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

by Roberto Pedreira

  Another source of friction was that George did not respect Carlos’s jiu-jitsu knowledge or fighting skills. The best evidence available suggests that they both learned from the same person at the same time, namely Donato Pires dos Reis (notwithstanding the unsubstantiated possibility that Carlos may have had some contact with Conde Koma in Belém). Given that George demonstrably had the ring skills which Carlos just as clearly lacked, George might have resented taking “orientation” from Carlos, particularly knowing how dictatorial and eccentric Carlos could be.93 George wanted to live his own life, fight his own fights, and keep his ring earnings in his own pocket.

  The catch wrestlers sometimes went too far with their staging. Fans were gullible but not to an unlimited extent. It didn’t take long before writers began describing the Zbyszko troupe’s fights as clown acts rather than combats, exhorting the fighters to take their work seriously. Local fighters came in for criticism as well when they performed with troupe members. Before a match with Bill Lyon (also known as Leão, Portuguese for lion), at Estadio Riachuelo, Diario de Noticias mocked Roberto Ruhmann as “The champion of fake fights” [O campeão de lutas combinadas] and the word “fight” [“luta”], was written between quotation marks.94

  But the George Gracie versus Jack Conley fight was taken seriously and unlike many of George’s other fights with catch wrestlers and luta livre fighters, it appears to have been legitimate. Conley seemed to be confident. He said, “I think George will lose the title of ‘undefeated’ tomorrow. The Gracies think that our physiques are nothing. I’m going to show them that their skills are nothing“.95

  Knowing how poorly received the Helio Gracie versus Wladek Zbyszko fight had been, the press bent over backward to emphasize how George Gracie versus Jack Conley would be different. Zbyszko had been limited by jiu-jitsu rules. George versus Conley would be luta livre. Conley would be free to use all of the resources of catch-as-catch-can. Zbyszko and Helio fought in kimonos, which interfered with movement. George and Conley would fight “pieto nú “ [bare-chested]. Moreover, Zbyszko was heavier and stronger than Conley (who weighed 90 kilos) and George was a more seasoned fighter than Helio, making the match more competitive.

  The fight, fortunately (for jiu-jitsu representatives), was not a repeat of Zbyszko versus Helio. Nevertheless, it did not attract a great deal of attention. There were too many fights happening. The public was surfeited with catch and luta livre, and didn’t want to see jiu-jitsu. The result was reported without details, merely that “Conley succumbed to an effective armlock after seven minutes”. 96

  Carlos Gracie, wanting to rain on George’s parade, and probably retaliate for the nasty (but true) things George had said about his lack of jiu-jitsu knowledge and skills, and his weak ring record,97 told the press that he had strong doubts that the fight wasn’t a “combinada” [fixed]. 98

  Jiu-Jitsu versus Catch

  Fresh off this “victory” George signed to meet his team-mate (both were under contract to EPB) Roberto Ruhmann at Stadium Brasil on September 9 in a luta livre match.99 Ruhmann immediately injured himself in training. Renato Gardini, also under EPB contract, was selected as a substitute.

  Italian “catcher” Renato Gardini had already been in Rio for week when the Zbyszko troupe arrived in May 9, 1934. He had came on the “Neptunia” from Buenos Aires, on May 3, 1934, along with a group of fighters that included Canadian champion Leverne Baxter and North American “cowboy” Jack Russell. The Argentine boxer Arturo Costarelli was also on board. All three had recently been signed to contracts by EPB, as was George Gracie and several other jiu-jitsu men, namely Miyaki and Shigeo.100

  Initial reports indicated that Gardini was in poor physical condition and might not be in shape to participate in the Grande Torneio de “Catch-as-Catch-Can” that was set to commence May 15 at the campo do Botafogo, promoted by Empresa Pugilistica Carioca.101

  By October Gardini seemed to be on the mend. He was a master of the secrets of the ring [um grande conhecedor dos segredos do rings]. His record included thousands of fights without a single defeat [em seu cartel constam milhares de luctas, sem uma unico derrota]. He had enjoyed a victory over Strangler Lewis, a draw against Jim Londos, and most impressively of all, a win over the world champion Wladek Zbyszko.102

  There was undoubtedly a degree of exaggeration in this description. Gardini had been defeated twice by Andre Castano and once by Zicoff on April 3 in Buenas Aires and indeed that was the reason that he was not selected to compete in the Grande Torneio.103

