Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil 1856-1949 (Volume 1) (3 page)

On
Monday August 22, 1887, at 2:00 in the afternoon, police arrived at a house at rua do Lavradio n. 97, where two tough guys [
valentões
] named Jose Martins Simões and Sebastião Lopes Castanheira were engaged in luta romana training, not for show, but for real [
exercicios de luta romana, mas luta de verdade
]. The fight must have been violent, because they were arrested without further ado [“
quando chegou a policia e, sem mais, os foi levando
].
29

On Sunday April 20, the Real Companhia Equestre Italiana made its debut at Poltheama Fluminense in
Rio. The company was directed by F. Cantoni, and had a cast of 120 performers, including 25 clowns, 25 females, 50 horses, and a strongman named Giuilo Sali. He was not merely an artist [
artista
], but an athlete-fighter as well [
athleta lutador
]. Sali had won a prize in Melbourne, and was the only rival to the celebrated Sandon of London (probably referring to Eugene Sandow). The advertisement implied that there were ten other artist-athlete-fighters in the company (Stanislau, Daniel, Corset, François, Nuti, Casi, Tusi, Santi, Sabatiani, and Hector).
30

On
Friday May 23, 1890, the management of Polytheama Fluminense (Srs. F. Cantoni and C. da Silva) invited any strong man or professional fighter to measure forces with their luta romana champion Giulio Sali. If anyone managed to throw him to the ground, according to the rules of luta romana, they would receive a large prize. So that no one would go home without being properly entertained, there would also be clowns, singers, acrobats, and animals including four Russian horses.
31

On Wednesday June 11, Sali took on two challengers. One was San Martin de Fonseca of
Brazil. The other was Pedro Vannotti of Italy. Pedro had already met the celebrated Bartoletti in a previous epoch (
ja lutou n’outra epoca com o celebre Bartoletti
), implying that he was experienced, but old. Sali defeated both without difficulty [
sem dificuldade
].
32

Another who rose to the challenge was the well-known local athlete Otto Schoneer, who was
reputed to be one of the strongest men in Rio. The encounter would be a 15 minute luta romana match, at Polytheama Fluminense on Friday June 13, “according to the correct rules of that noble art of measuring forces”. Members of the German colony in Rio would be placing their bets on Otto. Either Otto and Sali fought twice or the match was postponed, because they met (or were scheduled to meet) on Wednesday June 15.
33

Otto either liked fighting Sali or coveted the 800$ prize money [
Estão depositados 800$ para o vencedor
]. He sent a letter to
Correio do Povo
and
Gazeta de Noticias
challenging him again, prompting F. Cantoni and C. da Silva to promote another match on Wednesday June 25.
34

Luta
romana continued as one circus and stage show attraction among many others. There were many circuses from Europe and North America and they toured constantly, staying in one place for as long as their contract specified, based on the local promoters knowledge of indigenous conditions.
35
All offered similar attractions and were always open to anything that could increase their gate, with the caveat that their entertainment was for nice, middle-class families. There wasn’t a great deal of differentiation because audiences tended to enjoy the same sorts of shows. Accordingly, performers developed skills that were marketable. Sufficient leisure time and disposable income to attend shows tended to be found among the middle-class and above. Circuses and stage show companies followed the money.

Luta
romana matches and challenges were presented in September of 1891, at the Eldorado. On September 15, the German Hercules Roberte was scheduled to meet Carlos Bergam from Rio-Grande. On September 16, also from Rio-Grande, Guilherme Muller, would meet anyone who wanted to try him [
aceita-se desafio com qualquer pessoa
]. On Friday September 18, Saturday September 19, and Saturday September 26, Guilhereme and Roberte would be facing each other and also accepting challenges.
36

On
Tuesday December 4, 1894 at Theatro S. Pedro de Alacantara, the Grande Companhia Norte Americana under the direction of Frank A. Gardner made its debut. The group included a monkey named Jessie, the man of rubber Frank Naska [
o homem com os ossos de borracha
], and acrobats, dogs, snakes, gymnasts, and horse-riders. It also included the invincible fighter [
o invencivel lutador
] Samsão “Hercules” William, who immediately announced that he feared no man in luta romana [
declara que não respeita a pessoa alguma em luta romana
].
37

Samsão William undoubtedly intended his statement as an invitation to local tough guys. On
Monday December 17, 1894, the company took a day off. The next day, Tuesday December 18, it had been arranged for a fighter named Mac Sham to face Samsão William.
38

Mr. Entertainment

In 1895 the most important single individual in the history of jiu-jitsu in Brazil attracted the attention of the press. His name was Paschoal Segreto.

