George Gracie versus Takeo Yano I was held Friday September 28 at Stadium Brasil. It was a five 20-minute round match. It was described it as the Flu-Fla (Fluminense-Flamengo) of jiu-jitsu,19 suggesting a significance that it probably didn’t have, given that it was the debut fight of a previously unknown sports instructor.
Given his inexperience, it wasn’t surprising that George’s brother Helio predicted that Yano would not last one round, [“Yano não passara do 1 round”]. Yano was described as a student [discipulo] of Conde Koma.20
The program also featured two well-known jiu-jitsu men. The “Arabe” Jose Detti (90 kilos) and 3-dan black belt [faixa negra da terceira categoria] Yakuro Goto would measure forces in the semi-final (two rounds of 20 minutes each). There would also be two boxing matches: Loffredo versus Sanlez “The São Paulista Sub-Machine Gun”, and Arthur Bispo versus Antonio Mesquita.21
Gazeta de Noticias provided a round by round account.22
Yano initiated the action in the first round by throwing George to the ground and from there trying to choke him. George defended skillfully. Yano threw George five more times, but each time George escaped by grabbing the ropes. Yano demonstrated skill at “rasteiras” [foot sweeps].23
In the second round George attempted to to beat Yano at his own game with a “balão”, [shoulder-throw]. Yano defended skillfully. George in turn was able to successfully avoid some of Yano’s throws and foot sweeps. The fighters veered toward the ropes, where George again attempted a “balão”, which was again unsuccessful. The fight took a violent turn with both men attempting foot-sweeps [rasteiras], but to no effect. They ended up upright, hanging on to each other’s kimonos.
Yano began the third round with a strong throw. However, George got to his feet before Yano could attack him on the ground. Again Yano threw him to the ground but George used his legs to keep Yano at a safe distance. George tried to bring Yano to the ground, but failed. Again Yano threw George but couldn’t finish him there [leva George ao chão, mas sem resultado]. George went to the ground and Yano tried to choke him.
After being in a bad situation George managed to bring Yano to the ground and get on top. At this moment the fight seemed to be going in George’s favor, but they again bumped into the ropes and were obliged to return to the center of the ring. The fans were on their seats. George tried two throws. Neither succeeded. George had been on the bottom but ended up on top, where he stayed for the next 15 minutes. George had a good opportunity at this moment, but the round ended before he could do anything.
Round four was extremely boring [esse round foi desinteressantissimo]. George and Yano only went for chokes. The public demonstrated its dissatisfaction with the lack of action.
Round five settled into the same pattern as the previous round. The fans jeered. Yano applied a sensational throw [sensacional tombo] on George, which did no damage. George attacked but Yano ran to the safety of the ropes. Yano threw George again, and George again survived without imjury. The referee halted the fight briefly to disentangle George’s legs from the ropes.
Soon after that the fight ended. There was no winner or loser. The official result therefore was a draw [empate].
In retrospect, a number of observations can be made. One is the obvious dominance of Yano in the throwing aspect of the match. Since the fight took place on a padded surface it was not surprising that George wasn’t beaten by Yano’s throws, and in 1935 points were not awarded either for individual throws or for superiority in quedas [throws and other take downs].
Neither George nor Helio had the skills to stand up with the legitimate Kodokan graduates, Omori, Yano, and the Ono brothers. That wasn’t the only reason they emphasized ground fighting, but it was one reason. The rules didn’t give them an incentive to change.
Another was the fact that “rope escapes” were permitted and used. “Rope escapes” were a feature of professional wrestling, not traditional jiu-jitsu or judo.
Also in evidence was the tendency for jiu-jitsu matches to bog down into defensive stalling.
Finally, the public’s impatience with overly defensive fights was clear. In 1936 The Federação Brasileiro de Pugilismo [Brazilian Boxing Federation] devised rules for professional jiu-jitsu matches, probably to avert such outcomes. But the rules were not consistently applied and in any case did not offer sufficient incentives for fighters to substantially alter their games.
