Otávio MaedaVirgílio, p. 9 (born Mitsuyo Maeda []; November 18, 1878 – November 28, 1941) was a Japanese and Brazilian judōka, catch wrestler, and prizefighter who is considered one of the fathers of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. He was commonly known by the nickname Conde Koma.
Maeda was the head of the second generation of Kodokan judōka, and was integral to the martial art's expansion into the United States during the 1900's. Along with Soshihiro Satake, he pioneered judo in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and other countries during the following decades, eventually becoming a naturalized Brazilian citizen and a promoter of Japanese immigration to Brazil.
Maeda was fundamental to the development of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, including through his teaching of Carlos Gracie and others of the Gracie family.Virgílio, p. 93 His accomplishments led to him being called the "toughest man who ever lived".
Biography 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. 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.
Formative years at the Kodokan Arriving in the Kodokan, Maeda, who was tall and weighed , was confused with a delivery boy due to his country manners and demeanor. He was spotted by judo's founder Kano Jigoro, and assigned to Tsunejiro Tomita (4th dan at the time), the smallest of the teachers of the Kodokan's "Four Heavenly Kings" (Shitennō), to illustrate that in judo size is not important. Tomita was the first Kodokan judoka and a close friend of Kano. According to Koyasu Masao (9th dan):
Although the weakest of Kodokan Shitennō, Tomita was able to defeat the great jujutsu champion of that time, Hansuke Nakamura.
With Soishiro Satake, Maeda formed the head of the second generation of Kodokan judoka, which had replaced the first by the beginning of the 20th century.Virgílio, pp. 33–34 Satake, at 175 cm and 80 kg, was unmatched in amateur sumo but admitted that he himself was not able to match Maeda in judo. Satake would later travel to South America with Maeda and settle in Manaus, Amazonas, while Maeda continued traveling. Satake would become the founder, in 1914, of the first historically registered judo academy in Brazil. He and Maeda are considered the pioneers of judo in Brazil.
At that time, there were few graduated Kodokan judoka. Maeda and Satake were the top graduated professors at Waseda University, both sandan (3rd dan), along with Matsuhiro Ritaro (nidan or 2nd dan) and six other shodan (1st dan).Virgílio, pp. 36–37 Kyuzo Mifune registered at the Kodokan in 1903 and attracted the attention of Maeda, who commented, "you are strong and competent, therefore, you will certainly leave your mark in the Kodokan ..." Mifune went to learn under Sakujiro Yokoyama and later, already a celebrated judoka, Mifune said that Maeda's words were a great incentive, as he regarded Maeda with the greatest admiration, even though Yokoyama was his sensei (instructor).
According to Mifune, in 1904 Maeda lost to Yoshitake Yoshio by hane goshi, after defeating three adversaries in succession, but in a following tsukinami-shiai defeated eight adversaries in a row and was awarded the rank of 4th dan (yondan). Mifune also states that Maeda was one of the most vigorous promoters of judo, although not by teaching the art, instead generating recognition of judo through his many combats with contenders from other disciplines. Maeda treated experienced and inexperienced students alike, throwing them as if in real combat. He reasoned that this behavior was a measure of respect towards his students, but it was often misunderstood and frightened many youngsters, who would abandon him in favor of other professors.
Prelude to Kodokan's expansion In 1879, Ulysses S. Grant, the former president of the United States, visited Japan. While in Tokyo, he attended a jujutsu presentation at Shibusawa Eiichi's home in Asukayama. Kano Jigoro was one of the jujutsuka present.Japan Times, April 18, 1922, p. 5.Waterhouse, David. "Kanō Jigorō and the Beginnings of the Jūdō Movement," Toronto, symposium, 1982, pp. 169–178. At that time, jujutsu was just starting to become known in Europe and the Americas. Excepting literal circus acts, few non-Japanese had much chance of seeing or learning about the art. Even in Japan, judo and jujutsu were not considered separate disciplines at that time. Indeed, it was not until 1925 that there started to be clear differentiation of the names in Japan,Motomura, Kiyoto (2005). "Budō in the Physical Education Curriculum of Japanese Schools." In Alexander Bennett, ed., Budo Perspectives. Auckland: Kendo World. pp. 233–238. . and outside Japan, judo and jujutsu were not completely separated until the 1950s.Virgílio, pp. 39–41
In 1903, a senior Kodokan instructor named Yamashita Yoshitsugu traveled to the United States at the request of the Seattle businessman Sam Hill. In Washington, DC, Yamashita's students included Theodore Roosevelt and other prominent Americans. At Roosevelt's request, Yamashita also taught judo at the U.S. Naval Academy.Svinth, Joseph R. (October 2000) "Professor Yamashita Goes to Washington". Journal of Combative Sport. Capitalizing on the publicity, the Japanese Legation to the United States asked the Kodokan to send more judo teachers to America, providing continuity to Yamashita's work. Tomita reluctantly accepted the task; Maeda and Satake embraced the opportunity.
Career
United States Tomita, Maeda, and Satake sailed from Yokohama on November 16, 1904, and arrived in New York City on December 8, 1904.