  Ring records in the professional wrestling world were malleable and subject to interpretation. It was not unusual for a fighter who had never won a single fight to be honored for his undefeated record. In any case, Gardini, like George Gracie was under contract to EPB. If its contracted fighters did not fight, no one could make any money. Gardini’s loses were quickly forgotten and a fight was arranged. It would be a luta livre match of two 20-minute rounds to be held Saturday September 15 at Estadio Brasil. There would be no draw. Gardini would receive a gold cigarette lighter if he won, which he was expected to do, simply because he was too strong for George. George was technical, observers conceded, but a man who had beaten Zbyszko would not be stopped by mere technique.

  Naturally, George Gracie’s fans vehemently disagreed. George’s “sparrings” [sparing partners] weighed more than 80 kilos. George would be ready for Gardini, they promised.104

  Writers were not uniformly enthusiastic about the George Gracie versus Gardini fight, wondering “Will it be new farce?” It is difficult to say”.105

  As late as the day of the fight, O Paiz ran a long article previewing the fight. Diario de Noticias that same day ran a shorter piece, mistakenly saying that it was Helio rather than George who would meet Gardini.106

  The boxing commission had recently declared that fights in which there was a great weight difference between the contendors would not be permitted. Gardini out-weighed George by roughly 40 kilos. The implication was hard to miss. No other paper mentioned the possibility that the fight might be cancelled and the pre-fight hype continued unabated.107

  On the day of the fight it was announced that EPB had decided to postpone the fight after all. As the fight was postponed “sine-die“ [indefinitely], that meant that it was in effect cancelled.108

  Instead Gardini would battle Jack Conley at Estadio Riachuelo the following evening.109 George presumably began preparing for Wladeck Zbyszko (also under EPB contract) in October.

  Renato Gardini and George Gracie did eventually “measure forces”. Fans had to wait four years to see it happen.

  The Ono Brothers Arrive

  On Friday October 5, 1934, São Paulo sports fans learned that a Japanese troupe of 10 jiu-jitsu fighters would arrive the following week. The troupe consisted of Miyaki, Ono, Ywawe, Takasawa, Naioti, Azuma, Yamada, Issida, Miravami, and one not named, and two youths, Utiyama, age 13 and Saitou, age 15, and two children [petizes], Ahia, age 7, and Ogata, age 9 (both children of Migavi). They planned a demonstration of jiu-jitsu along with some matches on Saturday October 20. The matches would pit Murakami (Miravami/Migavi) versus Issida, Misawa versus Maritoni, Iamada (Yamada) versus Naioti, Iwawe, versus Azuma, Tigusa versus Ono, and Takasawa versus Miyaki.110

  The exciting Japanese sport [emplogante esporte nipponico] had many practitioners in São Paulo [entre nós, tem já innumeros cultores]. At the same time, it was still relatively little known [ainda relativamente pouco conhecido entre nós]. The newspaper explained that jiu-jitsu was the art by which the weak can defeat the strong [a arte de dominio do fraco contra a forte]. In fact, it went on, one of the most famous and fearsome jiu-jitsu fighters in the world was a tiny little man, weighing 44 kilos, who could, with astonishing ease, defeat men weighing up to 140 kilos! [um dos mais celebres e temiveis luctadores de jiu-jitsu do mundo, é um japonez de 44 kilos de peso! E esse minisculo homenzinho, tem levado de vencido, com facilidade assombrosa, a homems até de 140 kilos].

  It is not known who
all of the fighters were, but two of them were the Ono brothers Yassuiti and Naoiti (both names variously spelled in subsequent reports). Both would participate in many matches with George Gracie (and two with Helio) and would train many notable jiu-jitsu fighters and judokas. In fact their careers closely paralleled those of the Gracies, with one difference. The Ono Brothers knew, and often pointed out, that what everyone in Brazil was practicing was Kodokan judo, not any original form of jiu-jitsu. They called it jiu-jitsu however, because that is the word that most people knew.

  David versus Goliath

  For unknown reasons, Helio fought Zbyszko first, but it was George who originally challenged him, in fact, even before he and his troupe got to Brazil. Zbyszko was so confidant that he offered to fight in a kimono and take on all of the Gracies on the same night. He also offered 5,000 dollars to anyone who could beat him.111 Helio was the first of the brothers to try. He didn’t lose, but he didn’t take home the 5,000 dollars either.

