Jiu-Jitsu History
MITSUYO MAEDA KOMA
Maeda was born in Funazawa Village, Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, on November 18, 1878. He attended Kenritsu Itiu high school (currently Hirokou—a Hirosaki school). As a child, he was known as Hideyo. He practiced sumo as a teenager, but lacked the ideal build for the sport. Because of the interest generated by stories about the success of judo at contests against jujutsu that were occurring at the time, he changed from sumo to judo. In 1894, at seventeen years of age, his parents sent him to Tokyo to enroll in Waseda University. He joined the Kodokan Judo Institute the following year.
Interestingly, Koma was one of five “Guardian” instructors sent by Professor Jigoro Kano to the United States to teach U.S. military men the art of Judo. These instructors were requested by President Theodore Roosevelt. Koma had been personally trained by Kano.
The duties of Koma’s position were to oversee Japanese immigration to Brazil. This is what brought Gastao Gracie and Koma together. The friendship between them became so strong that Koma decided to do something that was not normally done. He taught Jiu-jitsu to Carlos Gracie. This was about 1918
Jiu-Jitsu History
MAEDA & GRACIE
Maeda & Gracie
Gastão Gracie was a business partner of the American Circus in Belém. In 1916, Italian Argentine circus Queirolo Brothers staged shows there and presented Maeda.
In 1917 Carlos Gracie (eldest son of Gastão Gracie) watched a ‘Kano Jiu-Jitsu’ demonstration by Maeda at the Da Paz Theatre and decided he wanted to learn. Maeda accepted Carlos as a student. He taught Carlos for several years (perhaps 5–6 years), eventually passing his knowledge on to his brothers. Gracie’s account of the events is that his younger sibling Hélio Gracie gradually developed Gracie jiu-jitsu as a softer, pragmatic adaptation that focused more on the ground fighting and leverage aspect of Jiu-Jitsu/Judo (ne-waza) rather than the throws, as he was unable to perform many Judo throws, due to his size, that required direct opposition to an opponent’s strength
GRACIE
HELIO GRACIE
Maeda was born in Funazawa Village, Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, on November 18, 1878. He attended Kenritsu Itiu high school (currently Hirokou—a Hirosaki school). As a child, he was known as Hideyo. He practiced sumo as a teenager, but lacked the ideal build for the sport. Because of the interest generated by stories about the success of judo at contests against jujutsu that were occurring at the time, he changed from sumo to judo. In 1894, at seventeen years of age, his parents sent him to Tokyo to enroll in Waseda University. He joined the Kodokan Judo Institute the following year.
Interestingly, Koma was one of five “Guardian” instructors sent by Professor Jigoro Kano to the United States to teach U.S. military men the art of Judo. These instructors were requested by President Theodore Roosevelt. Koma had been personally trained by Kano.
The duties of Koma’s position were to oversee Japanese immigration to Brazil. This is what brought Gastao Gracie and Koma together. The friendship between them became so strong that Koma decided to do something that was not normally done. He taught Jiu-jitsu to Carlos Gracie. This was about 1918
Jiu-Jitsu History
MAEDA & GRACIE
Maeda & Gracie
Gastão Gracie was a business partner of the American Circus in Belém. In 1916, Italian Argentine circus Queirolo Brothers staged shows there and presented Maeda.
In 1917 Carlos Gracie (eldest son of Gastão Gracie) watched a ‘Kano Jiu-Jitsu’ demonstration by Maeda at the Da Paz Theatre and decided he wanted to learn. Maeda accepted Carlos as a student. He taught Carlos for several years (perhaps 5–6 years), eventually passing his knowledge on to his brothers. Gracie’s account of the events is that his younger sibling Hélio Gracie gradually developed Gracie jiu-jitsu as a softer, pragmatic adaptation that focused more on the ground fighting and leverage aspect of Jiu-Jitsu/Judo (ne-waza) rather than the throws, as he was unable to perform many Judo throws, due to his size, that required direct opposition to an opponent’s strength
