Tokugoro Ito

Tokugoro Ito (1878-1939) was a Japanese judoka and professional wrestler.[1] Ito was one of the founding fathers of mixed martial arts in Brazil.[2]

Tokugoro Ito appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on November 6, 1909.

Early years

Ito was an instructor of judo at Tokyo Imperial University in Japan.[3] In 1911, Akitaro Ono and Tokugoro Ito joined Mitsuyo Maeda and Soshihiro Satake in Cuba. The four men were known as the "Four Kings of Cuba".[4]

Wrestling

Ito's first wrestling match against someone was not Japanese occurred in 1909.[3] Ito defeated American Wrestler Eddie Robinson.[5] In 1914, Ito engaged in many matches. He initially lost but later defeated Ad Santel in a wrestling match.[6] The loss was a result of Ito being thrown on his head by Santel.[3] Ito at the time was a 5th degree black belt in judo.[7] He additionally defeated Joe Acton.

Later years

In his later years he founded the Rafu Judo Dojo in Los Angeles and previously was a leader of the Seattle Dojo from 1907 to 1911.[8] His notable students included Tsutao Higami.[9] Ito was also an instructor of Geo Omori and Sanpo Toku.

References
  1. Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com". wrestlingdata.com.
  2. Nash, John S. (November 3, 2012). "Chronicling the Origins of MMA". Cageside Seats.
  3. Nash, John S. (December 22, 2012). "The Forgotten Golden Age of MMA - Part IV". Cageside Seats.
  4. says, Rohit Vasudevan (14 December 2014). "The First Jiu Jitsu Competition in Brazil | BJJ Heroes".
  5. Gilboa, Ram (September 20, 2018). "Take the B out of BJJ: A Mata Leão by any other name will still choke you out". Bloody Elbow.
  6. Wilcox, Nate (February 6, 2008). "Really Old School: Catch Wrestling vs Judo 1921". Bloody Elbow.
  7. "Catch Wrestling - The Grappling Art That Started it All". December 10, 2019.
  8. "History of Nanka Judo | NankaJudo.com".
  9. Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com". wrestlingdata.com.

Sources
  • Stanlei, Virgílio (2002). Conde Koma – O invencível yondan da história [Conde Koma - The Invincible yondan history] (in Portuguese). Editora Átomo. pp. 33–34. ISBN 85-87585-24-X. OCLC 51830170.
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