Shame in the Ring
Geo Omori and Manoel Grillo did not give up on their plan to engage in a fight. A new date was set for October 5 at Estadio Brasil. Again Grillo promised to beat Omori in the first 10 minutes. Omori promised Grillo would not be around to answer the bell for the second round.24
Omori was again training with Takeo Yano. Geo Omori was teaching at Associação Christa de Moços in Rio. The semi-final was a jiu-jitsu match between Miyaki and Arake Kioto. Preliminary bouts were boxing matches between Rodrigues Lima and Antonio Mesquite, and Pinga Fogo versus Singarelli. Grillo was training with Kid Abyssimia.25
Grillo weighed 90 kilos. Omori weighed 66. 5 kilos.26
To most people’s surprise, Grillo administered a thorough thrashing to Omori. He threw Omori out of the ring three times. The final time, 15 minutes into the fight, Omori hit his head on the floor and was knocked unconscious. He regained his senses after massage and applications of very cold water [agua bem fria]. Grillo demonstrated great knowledge of jiu-jitsu, according to Gazeta de Noticias. In the semi-final, Miyaki defeated Kioto, by desistencia [give-up].27
The Boxing Commission held up the fighters’ purses, alleging that the match was a shameful work [combinação vergonhosa] and a “fake” [tapeça]. Gazeta de Noticas, keeping an open mind, thought that if the allegation was confirmed, both Omori and Grillo should receive long suspensions for violating “morality”and in general demanded that any perpetrators of worked fights of box, jiu-jitsu, or catch be suspended or banned.28 The press, like the fans, wanted fights to be exciting, but also real. Promoters and fighters were sometimes tempted ensure a certain level of excitment by advance planning (which would have the added advantage, from the athletes’ point of view, of less pain and fewer injuries). It was a fine line.
Helio Gracie challenged Grillo, who was willing, he said, if the commission would allow the fight.29 It might have been an interesting fight. Helio was probably the only professional fighter of the time who did not engage in worked fights. Perhaps Grillo, remembering what had happened to Dudú, was less willing than he let on.
Two undefeated students of Oswaldo Gracie, Barata (Mirando Netto) and Dante Carvalho (aka “Noqueador”) were scheduled to meet at Paisandu, Friday December 27, 1935, after many months of delays and postponements.30 The result of the fight, if it happened, was not reported.
Jiu-jitsu fighter Ricardo Nibbon was scheduled to meet capoeira Andre Jansen in a catch match [luta de ‘catch as catch can’] in Bahia, October 30, 1935 at Parque Boa Vista. Nibbon was George Gracie’s top student, and was the first to bring catch as catch can, luta livre, and jiu-jitsu to the region.
Andre Jansen (75 kilos) was Sinhôzinho’s prize pupil and was the capoeiragem champion of Rio [campeão carioca de luta nacional]. He had defeated Caio Mendonça, Alberto Silva, Eurico Fernandes, Fernando Machado, and Bahiano in capoeiragem contests. In catch as a catch can fights, he defeated the French fighter Roberto Villa Vinencio, and Americo Xerem, and drew with Ismario Cruz and Bernardo Frota. All of the aforementioned took place in the capital (Salvador).
In other states, Jansen defeated Joaquim Mattoso and Le Conti of Uruguay in Juiz de Fora, Minas, and defeated Edgard Machado and Roberto Lopes in Rio. Jansen was one of the most capable, versatile, and successful fighters of the period. No Gracie or other jiu-jitsu representative was ever able to defeat him.31
Nibbon had been challenging any fighter for months in the press. Jansen accepted. It would be the first catch fight in Bahia, and one of the few so far in the North of Brazil.32
The match took place as scheduled on
Wednesday October 30. At 22:45 p.m. Nibbon tried to throw Jansen out of the ring, and then attempted a choke [golpe de pescoço] from the guard position [chave de rins]. If it hadn’t been the end of the round, Jansen might not have survived.
In the second round, Jansen went on the attack but Nibbon defended tenaciously. In the third round they were even.
By the end of the fourth round, even though he was more tired than Nibbon, Jansen attempted some techniques [golpes] but Nibbon escaped. Nibbon applied a lock to Jansen’s left arm, [chave do braço esquerdo] but just then the round ended. The fight was a “draw” [empate]. In addition to showing great knowledge [conhecimentos] of the difficult sport, they showed courage and never gave the opponent and second of respite. The audience, which included ladies, applauded the fighters enthusiastically.33
Nibbon and his students planned to demonstrate and explain the techniques of jiu-jitsu and luta livre and the rules of competition. O Imparcial expected that jiu-jitsu would become as popular as “catch” in Bahia.
