The Olympics period always draws the attention of fans of Japanese culture because of the large number of Brazilians being successful in Japanese-origin fights, especially judo. But, do you know how these sports came to be here in the country? Here, we have gathered the main japanese fights that have practitioners in Brazil and we explain the origin of each one of the modalities.
Índice de Conteúdo
Judô
With the two bronzes won in Tokyo, judo became the sport that most won medals for Brazil in the entire history of the games.
The sport arrived here along with the wave of Japanese immigration at the beginning of the last century, but it was with the arrival of Mitsuyo Maeda in 1914 that the sport gained more strength.
Maeda settled in Belém-PA and had a great influence on Brazilian martial arts: he was the master of the Gracie family, creator of the so-called “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu”. Nowadays, one of the centers of national judo is the city of Bastos, in the interior of São Paulo, thanks to the work of master Uichiro Umakakeba.
Karate
Although Karate does not have the same tradition as judo in our country, it arrived in Brazil a little earlier: the first records date back to 1908.
But initially the sport was somewhat restricted to São Paulo, where the main practitioners settled, and the first academy was founded only in 1956 by professor Mitsuke Harada.
Even if Brazilians do not have world glories in the modality, the karate of the Pan American Games is taken by Brazilian victories. In addition, the sport continues to win over young people, largely because of the insertions in pop culture works, and the karate kimono is a item much sought after in specialty stores.
Sumo
The sumo emerged in Japan over 2,500 years ago and is a sport of great popularity and prestige in the country.
But here in Brazil, the modality has not had the same success as other martial arts, although it also arrived in the early 1910s.
The Brazilian Sumo Federation was only created in 1998 and there is no professional circuit here.
The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:
Aikido
The Aikido, which preaches the balance between body and mind during fights, arrived in Brazil much later than the other martial arts mentioned here. After all, the sport only emerged in the 1940s, created by Morihei Ueshiba.
The person responsible for bringing the sport to our country in the 1960s was Shihan Reishin Kawai, who in addition to practicing the sport was also an adept of oriental medicine and was president of the Latin American Confederation of Aikido.
