Described by some as “”human cock-fighting,”" Vale Tudo is Portuguese for anything goes, and in these competitions they mean it. So violent that it is only available over the Internet in the United States Vale Tudo might be unarmed combat, but it is as bloody as a sport can get while still being called a game. While even the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and PRIDE of the United States and Japan have submitted to at least some regulation despite their “”no holds barred”" attitude mixed Martial arts fans in Brazil don’t have to worry about their fighter being thrown out because they break the rules because there aren’t any. In the early part of the twentieth century circuses and carnivals would setup booths where audiences could watch either a boxer or wrestler workout or even challenge a volunteer to a match for a prize. Most times the amateur lost to the professional, but it was a great form of entertainment. Though the term wasn’t used early on Vale Tudo came to mean a match where a fighter of one style would take on a fighter of another style. In Brazil that meant those trained in Capoeira might find themselves fighting a boxer or wrestler. Everything would change though when Japanese prizefighter Mitsuyo Maeda arrived in Brazil to train and represent the Japanese government. Mitsuyo Maeda was a highly skilled instructor at the relatively new Martial art of Judo as well as Jujutsu. Maeda demonstrated his new style by challenging Brazilian Martial artists to a Vale Tudo match. Local pride and prestige at stake many local fighters came out to meet him, but none had any success. Boxers, wrestlers, and other fighters tried, but Maeda kept throwing them to the ground and if they did take him to the ground he was able to win in grappling as well. Maeda was good natured about the whole thing and was a true sportsman and impressed all those who fought him. The Gracie family would take particular interest in what they saw, and they would ask to train with the Martial arts instructor. Carlos along with his oldest son Carlson and brother H
Self-defense
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