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

Authors: Roberto Pedreira

Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil 1856-1949 (Volume 1) (60 page)

Appendix 4

Glossary

Styles

Capoeiragem
, according to contemporary sources, was originally derived from, based on, and inspired by savate, and associated with slaves, former slaves, lower-class young males of color, and trouble-makers in general. It evolved into the “national game” [
jogo nacional
], and by that time was almost exclusively the art of kicking. Practitioners were
capoeiras
. Eventually,
capoeiragem
was toned down (razor blades removed) and dressed up (musical instruments and acrobatics added) and became
capoeira
, while the former
capoeiras
(practitioners) then became
capoeiristas
. The change did not happen monolithically or abruptly. By the time jiu-jitsu came to Brazil, capoeiragem/capoeira was the art of kicking and had many supporters among the nationalistically inclined ruling classes.

Luta romana
was the first foreign fight to arrive that was seen as a form of entertainment or, potentially, sport. In its very first presentations, it was a sort of mini-drama, with men acting the roles of Roman gladiators. To heighten the dramatic tension, aspects of genuine competition were introduced. It was the game of upper body wrestling with some limited aspects of ground fighting (exactly as in modern day Greco-Roman wrestling). Practitioners were
artistas
or
lutadores.
(Luta
was also spelled
lucta
).

Luta
(
lucta
) = a fight, struggle

Lutadore
(
luctadore
) = fighter, competitor

Lutar
(
luctar
) = to fight, to struggle

Box
(boxing) was the specialized art of punching by the rules of the Marquis of Queensbury. The game of punching was not new; that was a sub-game of savate, until punching, at least skilled punching, became associated almost exclusively with boxing. Boxing was
box
,
boxe
,
o
jogo Inglez
[the English game],
a arte do murro
[the art of punching],
o jogo do murro
[the game of punching], among other names. Boxers were
boxeurs
,
boxeadores
,
boxistas,
and sometimes
esmurradores
[punchers]. A boxing match was a
luta de box
, a
“match” de box
(the word
match
in quotation marks) among other expressions.

Luta livre
(
lucta livre
) was the Brazilian Portuguese equivalent for
catch-as-catch can
, or “free-wrestling” (implying lack of the luta romana restrictions).
Livre
did not mean “free” in the sense of “anything goes” [that was
vale tudo
]. The exact meaning was never clear or universally accepted. Some writers believed that luta livre and catch-as-catch-can were the same while some believed that they were slightly, but not very, different. Practitioners were either
lutadores
(
luctadores
) or in the case of catch, “catchers”,
catcheurs
, and “catch-catchers”, among other expressions. Catch-as-catch-can was occasionally described or defined as, “
a sciencia do ‘agarra-te-como puderes
’” or something similar, sometimes as
luta
(or
lucta
)
americana
, but often simply “catch”.

The transition from sports to professional wrestling in
North America was virtually complete by 1939. Brazil followed the same course for the same reasons, which were well-understood. Promoters gave the fans what they wanted. The “revealed preference” of the fans was for fake wrestling.
1
In time, “catch” referred mostly to staged pro wrestling.

Olympic free-style wrestling (
Luta Livre Olimpica
) was unknown in Brazil until 1949 [
era um desporto completamente desconhecido no Brasil
]. The biggest booster of this form of wrestling was the nephew of Paschoal Segreto, the man who originally brought luta livre and jiu-jitsu to Brazil. The first Campeonato Brasileiro de Luta Livre Olimpica was promoted by the same groups who produced catch shows, namely the Federação Metropolitana de Pugilismo (F.M.P) and the Confederação Brasileira de Pugilismo (C.B.P.). The two federations joined forces to promote a series of competitions designed to prepare a team for participation in the Olympic Games. It was difficult work because Brazilian wrestlers were accustomed to the rules of catch and “show matches” [“
isso não custou pequeno trabalho, pois os nossos lutadores estavam habituados aos regulamentos do catch e ás lutas-exhibições
”]. But the effort paid off. Around 10,000 people came to watch the competitions,
2
which were held as segments within professional catch and capoeira shows.
3

Jiu-jitsu
was the secret, ancient, deadly, scientific game of the samurais and geishas. Sports writers, teachers, and practitioners generally viewed jiu-jitsu as a form of luta livre, the principle difference being the kimono
4
and the techniques that the kimono facilitated (chokes and throws) and to some extent, the physical characteristics of the “representatives” (Japanese lineage, agile, and of small stature). Practitioners were “jiu-jitsu men”,
jiu-jitsuistas
,
jiu-jitsuanos
, among other expressions.