Readers were familiar with catch, presumably having seen or heard about Nibbon’s match with Andre Jansen. The writer explained that luta livre was really “catch as catch can nacional” [Brazilian catch as catch can], and was regulated by the Commissão de Pugilismo de Rio de Janeiro [Rio de Janeiro Boxing Commission]. The Commission had prohibited unsafe techniques, such as fingers in the eyes, straight kicks [ponta-pés], pulling the ears or hair, biting, punching, elbows, knees, finger twisting, among others. Rounds could range from 5 to 20 minutes with breaks of from 2 to 5 minutes. The number of rounds could vary, and the winner was determined by give up or KO, or being unable to return to the ring within 20 seconds after being thrown out of it.34
In other words, catch was essentially luta livre with more consistent rules. It was to luta livre what America was to Brazil.
The Gracie brothers had seemingly shown that they were the best non-Japanese jiu-jitsu fighters in Brazil. To be the best jiu-jitsu fighters in Brazil they had to fight Japanese representatives and beat them at their own game.
Results so far had been mixed. Helio drew with Namiki and beat Miyaki. George beat Shigeo and drew once with Yano and twice with Omori. The results were inconclusive. Miyaki and Shigeo were lightly regarded. Miyaki had lost to Roberto Ruhmann and even Carlos Gracie considered him a non-entity, and Shigeo was Miyaki’s student. Omori was legitimate but old.
The most meaningful match had been George versus Yano, which ended in a draw. Moreover, Yano, also, although said to be a disciple of Conde Koma, was something of an unknown.
The Gracie’s next Japanese rival was the real deal. He was Yassuiti Ono, a 5-dan Kodokan jiu-jitsuka (or judoka, as he later insisted).35
A match was arranged between Heliio Gracie and Ono, for Thursday Decmeber 5, 1935. Ono was training with Geo Omori, Takeo Yano, and others in São Paulo. Helio was training at Paty de Alferes (a resort town about 120 kilometers from Rio).
Like Omori, Ono didn’t have a lot to say about the fight. Helio did his part to stimulate interest, visiting newspaper offices with his brother Carlos, to inform the editors that “unlike other Japanese, Ono talks too much”.36
The match was described as pitting the “violence” of Ono against the “technique” of Helio. Ono’s style was described as “aggressive”.37 Helio’s supporters had confidence in the national representative. At least, they placed their bets as though they expected him to survive. Ono’s supporters were equally confident.38
The fight took place on Thursday December 5, at Stadium Brasil.
When the fight began, Ono wasted no time attacking Helio and immediately put Helio in danger with an armlock attempt. Helio escaped with difficulty [desvencilhou-se com difficuldade].
From the start Ono was the master of the situation, throwing Helio in 32 of 55 attempts, dominating and keeping him on defense. At the end of the fourth round Helio was able to attempt his first and only attack. It failed. The final round resumed with Ono dominating Helio.
One reporter commented that while Helio demonstrated skill at defense, a teacher of jiu-jitsu should also know how to attack, as students would want to learn those skills also [professor deve sabe atacar e defender com a mesma precisão]. A fighter who enters to ring with the titles of “professor” and “invicto” [undefeated] has an obligation to take the initiative in a fight and not wait while the opponent repeatedly throws him, supposedly to prove that he knows how to defend himself on the ground. That left serious doubts about his ability to defend himself standing up.
It would be difficult, using Helio’s method, to defeat fighters like Ono and Yano, the writer concluded, correctly, as it turned out.39
The official result was a draw [empate]. Helio Gracie’s defensive skills saved him to fight another day. His brother Carlos was suspended by the City Boxing Commission [Commissão Municipal de Pugilismo] for 90 days for entering the ring during the fight.40 It was not the first or last time Carlos Gracie would collide with the authorities.
Helio remained undefeated. Some people were less than impressed. Ono was one. Like many others, Ono thought that George was a better fighter, even if he sometimes lost, because he attacked and that is what fighters are supposed to do. A strong defense is a good thing to have, but you can’t win fights with defense alone. Fans are not going to buy tickets to see someone’s defense.
