Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was one of our more interesting Presidents. He had a river in Brazil named after him, and at least three new species of animals named for him (which he discovered). He was also the recepient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the first President to fly in an airplane, first to submerge in a submarine (he also took the controls for a time), the first to ride in a car and the first to drive his own car. However, in relation to the martial arts, he was a champion boxer – yes, boxing is a martial art – and actually lost sight in one eye due to a detached retina. This was in a sparring match in the White House. He was also the first President to take judo (also called jujutsu, at the time). Yamashita Yoshiaka (American: Yoshiaka, or Yoshitsugu, Yamashita), was his intructor from the Kodokan in Japan. Yamashita received his Shodan (“1st” dan) three months after joining the Kodokan in 1884, and received his Yodan (4th dan) after just two years. In 1898 he received Rokudan (6th dan) and was posthumously promoted to Judan (10th dan) in 1935. After coming to America, Yamashita and his wife, Fude, began teaching the Washington elite. He was introduced to the President, and during March and April 1904, Roosevelt practiced judo three afternoons a week, using a ground floor office in the White House as his workout space. Then, for the rest of the summer, he practiced occasionally. Yamashita later said that while Roosevelt was his best pupil, he was also very heavy and very impetuous, and it had cost the poor professor many bruisings, much worry and infinite pains during Theodore’s rushes to avoid laming the President of the United States. Also, President Roosevelt indirectly contributed to the formation of Brazilian Jujutsu. Maeda Mitsuyo, a Kodokan judo expert, Maeda, with another judoka, named Tomita, gave a demonstration at the United States Military Academy. After the demonstration, they were challenged by some of the cadets. Maeda easily threw his challenger, but Tomita failed to complete throws due to the size of his opponent. Later, when Maeda (Conde Koma) went to Brazil, he promised that no one he trained would ever lose a match. Around 1918–1919, while in Brazil, Maeda accepted a challenge from the famous Capoeirista (Capoeira fighter) Pé de Bola. Maeda allowed Pé de Bola to use a knife in the fight. The Capoeirista was 190 cm tall and weighed 100 kg. Maeda won the match quickly. In 1917, Carlos Gracie—14 year old son of Gastão Gracie—watched a demonstration by Maeda at the Da Paz Theatre and decided to learn judo (also known at the time as Kano Jiu-Jitsu). Maeda accepted Gracie and Luiz França as students, and the youth went on to become a great exponent of the art and ultimately, with his younger brother Hélio Gracie, founded Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 13:24:09 +0000
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