Oswaldo Fadda who was in the brazilian jiu jitsu for more than 20 years, is perhaps, the only practicioner who never received any instruction from any gracie or any of their students. He learned while he was servicing the brazilian marines, from Master Franca Filho, who was a pupil of the famous Master Conde Koma who also tought to Carlos Gracie senior.
Starting in 1937, and 5 years later, Oswaldo Fadda was promoted to a black belt, passing, since then, started teaching a group of friends in the suburb of bento ribeiro(rio de janeiro), where he end up opening his first school (now the main academy). This academy continues to operate today. Fadda has been quoted as saying: “I want to make it clear with my own worlds that I have no intention to diminish in anything from the gracies. I refer only in the “myth” saying that them and your students were invincible.”
The conversation was interropted by professor “Chandu”, who passed to the hands of master fadda the registered book. Chandu was Master Fadda`s first student and he was part of the group of friends who received the first lesson in 1942. Now days he is responsible to teach in the main academy at 1191 Sao Joao Vicente street, and at an affiliated school in Cascadura. This academy is run by professor Humberto Fadda, Master Fadda`s brother.
In 1954 Master Fadda brought his team to compete in the Gracie Academy. It was the first time that a brazilian jiu jitsu school showed such boldness to challenge the Gracies. The competition level of Fadda’s students obligated Master Helio Gracie to make a public compliment. He said that he was very surprized with the technical level from Fadda`s academy and Master Helio Gracie congratulated them. It was proved that brazilian jiu jitsu was not exclusivity of the Gracies. Faddas`s student Jose Guimaraes chocked out a student from the Gracie Academy called Leonidas.
More than two thousand students passed by Fadda`s academy. The qualify to sign up for classe was to have never trained before. Master Fadda explains saying :
“I do have a proper method and I prefer to teach to the ones who does not know any more or technique. To me, a lot of things that you see around are not thought properly,are vicious and which makes it difficult for me as a instructor to desenvolve my job. I understand that is much easier to teach the one who does not know anything than the one who has a lot of bad habits and deffects on his technique so I had to fix and than apply the methods of fadda`s academy. We always act like that so we dot have any regrets. Today iI have a lot of former students in a lot BJJ schools around the city. Instead of receive students from other, we supply.”
Now days master Oswaldo Fadda gives a special care to students with physical disabilities and the ones physically impaired. His mission is to recuperate students is a proven fact and can be attested without need to mention other names with performances or “Torpeddo”(does not posses both legs) and “Aranha”(nick mane wich means spider) wich the inferior members(legs) were completely arthrophied, both of them known by the public.
In this area of BJJ Master Fadda has done true miracles – For paralysis the remedie is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and he can prove for A plus B equals C. A example of this is a sudent called Ivan Ferraz, a young man with a very low self steam. He get to the academy so weak that he could not hold a 100 grams dumbell. After few training under the master for a while now days he can fight equally with anybody on his weight class.
Obs: this interview is a translation from a copy of the sports magazine from 1954. source: www.deojiujitsu.com.br
Thanks for sharing this slice of BJJ history