Carlos understood that well. It was indeed a problem. His solution was to recruit big strong guys to represent his academy in luta livre and pro-wrestling matches. He called them “jiu-jitsu” students but how much jiu-jitsu they knew or applied in their matches was questionable, or at least, not often in evidence.
Actually, that was only one of Carlos Gracie’s solutions. He had another, which involved offering direct access to God, though he didn’t call it that. In Carlos’ vocabulary, it was “a spiritual entity” [entidade espiritual], named Egidio Lasvojinho. It would not be exaggerating to say that Egidio Lasvojinho funded not only his various jiu-jitsu activities, but, eventually, Carlos Gracie’s entire dynasty of wives, under-age girlfriends, and 21 children, and paid for lawyers to keep him out of prison (or to get him out as soon as possible). Not much of this was publically known at the time, however, and for good reason.41 Carlos Gracie’s belief system might have been ridiculed by many cosmpolitian, well-educated Brazilians (but certainly not all). The problem was that it clashed with his dedication to jiu-jitsu with its scientific principles and emphasis on morality.
The Secret
Occultism was not much out of the ordinary in Brazil, including the sophisticated capital city of Rio, during the 1930’s. Cults and esoteric associations flourished. Brazil was officially a Catholic country but its version of Catholicism was pre-counter-reformation and highly mixed with African and indigenous religions and belief systems.42 Newspapers regularly ran ads offering occult services of various sorts. The following ad, running continuously in almost every major periodical in the country, from 1933 to at least 1938, was typical:
"Do you want to always win the lottery? With the date of any person's birth, I can teach you how to win the lottery without ever losing even once. Send 600 reis in stamps and I will send a free copy of the book O Seguro da Fortuna. Thousands of people will attest to the truth of what I say.”
In the upper left hand corner was a cartoon drawing of a man wearing a turban, presumably the author of O Seguro da Fortuna, Pakchang Tong.43
Carlos Gracie had grown up with anti-Catholic and anti-organized religion attitudes. He began his career as an alternative spiritual guru by attending a meeting of an already established group. He then decided that he preferred to lead his own group. He wouldn’t have liked calling it a religion. He was simply providing access to the higher entity, who would in turn offer advice about toothpaste and real estate investments, among many other things both mundane and cosmic.44
George Gracie had a less lucrative, if more honorable solution. It was one that almost every other “name” fighter of the period adapted
as well, with the sole exception of Helio Gracie. It essentially consisted of tweaking fights to make them more interesting to fans. Tweaking could range from “carrying” an opponent, letting him last longer than he could on his own merits, or not finishing him off, pretending to be in danger, all the way to deliberately losing. George did all of the above.
Bello Horizonte
In December of 1935, George Gracie transferred his base of operations to Bello Horizonte. On December 7, it was announced that he would face Eberle of Germany that same day.45 Most likely it was a luta livre match, as jiu-jitsu opponents were in short supply. The result, if it took place, was not reported, and Eberle was not heard from again. In that sense, it was a typical George Gracie fight. When he needed quick cash, which was often, according to his wife Angelina, George arranged a fight, wherever he happened to be at the time.46 Accordingly, many of them probably came and went without leaving a trace, or not much more than the sort of brief news notice described above.
On December 20, it was reported that George would be teaching jiu-jitsu at Academia Loanzi, in Bello Horizonte.47 Reasons for the move from Rio were not explained. According to Angelina, George simply moved whenever he exhausted the possibilities of any given location.48 In any case, Belo Horizonte was not so distant from the Rio that he couldn’t appear in Carioca rings when matches could be arranged. Moreover, Bello Horizonte was becoming an attractive place to promote fights.
In the last major clash between jiu-jitsu aces of 1935, Geo Omori was scheduled to take on his friend Takeo Yano in the semi-final of the Pedro Brasil versus Manoel Grillo catch match, fought according to the rules of the state of New York, on Saturday December 21.49 Like Brasil versus Grillo, the Yano versus Omori match was a “luta de catch.” The winner of Yano versus Omori would challenge the winner of Brasil versus Grillo. The result of the match, if it happened, is unknown. If it did, it probably closely resembled the demonstration they gave Tuesday June 9 at the Club de Regatas do Flamengo.50
Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil 1856-1949 (Volume 1) Page 29