Techniques

Techniques were described by sports writers who seldom were experts in the sport that they were describing. Even if they were, they were constrained to use terms that non-experts could understand. Striking was less confusing. The major techniques could be defined ostensively (by pointing), if that was even necessary. Everyone had some notion of what slaps, punches, and kicks looked like, and had probably even experienced them at some point in childhood or adolescence. Everyone could guess what
cabeçadas, joelhadas,
and
cotoveladas
were (
cabeça
is “head”,
joelho
is knee,
cotovelo
is elbow and the suffix -
ada
described a “blow” delivered with the object denoted by the root word). Describing grappling, especially jiu-jitsu, was more difficult. Thus, there were many expressions for the same limited number of techniques. The two most general were
golpe
, which could mean any technique or action that had some effect in potentially determining the outcome of a contest (among other meanings), just as the English equivalent “a blow” can be very general (as in “the liquidity crisis struck a fatal blow to the economy”, or some such). The next most frequently used was
chave
, a direct translation from French
clef
, meaning “key”, but in the context of grappling, a hold, lock, grip, or application of a hand or hands on the opponent for the purpose of manipulating or immobilizing him.

The following were used. What they meant depended on what the writer was trying to convey.

Grappling

Balão
: Shoulder-throw, high throw.

Bananeira
: Flipping the opponent by lying back, while lifting opponent with one’s own feet.

Cabeça presa nos rins
: Pressing the kidneys with the head.

Chave de Braço
Americana
: American style armlock.

Chave de estrangulamento
: Strangle lock, choke,
estrangulamento
usually implied use of a collar.

Chave de estrangulamento na trachea
: Pressure on the trachea.

Chave de pé
: Foot-lock.

Chave de pescoço
: Neck-lock, or choke.

Chave de perna
: Leg-lock.

Chave de pernas no pieto e torção de braço
: Legs on the chest while twisting the arm, armlock from ground.

Chave de rin
: Kidney lock, closed guard position, use of legs while lying.

Chave na garganta
: Throat lock, choke

Clef au bras á terre
(French): Armlock, writers sometimes used French words to clarify what a new Portuguese expression meant. The
chave de braço
that George Gracie used on Mario Aleixo was explained as a
clef au bras á terre
(lock of the arm on the ground).

Chave auto-collar
: Choke.

Collar de força
: Collar choke.

Chave de pé
: Leglock.

Compresseão carotideana
:
Carotid compression, choke.

Cros en jambe
‘(French): Leg-hook.

Encostamento dos espaduas:
Pinning the shoulders.

Golpe ao pescoço
: Choke.

Golpe de asphyxiamento
: Choke.

Golpe de estrangulação
: Choke.

Golpe á garganta
: Choke.

Golpe de perna
: Leg attack.

Golpe de braço
: Arm attack.

Gravata
: Literally, neck-tie. This was the most widely used term. It could mean headlock, choke from any position, or simply arms around the head.

Gravata japoneza
: Japanese neck-tie, choke.

Gravata com tesoura
: Choke or headlock with legs around opponent’s body.

Gravata de um apache
: Thug choke, forearm around neck from behind.

Gravata kimono
: Choke with the kimono.

Guarda cerrada
: Literally, closed guard.

Pressão da espinha
: Pressure on the spine.

Prisão de braço com a tesoura
: Armlock with legs over or around the opponent.

Prise
(French):
Prisão
, or hold.

Prise de pieds
(French): Leglock.

Queda
: Take-down.

Rasteira
: Trips, leg sweeps.

Tesoura
: Literally scissors, use of legs for attack or defense, standing or lying.

Tesoura aos rin
: Closed guard, could imply squeezing painfully.

Tesoura de rins
: Same as above.

Tesoura de pernas ao thorax
: Legs around the chest, closed guard.

Tombo
: Take-down (tumble).

Torção de braço
: Twisting the arm, armlock.

Torsão de perna
: Twisting the leg, leglock.

Note that there was no expression for “triangle choke” [
triangulo
] despite the almost certainty that Yassuiti Ono knew about it (see Chapter 7, and
Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone
, chapter 13, for details). A sports writer would probably have described the technique as a type of
tesoura
.

Striking

Bofetão
: Slap, open-hand strike.

Chulipa
: Back-hand slap, used by capoeiras.

Chute:
Kick

Cotovelada
: Elbow strike.

Cutelada
: Open hand chop.

Joelhada
: Knee strike.

Pisão
: Stepping stomp kick, side kick.

Ponta pé
: Straight front kick.

Savatada
: Kick.

Socco
: Punch.

Sopapo
: Slap, open-hand strike.