  Fans and writers and not least of all, George, felt that he could do better than Helio against the Polish ex-luta romana champion and catch troupe leader.

  Zbyszko at first said that he would fight in a kimono. George said that anyone who wanted to fight him or his brothers had to wear one also, especially if there was a large weight disparity.112 After the Helio fight, Zbyszko changed his mind, and so obviously did George.

  In some sense, George did do better. However, he lost the fight. Helio fought defensively, which might have been wise under the circumstances. George fought to win. Winning was more important to George than not losing. Helio felt otherwise. Clearly, George had the better chance of winning the 5,000 dollars. He also had a better chance of losing the fight. It was gamble, but that is how gambling works. Larger potential pay-offs come with greater risks of loses. Helio wanted to retain his distinction of being undefeated more than he wanted to beat Zbyszko. George wanted to win.

  George weighed 66 kilos to Zbyszko’s 106 kilos. He also had the disadvantage of not wearing a kimono. Despite these two handicaps, according to one report, the fight was extremely even for the first 10 minutes [equilibradissimo durante 10 minutos] until finally Zbyszko applied an armlock from which George could not escape, suffering his first loss.

  After the fight, Zbyszko was lavish in praise of George, admiring his fighting spirit [combatividade] and calling him “one of the most perfect and complete fighters in the world in his weight category [“dentro de sua cahegoria, um dos mais perfeitos e completos luctadores do mundo”]. He added that all of the Gracies were excellent fighters who could shine in any country.113

  In the same article it was mentioned that George had received several proposals to give exhibitions in the USA and Japan. He was inclined to go to the USA and had already begun taking English lessons, the report said. There is no evidence that he went.

  According to O Paiz, the fight was short but intense [curta mas intensa]. The action started with Zbyszko easily taking George to the ground with himself on top. George calmly tried to repel him with his legs but Zbyszko was too heavy. Zbyszko went for an armlock [chave de braço] which George avoided. Zbyszko grabbed George’s elbow and lifted it to twist it. George skillfully unbalanced him [habilmente desequilbrou-o e Zbyszko voltou a cair sobre elle] but Zbyszko returned to his previous position. He managed to bend George’s arm, forcing him to give up.114

  Gazeta de Noticias was less impressed with the George versus Zbyszko fight, describing it as “absurd and monotonous” [luta absurda e monotona]. It was no surprise that Zbyszko won, because this time he fought for real, unlike in his previous fights, especially with Helio Gracie, the cynical reporter wrote.115 A Federação and Diario Carioca reported that George held out for 10 minutes, Diario de Noticias thought that it was 2 minutes less [George Gracie desistiu aos 8 minutos do 1.º round] but both agreed that the end came with a violent armlock [violento chave de braço].

  George did not make excuses. He had never trained as hard as for this fight, he said. He was in excellent shape. But Zbyszko was too big. When he inserted grips for an armlock, he was too heavy to disengage from. For anyone of my weight to fight Zbyszko without a kimono, is suicide, George declared.116

  Despite Diario de Noticias’ suspicions, there was no evidence that Zbyszko “worked” his fight with Helio Gracie. The results of both fights were consistent with the conditions of the fights (kimono versus no kimono), the Gracie brothers’ different strategies (defensive versus aggressive), and probably the fact that Zbyszko modified his strategy after the first fight. Interestingly, the O Paiz report indicates that Zbyszko was in George’s guard throughout and applied the fatal armlock from that position.

  Porto Alegre

  Oswaldo Gracie and a Gracie Academy student named Olyntho Miranda Netto, also known by the nickname of “Barata,” went to Porto Alegre in Barata’s home state (he was from a familia gaucha) of Rio Grannde do Sul in September to spread jiu-jitsu. Their first order of business was to visit the offices of the local newspaper A Federação.

  Oswaldo informed reporters that he and his brothers Carlos, George, and Helio had never lost a fight [Nunca formam derrotados! Nunca perderam!]. They had competed not only in jiu-jitsu but also in luta livre and had defeated capoeiragem masters. He mentioned that his brother Helio in only his fourth professional fight, had confronted Wladeck Zbyszko, veteran of 2,000 fights over a twenty-year career. Yet Zbyszko wasn’t able to beat Helio.

