In a striking parallel to modern discussions about inclusion and cultural exchange in martial arts, new research reveals how discriminatory sentiment fundamentally altered the trajectory of jiu-jitsu and judo development in America over a century ago.
Speaking on the FightingMatters podcast, Jeff Shaw of Bellingham BJJ and Western Washington University detailed his extensive research into a forgotten chapter of American martial arts history. Shaw’s findings paint a picture of what could have been a martial arts revolution cut short by the very attitudes that continue to surface in the grappling community today.
The story begins with an unlikely advocate: President Theodore Roosevelt. When John O’Brien, America’s first jiu-jitsu instructor, struggled to generate interest in the art after returning from Japan in 1900, Roosevelt became his champion.
“Roosevelt was famous for advocating what he called the strenuous life.”
The President’s support transformed media coverage from under ten stories per year to hundreds, peaking at 1,500 mainstream articles about jiu-jitsu in 1905.
The pivotal moment came in 1904 with the arrival of Yoshiaki Yamashita, one of the greatest Kodokan judoka of all time. Roosevelt recognized Yamashita’s ability and employed him to teach at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis with a $5,000 annual salary. Shaw described this as the point when America was on the brink of becoming a judo powerhouse.
“Roosevelt sets him up to teach our servicemen… America is getting judo.”
Had Yamashita remained, Shaw argues, the Naval Academy could have produced “20 Kodokan Judo black belts in America in like 1911.” The academy attracted the most athletic and well-resourced young men in the country, an ideal foundation for martial arts expansion.
But this momentum was halted by a coordinated campaign fueled by xenophobic sentiment. Wrestlers and opponents objected to a Japanese instructor at a military academy, claiming “good old American wrestling” should be taught instead. They framed their objections around financial concerns, criticizing the use of “$5,000 in tax dollars” to employ Yamashita — what Shaw compared to “the Doge of its day.”
The opposition gained traction throughout 1905 and 1906. Despite Roosevelt’s unwavering support — he even wrote to the Secretary of the Navy defending Yamashita — the pressure proved too much. By 1906, Yamashita’s contract was not renewed. He returned to Japan, ending the first wave of legitimate Japanese instruction in American martial arts.
The consequences were far-reaching. When Yamashita left, others followed. Shaw suggests that if Yamashita had stayed, figures like Mitsuyo Maeda might never have gone to Brazil to teach the Gracie family, fundamentally altering the origins of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Shaw also highlighted how early American jiu-jitsu welcomed women. Fude Yamashita, Yoshiaki’s wife, led the first women-only judo class in the U.S. and held public demonstrations. Contemporary coverage praised women learning martial arts for self-defense, with stories of women using jiu-jitsu to ward off street harassment.
That inclusive spirit contrasts sharply with lingering bias in modern martial arts. As commentator Stephan Kesting previoslystated on Fighting Matters:
“Jiu-jitsu has never been free of politics.”
Kesting pointed to the Gracie family’s ties to the 1930s Brazilian Integralist movement — a nationalist movement with parallels to European fascism. Historical work by Leandro Pereira Gonçalves shows Helio Gracie‘s involvement, including images of him in a green Integralist shirt bearing the Greek Sigma. The movement promoted Catholicism as the foundation of public life and its founder Plínio Salgado openly compared himself to H!tler.
These patterns echo today. Josh Saunders, an ADCC veteran, came under scrutiny for social media engagement with accounts linked to these ideologies. References to historical German movements within his interactions drew widespread concern across the community.
Shaw argues that calls to keep politics out of martial arts are disconnected from reality. “Everything is political,” he explained. Martial arts have always been shaped by external forces. The backlash against Yamashita wasn’t just personal — it altered the development of martial arts in the United States.
The lesson from Yamashita’s brief time at the Naval Academy is stark. Roosevelt embraced cultural learning from top-tier instructors. But discriminatory sentiment ultimately won out.
“Xenophobia is always bad. No one country no one culture no one person has all the answers.”
Shaw’s research is a reminder of how prejudice and narrow thinking can destroy progress. The exclusion that drove Yamashita out in 1906 didn’t just stop one man’s career — it disrupted an entire nation’s martial potential and shaped the future of American grappling for generations.
