Tokugoro Ito (1878-January 22, 1939) was a Japanese

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. Ito was one of the founding fathers of

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

in Brazil.

Early years

Ito was an instructor of

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

in Japan. In 1911, Akitaro Ono and Tokugoro Ito joined

Mitsuyo Maeda naturalized as Otávio Maeda (),Virgílio, p. 9 was a Japanese people, Japanese-born judo, ''judōka'' and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions. He was known as Count Combat or ''Conde Koma'' in Spanish and Portuguese, a nickname he pi ...

and Soshihiro Satake in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. The four men were known as the "Four Kings of Cuba".

Wrestling

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

Joe Acton Joseph Acton (8 March 1852 – 26 June 1917), known by his ringname "Little Joe" or "Limey Joe", was a British professional wrestler and world champion who competed in England and America during the late 19th century. Acton is one of a handful ...

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. His notable students included Tsutao Higami. Ito was also an instructor of

Geo Omori , Geo Omori or George Omori as he became known in Brazil, was a Japanese-born Brazilian martial artist who is credited for being one of the creators of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.Sanpo Toku was a Japanese judoka. Biography Toku was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan in 1887. He started training in judo, karate and kendo at elementary school, becoming a frequent tournament winner; in one of his first showings, he defeated 165 opp ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Tokugoro 1878 births Place of birth missing 1939 deaths Japanese male judoka Japanese jujutsuka 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Japanese professional wrestlers Japanese catch wrestlers Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing jujutsu Mixed martial artists utilizing catch wrestling American male professional wrestlers Japanese male professional wrestlers