Early in 1905, Tomita and Maeda gave several public demonstrations of judo. On February 17, 1905, Tomita and Maeda gave a demonstration at Princeton University when Maeda threw N.B. Tooker, a Princeton football player, while Tomita threw Samuel Feagles, the Princeton gymnasium instructor.Baltimore Sun, February 18, 1905. On February 21, 1905, they gave a judo demonstration at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where Tomita and Maeda performed kata (patterns)—nage-no, koshiki, ju-no, and so on. At the request of the crowd, Maeda wrestled a cadet and threw him easily. Because Tomita had been the thrower in the kata, the cadets wanted to wrestle him too. Tomita threw the first (Charles Daly) without any trouble. However, Tomita twice failed to throw another football player named Tipton using Tomoe nage. Afterwards, the New York sportswriters claimed the victory for the cadets because Tomita was thrown, whereas the Japanese embassy staff proclaimed that Tomita had achieved a moral victory, on the grounds that he was a far smaller man.Baltimore Sun, February 22, 1905.
A conflicting account provided by The New York Times on February 21, referring to Tomita as "Prof. Tomet," states that
In any event, later that year the U.S. Military Academy hired a former world champion professional wrestler, Tom Jenkins, instead of a judo teacher, a job Jenkins kept until his retirement in 1942.Pittsburgh Press, December 27, 1905; New York Times, August 18, 1942.
The Japanese experts did better at the New York Athletic Club on March 8, 1905: "Their best throw was a sort of flying cartwheel," said an article in The New York Times, describing Maeda's match with John Naething, a 200 lb wrestler. "Because of the difference in methods the two men rolled about the mat like schoolboys in a rough-and-tumble fight. After fifteen minutes of wrestling, Maeda secured the first fall. Ultimately, however, Naething was awarded the match by pin fall."New York Times, March 9, 1905. On March 21, 1905, Tomita and Maeda gave a "jiu-do" demonstration at Columbia University attended by about 200 people. Following introductions, Tomita demonstrated falls and throws, then Maeda threw the university's wrestling instructor. According to the student newspaper, "Another interesting feature was the exhibition of some of the obsolete jiu jitsu tricks for defense with a fan against an opponent armed with the curved Japanese sword." Translations were provided by chemist Jōkichi Takamine.Columbia Spectator, March 22, 1905.
During April 1905, Tomita and Maeda started a judo club in a commercial space at 1947 Broadway in New York. Members of this club included Japanese expatriates,New York Times, April 6, 1905. plus a European American woman named Wilma Berger.Gregory, O.H. & Tomita, Tsunejiro Judo: The Modern School of Jiu-Jitsu. (Chicago: O.H. Gregory, no date but about 1906). On July 6, 1905, Tomita and Maeda gave a judo exhibition at the YMCA in Newport, Rhode Island.Newport Herald, July 7, 1905. On September 30, 1905, they gave a demonstration at another YMCA in Lockport, New York. In Lockport, the local opponent was Mason Shimer, who wrestled Tomita unsuccessfully.Lockport Journal, October 7, 1905.
On November 6, 1905, Maeda was reported visiting professional wrestler Akitaro Ono in Asheville, North Carolina;Asheville Gazette-News, November 6, 1905. Ono arrived in San Francisco on April 20, 1905, aboard the same ship as a Japanese college baseball team. Ono said that his goal was to teach judo at West Point. For this, Washington Post, April 21, 1905. However, as noted, the Military Academy hired Tom Jenkins rather than a judo teacher, so instead Ono took up professional wrestling, and American wrestler Charley Olson's subsequent battering of Ono caused a minor diplomatic incident later that year. For more on this, see Mark Hewitt, Catch Wrestling: A Wild and Wooly Look at the Early Days of Pro Wrestling in America. Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press, 2005, pp. 79–88. after this, Maeda was no longer routinely associated with Tomita in the U.S. newspapers. On December 18, 1905, Maeda was in Atlanta, Georgia for a professional wrestling match with Sam Marburger. The contest was best of three, two falls with jackets and one without, and Maeda won the two with jackets and lost the one without. According to the Atlanta papers, Maeda listed his residence as the YMCA in Selma, Alabama.Atlanta Journal, December 18, 1905, and December 20, 1905.
Cuba, Mexico, and Central America
In 1908, Maeda toured Spain with Sadakazu Uyenishi. Around this time, he earned the nickname "Conde Koma" (literally "Count Combat" in Spanish and Portuguese). According to the Japanese National Diet Library:
When Maeda visited Barcelona, he saw an advertisement for a lecture given by a man calling himself the "Japanese judo champion", who was the man who he had known had not sufficient skill to call themself the champion at all. He decided to offer a challenge to the man under a false name to teach him a lesson so that he should not refuse to accept the challenge if he knew the challenger was Maeda. When he had difficulty hitting upon a good name, he first thought of the name, "Komaru Maeda" from the Japanese word "Komaru" which means "to be in difficultly" as he was in financial difficulty at the time, and at last he decided to take up "Koma" alone from "Komaru" and to add "Conde" which means "count" in Spanish in front of it. Thus his nickname, "Conde Koma" was given birth. He offered a challenge under the name "Conde Koma", but his opponent soon found the challenger was Maeda and called off the bout.