Paschoal Segreto and
his brothers opened a restaurant called Café America on rua Sete de Setembro n. 213, specializing in cold food, milk from Minas, Italian wines, chocolate, porridge, and coffee.
39

In 1897 Segreto was operating a
salão de novidades
[amusement house], called Animatographo Lumiere, showing the latest movies from around the world.
40
The motion picture entertainment business had just been created the previous year.
41
Paschoal Segreto was not a man who wasted time when there was entertainment to be presented and money to be made. In October of 1897, he commissioned Esperidiano Paulo to go to Europe to buy the equipment necessary to make Brazilian movies for his theater.
42
He did not want to be limited to exhibition alone when there were profits to be made in production and distribution as well. Segreto was a not a man who thought small.

Cariocas knew Segreto and associated him with quality entertainment. Within three months, between 5,000 and 6,000 people per day were enjoying movies in his theater Super Lumiere.
43
By the end of March the number of daily patrons was up to 12,000, eager to watch the movies from Europe that Segreto was importing, always bigger and better [
mais gordo, mais bonito
].
44

On September 4, Segreto’s brother Alfonso, left for
New York and Paris in search of new acts to offer middle-class Cariocas.
45
Eventually these would include fights and fighters of all persuasions: Luta romana, luta de box, lute livre, and even the exotic Japanese game of defense and physical culture known as “jiu-jitsu”.

There is no record of any fighting taking place in any of Paschoal Segreto’s establishments during the 19
th
century, which by 1898 included “Paris no Rio”. That was about to change.

Chapter 1 Notes

Chapter 2

1900-1908

On January 1, a new century began but nothing really changed in
Rio. Luta romana still ruled the variety show stages. The single most important individual in the history of jiu-jitsu in Brazil came into his stride. It was at this point that Paschoal Segreto began offering fights to middle-class Carioca families.

By 1901, Segreto’s venues included the Parque Fluminense and the Moulin Rouge. On
Monday April 29, 1901, Segreto presented something that was a familiar sight in Rio and a few other larger Brazilian cities, but was new to him. It was lucta romana. The first match, at Moulin Rouge, was Porthos versus Juan Forbes (also known as John Forbes, and Hercules Forbes).
1

The
combination of Paschoal Segreto and fighting became an unstoppable force.

Campeonato

A pattern was quickly established. The first fight ended inconclusively after three rounds. Another fight would be held without a time limit until one or the other won. Representatives of the press were invited to serve as judges, thereby ensuring publicity both before and after the fight. If they worked
gratis
, Segreto also saved money.
2

The fight lasted less than 2 minutes. Forbes lifted Porthos by the waist and dumped him on the ground [
Forbes agerrou-se a Porthos, levantou-o pela cintura e
estatelou-o no soalho
]. The excitement, or disappointment, was too much for Porthos’ friend and supporter, the well-known Italian journalist, designer, and caricaturist, Alfredo Loriot. Loriot, only 35 years of age, more or less, suffered a heart attack and died.
3

The show must go on. On
Tuesday May 7, 1901, at Moulin Rouge, John Forbes gave a demonstration of the 32 attacks and 32 defenses of luta romana [
32 ataques and 32 defesas que compõem a dita escola
].
4

There was a five
-year gap in the ads, but “campeonatos” generally marked or were contained within the period of a “
temporada
” or “season”, of which there was one per year (individual contests could of course be held at any time).

T
he Third Campeonato Internacional de Luta Romana began Saturday October 6, 1906 at Moulin Rouge.
5

The
Fourth Grande Campeonato Internacional de Luta Romana began Tuesday August 13, 1907. The participating lutadores were Amalhou from Africa, Ottinger from Germany, D’Anvers from Belgium, and Calvet, Caseaux, Omer, Paul Pons, Le Boucher, and Limousin, all from France.
6

Ticket prices ranged from 2$ for general admission [
ingressos
] to 20$ for ringside box seats [
camarotes avant-scene
] with other viewing options priced accordingly.
7

On
Wednesday August 21, 1907, newspapers announced that the campeonato would continue.
8

One could add examples ad infinitum. The point is that in
Brazil, until 1909, professional fighting meant luta romana (or, as it was also written “lucta” romana). People were not unaware of jiu-jitsu. It simply took some time and effort to market it as professional fighting.

Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian government and military officials had been aware of jiu-jitsu since even before the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905
9
as a form of physical training for the military and a form of combatives for the civil police, and probably, as was true in other countries, as a recruitment aid and something to keep the troops productively occupied when not performing their duties.

Japan
’s successes in the war, its first “test” against a “Western power, made a deep impression on Europeans and Americans, and on the political and military leaders of Brazil as well. The fact that Japan had gone from Asian back-water to world power in 35 years made many people eager to learn the secret of their success, or at least to consider what might be learned from their example. It was obvious that they had mastered the arts of science and technology in the service of war. But that was not new; indeed they learned from the West.

M
ore intriguing to many people were the distinctly Japanese characteristics that they had retained in the process of their rapid modernization. Jiu-Jitsu seemed to be one of those things.

Jiu-Jitsu was already known in
England and America through the work of a few men who had earlier learned in Japan after the opening of the ports subsequent to Perry’s visits in 1853-54. The numbers of serious jiu-jitsu students were undoubtledly few. Most economic immigrants or diplomatic visitors seemed to have scant interest it jiu-jitsu, assuming that they noticed it at all.
10

The distinguished Brazilian historian and career diplomat Manoel Oliveira Lima served in
Japan from 1901 to 1903.
11
Before his next posting in Peru, he presented a series of public lectures in Rio about Japan. One took place at 2:00 p.m., on Sunday August 2, 1903, at “
salão de honra da Escola Senador Correia
“. The subjects of his lectures were “Modern Japan compared to Ancient Japan” [
O Japão moderno comparado com o antigo
”] and “Potential Relations between Brazil and Japan” [
As relacões possiveis entre o Brasil e o Japão
].
12
According to one researcher, he briefly mentioned jiu-jitsu as being an Asian version of “capoeira”.
13

Interest was heightened by
Japan’s success against Russia in 1904-1905. Japan, a country of small polite people had defeated big brutish Russia. Some writers attributed this result to the quality of Japan’s fighting men and their “ju-jitsu” training.
14

Many books about jiu-jitsu were written in English during and immediately following the Russo-Japanese War.
15
Some were in print even earlier.
16

The most popular were those of H. Irving Hancock. One was translated into Portuguese and available in
Brazil by June of 1906. The book was
Jiu-Jitsu: Educação Physica Japoneza
. The translators were Brazilian naval officers Santos Porto and (Francisco) Radler de Aquino.
17
Capitão tenente
Porto and
1
st
tenente
Radler translated the sub-title as “The system of exercises, diet, and general way of life, that has made the people of the Mikado the healthiest, strongest, and happiest men and women in the world [“
O systema de exercicios, alimentação e modo geral de vida, que fez do povo da Mikado os mais sadios, os mais fortes e mais felizes homens e mulheres do mundo
”].

Hancock had incorrectly translated of
“jiu-jitsu” as “muscle breaking”. Santos Porto and Radler de Aquino translated Hancok’s incorrect translation literally, as “
quebrar-musculos
”, a clear indication that future jiu-jitsu masters in Brazil who used this phrase
18
were influenced by and may have acquired their “
conhecimentos
” [knowledge] from Hancock, and by this translation in particular.

Other translations of Hancock’s books were available by 1912, and the original English versions and French translations of some of these books were available no later than April 1908.
19

A Brazilian who wanted to master the scientific Japanese game of defense had few authentically qualified teachers to learn from. But there was no shortage of books.

