Taro Miyake in England
Before immigrating to the United States, Taro Miyake first settled in England. Miyake assisted Yukio Tani with establishing Judo and Jujitsu in England. Miyake and Tani challenged professional wrestlers to matches as part of their effort to establish their martial arts.
Tani took part in challenge matches prior to the arrival of Miyake. Miyake grappled his first opponent, Tani himself, at the end of 1904. Miyake threw Tani after five minutes although I suspect the men cooperated with each other in working this match.
Photo of Taro Miyake from 1914 (Public Domain)
On April 22, 1905, Jimmy Joyce, a catch-as-catch-can wrestler from Lancashire, traveled to London to accept Miyake’s standing challenge. The men grappled at the Lyceum in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
Both men tried to end the contest with submission holds. The crowd saw the men as a ball of arms and legs for the first five minutes as each attempted submission holds on the mat.
Miyake won all his previous matches by throw or armbar, but Joyce proved adept at defending against the armbar.
After five minutes, twenty-five seconds, Miyake forced Joyce to submit to an ankle lock. Joyce accepted his defeat to the leg hold but told Miyake he thought the tactic was unfair.
Joyce told Miyake that Miyake used the armbar to defeat his other opponents. He felt Miyake must defeat him with the armbar too or concede defeat.
For unknown reasons, Miyake accepted Joyce’s reasoning. He agreed to grapple with him in the future. Miyake stated if he did not defeat Joyce with the armbar or a throw in their next contest, he would forfeit the match to Joyce.
Miyake spread Judo and Jujitsu through professional challenge matches which the Kodokan banned. Dr. Jigoro Kano did not want his black belts grappling for money and banned the practice. However, the initial group of black belts, who spread Judo and Jujitsu around the world, grappled in challenge matches.
These black belts also started out training in other styles of Jujitsu before training with Dr. Kano in his new style, Judo. They continued to use both terms, Judo and Jujitsu, to describe their style of martial arts. When they competed in professional bouts, they billed themselves as Jujitsu black belts. When they instructed students, they called their art, “Judo and Jujitsu.”
Miyake helped Tani for ten years before travelling to the United States in 1914. In addition to teaching Judo and Jujitsu in Seattle, Miyake grappled in challenge matches. Miyake worked professional wrestling matches later in his career.
The Judo and Jujitsu hierarchy may not have approved of his methods but Miyake proved a key figure in the spread of Judo and Jujitsu in both England and the United States.
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Sources: Nanaimo Daily News (Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada), April 28, 1905, p. 3
