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

“Internacional Campeonato de Box Inglez” was held in Rio in 1913. It was promoted by the man who had brought the first jiu-jitsu expert, Sada Miyako, to Brazil, and would one year later present on the stages of his theaters the most famous of all, Conde Koma―and subsequently many other fighters of less celestial stature.
    T he concept of a world boxing champion dates from 1882. 28 Subsequently the public developed certain expectations for how champions would be crowned. The winner of a tournament on a single stage in one city in Brazil could hardly claim to be a world or even national champion. The tournament format was not often used for boxing shows.
    Boxing also, despite being endorsed by two of the most advanced countries ( England and the United States), was not regarded favorably by all Brazilians. As one wrote in 1910, “ Boxe….o sport mais estupido e bestial ” [boxing…the most stupid and animalistic sport]. He described boxing as “ savate com as mãos ”. 29
    H e did not go into great detail as to why he disliked the noble art, but he wasn’t the only one. The spectacle of two men pucnching each other did not seem like entertainment to many people, particularly not to respectable Christians. Professional boxing had a hard road before it was finally legalized in the United States. 30 It took a world war, a hard-hitting heavyweight named Jack Dempsey, and the marketing genius of Tex Rickard to make professional boxing the muilt-million dollar business that it became. 31
    Luta Livre
    Luta livre was introduced as an extension of luta romana. The objective was similar, to put the other man on the ground. But luta livre offered more. The rules and techniques were explained in numerous articles and demonstrations, as jiu-jitsu had been. In 1909 a newspaper columnist named “Cousin Henry” summarized the differences. He also showed a clear grasp of the business side of professional wrestling. 32
    There are two types of “luta” , he explained. One is luta romana (occasionally referred to as luta greco-romana). In his view, luta romana had once been but no longer was an athletic contest or sport, but rather a commercial exhibition [ não é mais uma sport mas…um exhibição commercial ].
    The other was luta livre, which was a genuine sport and athletic contest with the purpose of throwing a man to the ground using the techniques and rules of the game [ enviar o adversario ao solo ] or pinning his shoulders to the mat [ encostamento as duas espaduas ], using the various techniques of the sport such as “ prises ” [locks, grips], “ crocs en jambe ” [leg hooks], “ prise de pieds ” [footlocks], and others. Luta livre is called catch-as-catch-can in North America, he explained, and practiced there, and in England, Turkey, and India.
    In the “troupe system” , he explained, fighters form groups, which are contracted by an empresario [promoter] to perform “ espectaculos ” [shows] for a specific “ temporada ” [season, or period of time]. Fighters are paid before fighting. The troupe leader decides what the outcome of the match will be the day before or sometimes hours before the fights. In the case of desafios [challenges], the fighter doesn’t risk his own money, rather the empresario underwrites the performance, viewing an occasional defeat as an operating expense.
    Henry’s overview was generally correct, but didn’t foresee that luta livre would quickly recapitulate the trajectory of luta romana. In fact, he probably over-estimated how different luta livre was from luta romana even in 1909. The same could probably be said of professional jiu-jitsu.
    Capoeiragem
    Between 1856 and 1909, capoeiragem was associated with slaves and former slaves, black people, and in general the lowest classes.
    As O Paiz expressed it, “Use of the ‘ sardinha ,’ as capoeiras called razor blades, turned the public against the national game, which originated in Africa. Famous gangs formed whose