Francisco da Silva Ciríaco (1871 – May 18, 1912), best known as Ciríaco, Cyriaco or Macaco Velho, was a Brazilian master of capoeira. He became famous for defeating Japanese jujutsu practitioner Sada Miyako.
Biography
He engaged in an the famous vale tudo fight between himself and Sada Miyako, a hand to hand instructor of the Brazilian navy. This fight was in 1909, in the Pavilhão Internacional Paschoal Segreto, and was witnessed by Agenor Moreira Sampaio. This match was a demonstration of the early rivalry between capoeira and jujutsu. It was as a result of this loss that jujutsu faced a steep decline in Brazil.
Miyako had previously defeated several opponents, among them capoeristas, fueling the rivalry. It is claimed that during the bout, Ciríaco spat on Miyako's face to confuse him, after which he feinted a hand strike, forcing Miyako to cover, only for Ciríaco to twist to the left a land a rabo de arraia kick, knocking him out. After Miyako got up, Ciríaco invited him to repeat the round, but the stil dazzled Japanese refused, closing the event. Ciríaco was thus awarded with 18,000 reales.Luiz Sérgio Dias. A Turma da Lira. Revista do Iphan 25, 1997. According to some sources, the whole attack happened while Miyako was offering Ciríaco a handshake, catching him off guard.Jose Cairus, The Gracie Clan and the Making of Brazilian jiu‐jitsu: National Identity, Performance and Culture, 1801‐1993 The capoerista was carried away triumphantly by medical students among the crowd.
He became a national hero after the fight, especially after an interview in the Kosmos magazine. He was even asked to demonstrate his capoeira moves in public events in the Faculdade de Medicina do Rio de Janeiro. His match also reinvigorated discussion about the need to formalize and teach capoeira in Brazil. Artist Raul Pederneiras claimed he was preparing a joint project with Ciríaco to turn capoeira into a sport, defining a ruleset and forbidding lethal strikes. The idea, however, did not advance. Ciríaco died of uremia on May 18, 1912.Lussac, Ricardo (2016). Tese de Doutorado. Entre o crime e o esporte: a capoeira em impressos no Rio de Janeiro, 1890-1960. Rio de Janeiro: UERJ
Legacy His legacy includes a popular capoeira song saying:Waldeloir Rego, Capoeira Angola, essai socio-ethnographique, 1968, Itapuá
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