Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil 1856-1949 (Volume 1) (52 page)

On Thursday September 6, Helio flew to
Fortaleza on a Cruzerio do Sul airplane, presumably to visit his brother Carlos.
29
Carlos had moved to Fortaleza after serving his prison term for impregnating and then abandoning one of his under-age jiu-jitsu students.
30
Nothing of significance occurred on route. The same would not be true the following year.

.
Chapter 22 Notes

Chapter 23

1946

Germany
surrendered on, May 7, 1945 Japan on September 2, 1945.
1
Life very slowly returned to normal. Germany and Japan were occupied and had to be rebuilt, as their overly ambitious war aspirations brought them near the edge of non-existence. Brazil however, suffered minimal damage, having lost 1,889 soldiers, 34 ships, and 22 airplanes. On the contrary Brazil’s economy enjoyed a major boost.
2

The German immigrant community did not rise up, as some had feared. Before and during the war, the Japanese immigrants had been viewed by the North Americans and Brazilians as a potential fifth-column.
3
Japan’s surrender partly solved that problem but not entirely, because most Japanese in Brazil believed that Japan had actually won the war and that reports to the contrary were merely propaganda.

The post-war Japanese immigrant community was divided into two groups, the
make-gumi
[defeat group], who accepted the fact that Japan had surrendered, and the
kachi-gumi
, [victory group], the largest being the
shindo-renmei
, who believed that Japan had actually won and that Brazil was now a conquered country. The majority (95% by some estimates) belonged to the
kachi-gumi
, who were anti-assimilationist and believed that Brazil was a colony in the Japanese empire and that they would receive land.
4
The
kachi-gumi
were angry that Brazil had sided against Japan and although most violence was directed at other Japanese, Brazilians were sometimes attacked too. Brazilians retaliated by lynching Japanese.
5
A move to ban Japanese immigration was barely defeated.

In the end the problem was
eased by isolating
shindo-renmei
leaders on an island prison 12 hours by boat off the coast of Santos.

The process took some time. Tensions were still high in 1951 and that was one reason for the single most important jiu-jitsu fight in Brazilian history, Masahiko Kimura versus Helio Gracie.
6

Japanese ultra-nationalism and Brazilian xenophobia interacted to produce friction and may have contributed to the fall-off in interest in jiu-jitsu fights generally. As had happened in
North America, not only was the enemy feared and hated, but so were his cultural practices. Jiu-jitsu was quintessentially Japanese. No description of jiu-jitsu failed to mention that it was the Japanese science of defense. After 1942 it must have been difficult for Brazilian promoters to cast jiu-jitsu exponents in the role of the “good guy”.

Fortunately, most jiu-jitsu practitioners in
Brazil were equally adept at luta livre, and catch wrestling, and had shown their willingness to perform in staged matches. In fact the two most notable representatives, George Gracie and Takeo Yano, had both participated in staged fights, some together. It is no surprise that they were the first to come back. When they did, it was in catch wrestling matches. If jiu-jitsu matches were presented, they were preliminaries involving relatively unknown and generally young and small fighters.

Probably there was no choice. Catch was stereotypically the domain of giants. A smaller man, like George Gracie, or Takeo Yano, could be accepted occasionally if he was an undoubted master of a secret and scientific fighting method that allowed him to compensate for his small size. For someone without those qualifications, he would have to fight someone his own size, and on the under-card. In any case, jiu-jitsu matches were rare in the immediate post-war period, 1946-1949.

The reasons are not hard to find. Virtually any large man could perform as a catch wrestler. The more skills he had, the better show he could put on. Fans had already shown their preference for an out and out, explicitly labeled catch exhibition over a legitimate jiu-jitsu match. The difference was that the catch partner was actively cooperating in putting on a pleasing show. In a legitimate jiu-jitsu match (or any other) both opponents were actively trying to prevent the other from doing anything effective. In addition, effective, fight-winning moves are not always the most visually exciting moves. Jiu-jitsu matches could be and often were deadly dull. A staged fight could be as exciting as the performers wanted it to be. It was more financially rewarding, as George had mentioned in 1940. It was also easier and certainly less painful.

