical culture, its sportive aspects were elucidated. But it is likely that fans got the general gist of the game, which was two large men each trying to put the other on the ground by a combination of lifting, pushing, and pulling, and similar such maneuvers. This took several decades however.

  Luta romana was introduced in Brazil on Sunday December 14, 1856, at Circo Olympico at rua da Guarda Velha, by a company directed by Alexandre Luande. Nothing about luta romana was described in the advertisement for the show. It was simply one act among many.9 It is very possible that audiences did not know what it was other than a novel entertainment act from Europe.

  By December 2, 1859 the pattern had been set. Circo Olympic (this time at Rua Nova de Conde), luta romana was described as “dous gladiadores” [two gladiators] identified by name as Angelo Onofre and Jacintho de Mendonça. They were referred to as “artistas” rather than fighters.10 What they saw was a stage show, and it is likely that it was interpreted, like everything that was presented on the same stages or areas set aside for performances, as a dramatic or comic performance rather than an athletic contest.

  Savate was introduced no later than 1862, as part of esgrima [fencing] shows and contests, which were invariably acts in the same circuses and theater shows that featured luta romana.

  On Sunday June 8, 1862, at 11:00 a.m., at Pavilhão Fluminense, C. Dengrement gave a demonstration of games of weapons [armas], savate and punching [jogo de soccos]. He was assisted by a team from the French ship Franceza Bayard. The weapons included florete, espada, baioneta, bengala, and pao. It was a
series of “assaltos” (the Portugeuse version of the French word used to denote a friendly fencing contests, or exhibitions, later expanded to mean the distinct periods, separated by rest periods, or “rounds” during which the match took place).11

  Entrance was 3$. The public was invited to watch, or if they preferred, to participate. (Gentlemen who were interested in participating were asked to register at the house of C. Dengremont at rua do Fogo n. 29. 1863.12

  The brothers Hogle and Keef from North America performed a lucta romana, the ninth of ten acts that day October 13, 1863 at Theatro de S. Jose, in São Paulo.13

  On January 31, 1864, Angelo Onofre and Jacintho de Mendonça were back with Circo Olympico at rua da Guard Velha.14

  A few years later, the performances were being described both as assaltos and as jogos (games). On Sunday November 1, 1868, Circo Olympico at rua da Guard Velha, presented an extraordinary and great show consisting of “games” [jogos] and matches [assaltos] of blade fighting, luta romana savate, and punching, featuring French, Spanish, and Portuguese artists. M. Felippe and an unnamed amateur would offer games of savate [jogo de savate] and punching [jogo de socco]. The final performance was a Portuguese sticking fighting match. There would also be performances of horsemanship, gymnastics, acrobatics, contortion, balancing, and dancing. It was scheduled for 2:30, if it didn’t rain.15

  By 1872, it had become important to present performers as international masters and champions One typical example was G. Gontie, who performed exhibition matches [assaltos] of savate and socco and demonstrations of weapons such as florete, espada, bengala, and pao. Gontie was billed as ex-mestre de esgrima do exercito francez da Africa [French African Army] who studied in many countries including Hong Kong, Japan, Batavia, and India. He was assisted by masters from the French frigates Jean-Bart and Venus, and by English and American sailors [marinheiros]. The esgrima and savate demonstrations were preceded by an orchestra performance and comedy in three acts. The show was held at Theatro S. Luiz on Tuesday December 17, 1872.16