  In 1931, the Gracie brothers introduced jiu-jitsu to Rio, Oswaldo said. There, in Rio, they proceeded to face representatives of every martial art, of every race and color, white, black, red, and yellow. The Gracie brothers vanquished all of them. Brazilian blood and intelligence triumphed over everyone who stood in their path [O sangue brasileiro e a intelligencia triumpharam em toda linha].

  Even the Japanese masters of jiu-jitsu bowed before the supremacy of the Gracie Brothers, Oswaldo asserted.117

  Oswaldo may have forgotten that Donato Pires dos Reis had established the first jiu-jitsu academy in Rio in 1930 and that two of his first students were Carlos and George Gracie. Perhaps he was unaware that Mario Aleixo had been teaching jiu-jitsu in Rio since 1913 or earlier, and that Sada Miyako and Conde Koma had introduced the Japanese game to Rio in 1909 and 1915, respectively. It was surprising given that Oswaldo and his brothers had studied with Conde Koma for several years in Pará. Or so he claimed.

  On Saturday October 8, Oswaldo gave a demonstration at the Porto Algre branch of the Associação Christa do Moços (ACM), at rua Pantaleao Telles, n. 1070, next to avenida Borges do Medeiros, accessible by street cars A and C. Oswaldo, with the assistance of Barata, revealed his vast knowledge of jiu-jitsu [exhibiu com proficiencia os seus vastos conhecimentos no jiu-jitsu]. They planned another demonstration in the near future, possibly at a boxing program at the Ampitheatro Alhambra on avenida João Pessoa.118 They also planned to accept challenges from anyone who wanted to test them.119

  Another demonstration was planned for Wednesday October 17, especially for the “authorities,” but was postponed to Friday October 19. It began at 8:30 p.m. and was held at Club Excursionista e Esportivo on rua Marcilio Dias. Public exhibitions would probably begin Saturday October 20 at Ampitheatro Alhambra.120

  On Wednesday, ACM hosted a “night of strong fights” [noitada de luctas fortes]. There would be two luta romana matches, two boxing matches and two “jiu-jitsu livre” [no-gi] matches. The jiu-jitsu competitors were amateurs, Olmiro de Oliveira versus Carlos Dias da Silva, and Sabino Binoto versus Clovis Braga, students of Waldemar Prins, who taught jiu-jitsu at the ACM. Oswaldo and Barata gave a demonstration of jiu-jitsu.

  The public was invited to appraise the efficiency of the three styles.121

  The first public exhibition was held Saturday October 20 at Ampitheatro Alhambra.122

  The exhibitions hit a snag. The idea was to fight challengers. But as of October 23 no one had challenged them. A local fan suggested that Waldemar Prins and his students should challenge
Oswaldo and Barata. A Federação thought it was a good idea.123

  Prins declined. The paper then suggested that Oswaldo and Barata fight representatives of the Circo Queirolo, currently in Porto Alegre. Circo Queirlo had introduced Geo Omori to the public and had several other experienced jiu-jitsu fighters on staff, namely Simão Munich (Espingarda) and Othelo Queirolo (Chic-Chic), both of whom were willing to fight Oswaldo and Barata.124

  Oswaldo did not immediately leap at the offer. He explained that in Rio it was customary that anyone who challenged the Gracies should fight Helio (the youngest) first and then if he won, George next, and so on up to Carlos, the oldest brother. So in the present case, the Circo Quierolo representative Chic-Chic should fight Oswaldo’s best student Miranda. If he won, he could fight Oswaldo [“de ser vencedor, bater-se comigo”].125

  Tibor Krausz, secretary of the Circo Queirolo, rejected Oswaldo’s idea, saying that it might make sense if Oswaldo were the world champion, but he wasn’t.

  In fact, Oswaldo had already fought matches at Circo Quierolo in São Paulo, won some, lost some, and drew some, contradicting Oswaldo’s claims that he had never lost. Oswaldo was depriving the public of seeing who was better, him or Munich. Miranda would lose for sure, if he fought Munich, Krausz said. He hoped for a prompt reply because the Circo Queirolo would be leaving Porto Alegre on November 11, 1934.126

  Oswaldo countered that that Espingarda and Chic-Chic were not professional jiu-jitsu fighters, but rather circus performers. He had nothing to prove by fighting them, he said. His student Miranda was perfectly capable of dispensing with them.