It was almost inevitable that the trend of the future was in catch wrestling. Indeed, jiu-jitsu representative George Gracie was one of the primary promoters. George sometimes entered the ring as well, but most of the action was left to Takeo Yano.

The recently organized Empresa Sul-Americana de Lutas
7
promoted the first event of many mixed nights of fighting on Saturday July 27. Thereafter its programs adhered to the same pattern, featuring a mix of luta livre, catch, vale tudo, and jiu-jitsu. Performers were primarily catch wrestlers, along with George and Yano, and a handful of lesser known and unknown younger jiu-jitsu men (although a few veterans of less than stellar stature also occasionally participated, Benedicto Peres and Carlos Pereira, for examples). “Mixed” meant that two or more genres were presented, generally luta livre or catch (which were essentially synonymous, catch differing in having a connotation of North American-ness), and jiu-jitsu.

Sometimes the match was mixed in the sense that a luta livre stylist was pitted against a jiu-jitsu representative. But more ordinarily the match was contested according one set of rules―
either jiu-jitsu, or luta livre (sometimes vale tudo). Jiu-jitsu rules basically meant wearing a kimono. Vale tudo meant that striking was allowed, although it did not mean that the strikes were “real”. There were no straight striking matches (boxing or kick-boxing) and no matches between pure strikers and grapplers.

All of the available evidence strongly suggests that
the fights were simulated and that some degree of choreography was involved. That was to be expected for the catch wrestlers, but even the jiu-jitsu men were not above suspicion. George and Yano had an extensive history of engaging of demonstrably fake fights not only with pro wrestlers, but with each other as well. Thus it would be difficult to point with any confidence to any fight during the 1946-1949 period as being unquestionably authentic. The exceptions were the preliminary matches fought by amateurs. They were not important enough to need to be faked.

Nevertheless the fights were an important part of jiu-jitsu history in
Brazil. They were in a way the norm. Jiu-jitsu arose and flourished in the context of professional, theatrical wrestling. As a rule, the more “real” a fight was, the less interesting it proved to be to the paying public, which paved the way for the dominance of more traditional choreographed wrestling featuring stereotypical giants, tough men, and evil-doers.

Jiu-jitsu men, being on the small side of the size continuum, were at a disadvantage. No one would accept the idea of a small man defeating a big man in a contest of strength. Science was required to even the odds. That science generally required wearing a kimono, which in turn could and often did result in boring stalemates. Jiu-jitsu could not compete with catch/luta livre in the professional wrestling marketplace. There was a solution, but it took time and money, and some luck, to implement.
8

In the meantime, professional wrestling (luta livre/catch) reigned supreme in the major population centers of
Brazil. Jiu-jitsu survived, represented occasionally by George Gracie, but mostly by Takeo Yano. Yano sometimes beat and sometimes lost to giant catch wrestlers, but he was always the “master of the secrets of the Japanese science of attack and defense”.

The Return of Jiu-Jitsu

The first event featuring jiu-jitsu representatives was held Saturday July 27, 1946 at Estadio Municipal Pacaembú, and was promoted by Empresa Sul-Americana de Lutas. George was scheduled to face the Lithuanian Gigante de Memel in a four-round (5 minutes with 2-minute breaks) luta livre match. Takeo Yano would be confronting the Jewish champion Carlos Mesnick in a six round (5 minutes with 2-minute breaks) luta livre match. As with all programs presented by the Empresa, preliminaries were fought by amateurs, followed by three professional fights.

According to
Jornal de Noticias
, The Gracie versus Memel fight promised to be interesting because George knew all of the secrets of luta livre as well as jiu-jitsu and had already successfully faced the best luta livre fighters in his weight. Not much was known about Memel but he was expected to be strong and to have some technical skills.

Yano was one of the greatest fighters to appear in
São Paulo, but Mesnick’s supporters believed that he was highly capable. They expected him to win easily.

Preliminary fights were Araporá versus Edgard Deno and Apolo Brasileiro versus J. Barros in six 3
-minute round (with 1-minute breaks) luta livre contests. There was one jiu-jitsu contest, pitting Luis Tambucci against Paulo Collo. It was also six 3-minute rounds.
9

The fights took place as scheduled with one substitution.
Memel dropped out, replaced by Fritz Weber, who George had already fought twice (in 1939 and 1940). Weber had experience against the best jiu-jitsu fighters, having met Takeo Yano and Yassuiti Ono in 1939.