Other Games of Attack and Defense

Jiu-jitsu was introduced to the general public in circuses and variety theater shows, exactly as luta romana and to a lesser extent,
esgrima
and savate, had been 53 years before. Indeed, jiu-jitsu followed closely the path paved by luta romana. Jiu-jitsu performers appeared in the same theaters, under contract to the same empresarios, offering similar shows, using identical promotional and theatrical methods. In a sense, jiu-jitsu became the “new” luta romana. Along with jiu-jitsu, almost simulatenously, came luta livre, also referred to as “catch-as-catch-can” (sometimes written with hyphens sometimes not). Boxing (
luta de box
) had been introduced as early as 1890 as a variety show attraction, and was later reintroduced specifically as “English boxing” [
box Inglez
, or
o jogo Inglez
]. At the same time, luta romana did not vanish but co-existed and co-operated harmoniously with jiu-jitsu, as did for that matter, luta livre and boxing.

Capoeiragem did not quit fit into the pattern, as it tended to be associated with criminality and in fact was prohibited by law from 1890 (
Decreto
n. 847,
Livro
III,
Capitulo
XIII,
artigos
403, 404, and 405). However, as the “national game” [
jogo nacional
] or national fight [
luta nacional
], capoeiragem had avid supporters. Capoeiragem did not compete with jiu-jitsu on the stages, but from about 1908 at least, it did in the area of public policy (or access to government contracts). Jiu-jitsu and capoeiragem were rival candidates for the position of official “fight” to be taught to the assorted military, para-miliary, and police organizations of various states and municipalities. Later, from 1928, capoeiragem became a rival to jiu-jitsu in the circuses and variety shows as well. Or at least something labeled as capoeiragem was.

J
iu-jitsu did not exist apart from the other martial arts, and many people cross-trained or moved from one art to another, or created their own styles out of elements of others. To survive in an unstable economic environment, teachers and fighters needed to be versatile. Most did at least a little of everything. Capoeiras and jiu-jitsu men fought catch as catch can matches. The main styles competing for attention were luta romana, luta livre, jiu-jitsu, and capoeiragem. Boxing flourished within its own domain.

As in the
United States and Europe, sports coverage was one of the keys to selling newspapers
.20
The super-stars of the foreign rings were assured of prominent coverage in the pages of every newspaper that aimed at a wide circulation. Unlike luta livre, jiu-jitsu, everyone understood accurately what boxing was. The rules were not negotiable and did not vary match-by-match. Accordingly, boxing versus other styles matches were not common, and boxers who did participate tended to be inexperienced, unsuccessful, or past their peak earning years.

Luta
livre differed from luta romana in allowing joint locking techniques, leg attacks, and chokes (with occasional exceptions and restrictions). Depending on the rules negotiated for a particular match, limited use of strikes might also be allowed. The rules were so negotiable that a luta livre match could actually become a jiu-jitsu match, and vice versa. Striking could be prohibited entirely, or just in certain positions. In any given fight, certain kinds of strikes could be permitted while others were not. Fighters had a lot to remember and they sometimes couldn’t, which created controversy and frequently, re-matches.

To take one example, the capoeioras who faced the Gracie jiu-jitsu representatives in July 1931 were not permitted to strike on the ground, and one of them lost (by
desclassificação
, or disqualification) because he did. A few fights were “
valendo tudo
”
21
in which comparatively more striking was allowed than in a typical luta livre match. Fights could also vary in how “arranged” they were, ranging from not at all to completely. Fans didn’t necessarily know how to distinguish between real and fake fights and didn’t necessarily care, up to a point, exercising their right to a “willing suspension of disbelief”.

Fans wanted entertaining fights. Fighters were happy to oblige, but didn’t want to and couldn’t afford to get unnecessarily hurt. The more they fought and the more reali
stically they fought, the greater the chance of incurring an economically disasterous injury. Often their opponents were also friends and business associates. Together, these encouraged arranged fights. Not all fights were arranged, but many were.

Luta
Romana

Luta
romana was first introduced as an entertainment attraction, but it could be practiced as an amateur sport, and eventually was. On Sunday evening, December 19, 1909, the Centro de Cultura Physica held an evening of gymnastics, fencing, ”jui-juitz” (jiu-jitsu), and luta romana, all under the direction of the noted sportsman and luta romana professor, Eneas Campello. João Baldi (later to be a Gracie ring rival and a victim of one of their street ambushes) participated in a no-time limit luta romana match.
22

Luta
romana was primarily upper-body wrestling, but photographs from 1909, showed Cazeaux versus Constant le Marin, in a raised ring with two obviously jerry-rigged ropes, engaged in some form of ground grappling, or what Greco-Roman stylists now call
par terre
.
23