From the Racine (Wisconsin) Journal-News, Saturday, March 6, 1915,
which is viewable online at NewspaperArchive.com. Taro Miyake, then in
New York City, was explaining his methods to a US reporter. The words
are given as a direct quote, but I am willing to bet that there was
some ghostwriting going on here.
START QUOTE
"All, or practically all, of the Japanese jiu-jitsu experts who have
exhibited in this country [e.g., the USA], have been exponents of the
Kodokan style, which has its headquarters in Tokio. Kodokan jiu-jitsu
became popular here because it is the style brought into play when two
men are standing and it is spectacular. Therefore, it was the most
suitable method to furnish Americans and Europeans with an
illustration of how to repel attacks in ordinary assaults.
"The other school of jiu-jitsu is called Handa, and its great teachers
are at Osaka, where I learned. Handa is more particularly the kind of
jiu-jitsu used when two men are on the mat, as in catch-as-catch-can.
The jiu-jitsu tricks of the tiny Japanese policemen, which have been
written about so much by travelers, embody the elementary principles
of the Kodokan method, and some of the policemen are quite good at
them. As I have said, there is little stand-up work in catch-as-catch
can and Handa experts are the ones to offer a comparison between the
Japanese and American methods.
"Of course, every Kodokan expert knows more or less about Handa, and
every Handa man knows a lot about Kodokan, but nevertheless they are
each highly specialized, individual professions. Both have the same
fundamental principles applied in all jiu-jitsu, which consists in
going against the grain, so to speak. That is, if you grip a man's arm
and can get it out straight, you apply the pressure at the elbow
against the direction of the natural crook of that joint, and so on,
but each school has its own box of tricks.
"Jiu-jitsu is by no means a competition endurance, but is one of skill
and tricks. The experts will spar for an opening until one gets a
grip. When that grip is obtained the other fellow knows he is done for
and promptly surrenders. It would be absolutely foolish for him to
continue, as he would simply have his bones broken without breaking
the grip. The victim slaps himself on the thigh with his free hand,
which is a signal that he has enough for that round.
"There are counter-moves for every hold that one man tries to get on
the other, but when the counter fails and the hold is obtained, it is
all over. For that reason, what Americans might call quitting, is not
quitting in the sense that they meany, and more than in other games
when a goal is made, the losing side quits temporarily and the two
teams start over again in the middle of the field. The successful
grip, which makes an opponent in a match yield, is merely a point
against him.
"Great strength is not essential to success in jiu-jitsu, and the
professional experts do not train like American athletes. Jiu-jitsu
consists of a thorough knowledge of anatomy, and an application of
that knowledge to the holds and grips. A weak man can make a giant
howl for mercy, if he gets him right. For that reason the strenuous
work in the gymnasium and on the road, done by boxers and
catch-as-catch-can wrestlers, is not necessary in jiu-jitsu.
END QUOTE
Miyake went on to note that he was then 32 years of age, and that he
had lived for the past 11 years in Europe. He said he stood 5'7" tall,
and weighed about 165 lbs. He added, "I began to practice as a child,
and entered competition when 16 years old. At 19 I had won the
championship in the Osaka style, and received the belt from the
jiu-jitsu institution."
(Miyake) was born in Okayama City in 1882, and apparently started
training in Fusen-ryu under either (or both) Manauemon or Torajiro
Tanabe. In 1899, he got a job teaching at Nara, and in 1901, after
winning that championship, he got a job teaching the Kobe police. He
lost that job after getting in a fight out in town, and so in October
1904 he went to London to become a music hall wrestler. Details of his
time in England are sketchy. From July to August 1908, he was in
Spain, working matches with Uyenishi and Maeda. (And I do mean
working, in the professional wrestling sense -- the Japanese were
heard whispering instructions to one another, same as in European
professional wrestling.) In September 1908, he was in Scotland for the
Northern Games. In September 1910, he challenged the Great Gama, but
nothing came of that. During 1912, he was in the USA. In 1913, he was
in Paris. With the start of WWI, he left Paris for London, and then
New York. He arrived in New York on September 22, 1914. He then stayed
in the USA for most of the next 20 years. He wrestled Ad Santel to a
draw in April 1916. He was in Hilo in late 1916, training at Okazaki's
dojo (e.g., Danzan Ryu). In October 1917, He was back in Seattle,
where he lost a match to Ad Santel. After that, he was all over the
USA, and occasionally even into Vancouver BC, before the Canadians and
the US shut the border to Issei. (On October 29, 1919, Kamino and
Akiyama, future pioneers of BC judo, were on the undercard of a match
between Miyake and Canadian heavyweight champion Jack Taylor in
Vancouver.) During the 1920s, he worked for the Ed "Strangler" Lewis
outfit, and as such, he got to lose to Lewis, Clarence Ecklund, Toots
Mondt, Wayne "Big" Munn, and so on. In 1928, he went to Osaka to try
to promote American style professional wrestling in Japan, but that
didn't work out, so he spent most of his time watching sumo instead.
On his way back to the USA, he stopped in Hawaii, where he recruited
Oki Shikina, a Danzan Ryu practitioner and Hawaiian sumo champion, for
professional wrestling. Miyake wrestled in Madison Square Garden as
late as 1932, and during May and June 1932, he was in Halifax, Nova
Scotia. In April 1934, he was in Brazil, and on June 24, 1934, he lost
a match to Helio Gracie. The promoter was Carlos Gracie.