The program was a success, especially the preliminaries [
a reunião agradou bastante, principalmente em relação as preliminaries
]. The results were not reported in detail, but George and Weber drew. Takeo Yano defeated Mesnick in the fourth round. Luiz Tambucci defeated Paulo Collo in the third round). Edgard Duro defeated Araporá in the thrid round, and Apolo Brasileiro defeated J. Barros in the fifth round. Income [
renda
] for the event came to 97,470.00
cruzerios
.
10

Yano was back in action on Wednesday July 31 in a “
vale tudo
” [striking permitted] luta livre match against Memel, again at Pacaembú. He was not as successful against Memel as he had been been with Mesnick. Memel defeated Yano in the fourth.
11
Later reports provided more information. Apparently, Memel laid Yano out cold with a knee strike and brutally abused him with punches and kicks. Finally, Memel threw Yano out of the ring, knocking him unconscious, and thereby winning the fight.
12

In other fights, Comodoro defeated
Milan in a jiu-jitsu match. Hollo beat Masuro also in jiu-jitsu. In luta livre fights, Araporá beat Pinto, Barros beat Godofredo, and Egard Duro beat Rocha in what was called the best fight of the night. Income was 49.270
cruzerios
, about half of what the previous event pulled in. Promoters probably expected that. Saturdays are prime nights for any form of entertainment, compared to weekdays.

It is worth noting that Yano lost to the giant Lithuanian in a luta livre match that obviously permitted striking and with no kimono with which to apply the leverage that his scientific game depended on. Could he do better in a jiu-jitsu match? There was one way to find out.

The rematch was set for Tuesday August 21 but transferred to the following day. Memel weighed 136 kilos, Yano weighed 76 kilos. As usual the location was Pacaembú. The six rounds of 5 minutes (2-minute breaks) fight was “winner take all,” and jiu-jitsu rules were in force. Several times Memel got wrapped up in his kimono, provoking laughter among Yano’s supporters. Yano accomplished a “beautiful triumph” [“
conseguiu bonito triunfo
”], choking Memel in the fifth round. Oddly, Yano lost consciousness after he was declared the winner [
Iano perdeu os sentidos mas já vitorioso
].
13

In two preliminary jiu-jitsu contests, Adão Lucas Gomes (substituting for Otto) choked Paulo Holo in round 1, and Jun Assahama (Assahina) finished Arnadlo Butl (Burti) in the
second round by armlock [
chave de braço
]. The fight pulled in 69.120
cruzeiros
.
14

Amateur Jiu-Jitsu

Two jiu-jitsu matches of six round of 3 minutes (with 1-minute breaks) took place on Thursday August 29 at Pacaembú. The combatants were Liguori, confronting Rocha, and Firoi, encountering Lucas. These were preliminaries to the Homem Montanha versus Gigante de Memel luta livre vale tudo match. The jiu-jitsu fighters were identified as amateurs from academies in São Paulo. Rocha might have been Manoel Rocha, who faced Carlos Pereira in 1941. Lucas might have been Adão Lucas Gomes (who was often referred to simply as Lucas, or Adão Lucas).
15

Yano versus Catch

Takeo Yano was set to fight the Yugoslavian champion Yerko Strika on Thursday at Pacaembú. Two luta livre and two jiu-jitsu matches were also presented. The two amateur jiu-jitsu matches (six 3-minute rounds) were Melo versus Mira, and Jin Assahima versus Messias.
16

On Thursday October 3 at Pacaembú, Yano faced the Spanish champion Roberto Collado. In their previous meetings, they had put on good shows. The fight was a luta livre match in six rounds of 5 minutes (with 2
-minute breaks). There were five other luta livre matches and one jiu-jitsu match, between Abiduch versus Deolival. Joviano Alvim and Borges were alternates. The preliminary fights were six rounds of 3 minutes (with 1-minute breaks). The semi-final and the main event [
finalissima
], a vale tudo luta livre between Homem Montanha and Basillio Caduc of Rumania, were six rounds of 5 minutes (with 2-minute breaks).