Carrying on the Torch with Fernando Yamasaki Interviewer: Madison Castanera-Bartoszek Interviewee: Fernando Yamasaki Instructor: Amanda Freeman February 12, 2019 Castanera-Bartoszek 1 Table of contents: Interviewer Release Form………. Page 3 Interviewee Release Form………. Page 4 Statement of Purpose………. Page 5 Biography………. Page 6 Historical Contextualization Paper………. Page 8 Interview Transcription………. Page 16 Interview Analysis………. Page 52 Bibliography………. Page 57 Castanera-Bartoszek 2 Interviewer Release form: Castanera-Bartoszek 3 Interviewee Release Form: Castanera-Bartoszek 4 Statement of Purpose: The purpose of this project was to have a better understanding of the sport Jiu-Jitsu and to go into depth of the history behind the fundamentals of martial arts as well. I chose this topic because it is something I am passionate about and I wanted to share with others. This Oral History Project made me realize that there is more to the sport than the average martial art. Castanera-Bartoszek 5 Biography: ​ ​ Fernando Yamasaki was born on the ninth of August 1967 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He grew up with his father, mother, and older brother, Mario. Fernando was born right into the world of martial arts and soccer, due to his father and his culture. While growing up he was very independent during the day until he got home for dinner. He would stay outside with his friends all day playing soccer or just hanging out on the streets. Even though Fernando Yamasaki had the freedom to do certain things while growing up, his father still tried his best to keep him protected from the militarized government up until he was 16 years old. Growing up in the world of martial arts, Fernando Yamasaki got to understand the basics of Jiu-Jitsu and Judo and started to love those sports. It became his biggest passion, and still is to this day. By the time he got to high school, he was accepted into a private school for his grades and for the wrestling program. Castanera-Bartoszek 6 A lot happened for Fernando Yamasaki at the age of 16; he finally received his Black Belt in Judo, which is a huge accomplishment to have at such a young age. He had to go through a very intense test to be able to get the Black Belt, so it was well deserved. Then at the age of 19, he earned his Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu, which is near impossible these days. Having that Judo and wrestling background definitely helped him achieve that goal. Fast forward a few years, he helped UFC( which stands for ultimate fighting championship) come to Brazil and became a referee for the sport in the process. He moved to the United States, for good, in 2003, where he then started many academies with his brother, Mario, and his business partner, Neto. Today he owns over ten academies over the world and is still growing and sharing his passion for Jiu-Jitsu to all. Castanera-Bartoszek 7 Historical Contextualization Paper: Jiu-Jitsu Main Events Jiu-Jitsu is not a sport people hear about on an average day, unlike soccer, football, or basketball. It is not just about training, fighting, and winning, there is a lot more that goes into the sport itself. This unique and underappreciated sport goes back around one hundred year ago in Bygone, Japan. This sport was created to teach patience, agility, and obedience. There are lots of competitions, every year, where people compete for international titles. The youngest age people can compete is 4 years of age, all the way up to whenever the student feels ready to stop. These student athletes can also be disabled or have a prosthetic, and still be able to compete in world competitions without any problems. Jiu-Jitsu does not just teach the student to fight and defend, it also teaches respect, honesty, discipline, and many more aspects to life everyone should have. Instructors have all different types of ways to teach the students on how they should perform on and off the mat. As a kid or teen on the mat, one’s coach is always on top of their student, like a parent figure, asking about outside activities, such as education and home life. The student’s mentor always puts 110 percent of themselves to every student and makes sure they stay on top of their responsibilities. When the sport Jiu-Jitsu was created, it wasn’t meant for this certain type of lifestyle, it was used to fight against the enemy. There are a lot of reasons why Jiu-jitsu was created, such as conventional attacks against the enemy, preventing war, and self-defense. In the early 1900s, Jiu-Jitsu was created to use as a weapon during war time in Japan.1 This is important because during this time period, the army was trying to find different tactics to defend against the enemy. Over the years, Jiu-Jitsu became 1 A History of Japan: page 368 Castanera-Bartoszek 8 more popular to everyday people. During the 1950s self-defense forces were put into place, so more of the population could have a chance to learn the art form and not just the military. While Japan was in attack, people started fleeing to Brazil for a better place to live. A man named, Mitsu Miata, also came to Brazil to help the japanese. He was the one who founded Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil, and helped the sport grow popularity as well. He learned the sport from the Japanese government and wanted to teach others about the sport. Jiu-jitsu originates from Judo, which was also created in Japan, but as a martial art. Judo was created in 1882 and is known as the gentle art.2 The creators of Jiu-Jitsu took aspects of Judo and incorporated moves into the new art form, Jiu-jitsu. Judo is all about takedowns and controlling the opponent until they tap or forfeit. The Japanese military wanted to get rid of any type of limitations on military defense, so the people in charge or war weapons thought this would be a great way to solve a question that has been asked for a significant amount of time. That question is, what new war tactics could the military use that was not tied to handheld weapons.3 The people came up with Jiu-Jitsu, but the government was not pleased with this suggestion. This caused a lot of people to be upset and want to rebel against the military. The civilians were not satisfied with the idea of using a martial art on the field because they thought it would not be fair for the Japanese army. The Japanese community thought the military would only be using Jiu-jitsu as their weapon, but that is not the case, it is only one of many, and the people of Japan misunderstood that.4 The army Decided to show the citizens Self-Defense forces to show them that it was okay to use Jiu-Jitsu on the battlefield and that it was made for this specific use. The people of Japan refused to listen and did not accept the martial art into their culture, during this period. Jiu-Jitsu was sadly all about 2 A History of Japan: page 368 3 The Japanese of Today: page 112 4 The Japanese of Today: page 112 Castanera-Bartoszek 9 politics during that time when it was used specifically for war. This became a huge topic because the government did not like this idea at first, but they made a compromise and decided that the best idea was to use jiu-jitsu as one weapon, but no the main weapon nor the only one. They thought this new idea would contradict the new constitution of Japan that they had in place for the pre-war system. The Military wanted to use this technique whether people agreed with it or not, so they continued to do it. This brilliant idea worked perfectly for war times.5 In 1954, another self-defense group was put into place to and is still alive and running. Back when Jiu-Jitsu was just uprising, the soldiers did not use Gi’s, a uniform the students wear during practicing Jiu-Jitsu.6 The importance of clothing during Jiu-Jitsu could make or break from winning a fight. Nowadays, people wear Gi’s which are made out of different materials such as cotton. The Gi companies have different styles to choose from, but if the student picks the wrong Gi, it could make them lose their match. The Gi has to be tight fitted on the person's body, so that their opponent has no room to grab. Grabbing the opponent's Gi in Jiu-Jitsu, is tremendously helpful, and that is a huge factor while training Jiu-Jitsu. Back when Jiu-Jitsu was just uprising, the people would wear silk dresses that would go to around floor length, this fabric was breathable and comfortable to move around in. Although this silk fabric is easy to move around in, There is a lot of material for the students opponent to grab, which leads to a disadvantage. The war philosophy, What the Japanese used during battle and sports Judo are similar but different at the same time.7 The Judo and Jiu-Jitsu fights would go on for about ten minutes when the sports were just starting, now they are four to sometimes sixteen minutes. At first, the opponents only used basic techniques and then progressively gained the ability to do 5 The Japanese of Today: page 112 6 Jstor Images: Jiu-Jitsu techniques 7 The Japanese Today: page 368-369 Castanera-Bartoszek 10 different moves.