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Agatangelo Braga

The fighting-minded Paraíba teacher who, by José Gomes's account, gave future vale tudo star Ivan Gomes his black belt in 1960.

Biography

Agatangelo Braga was a jiu-jitsu teacher in the northeastern Brazilian state of Paraíba who, by the account of Ivan Gomes's brother José, gave Ivan his black belt in 1960. Braga is known almost entirely through that student's story, and chiefly through José's memories of it, recorded decades later. José placed Braga in the circle of Takeo Yano, who also taught George Gracie. He described Braga as the brother-in-law of Osmar "Biuson" Mouzinho de Oliveira and said both men had trained under Yano. BJJ Heroes writes that Yano was a navy man who did not teach by the Kodokan rulebook; his style, Bukoku-kai, was oriented toward hand-to-hand combat and vale tudo, the Brazilian term for no-holds-barred fighting. BJJ Heroes' profile of Ivan Gomes sets the relationship out differently, calling Braga a student of Mouzinho, and its lineage for Ivan runs from Yano through Mouzinho and Braga. Ivan had come to Campina Grande as a teenager to study. Portal do Vale Tudo names his first teachers there as Osmar, Zé Maria and Agatangelo, with training held at Osmar's academy and, on weekends, beside the Bodocongó reservoir. In José's telling, Zé Maria, a black belt, reached Paraíba in 1957 and stayed about a year, and Braga arrived just as he was leaving, which puts Braga's start in the late 1950s. Historian Josh Simon's chronology, also based on José, gives the year as 1959. José drew a clear line between the two men. Zé Maria was the technician, strong on the ground and teaching the Kodokan method he had been taught. Braga, from Yano's line, was more of a fighter with a taste for vale tudo, and he saw great promise in Ivan. By José's account, Braga gave Ivan his black belt in 1960. Simon, who follows José and notes that the sources disagree over who actually promoted Ivan, puts the promotion after six years of training, when the 21-year-old reportedly had around forty local boxing and jiu-jitsu bouts without a loss. A black belt then did not sit on today's ladder. BJJ Heroes gives the order of the day as white, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown and black, with no blue belt; José recalled that there were no degrees, and that amateur black belts, who trained Kodokan-style grappling, were sharply set apart from professionals, who prepared for the ring. That same year Ivan and José left Braga and moved to Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, where they rejoined Zé Maria at a gym with more than 30 black belts. Ivan fought vale tudo without a loss in the early 1960s, and on 28 December 1963 in Recife he drew with Carlson Gracie over three ten-minute rounds, the result that made his name. Simon writes that a handful of academies in Brazil's north and northeast trace their lineage to Ivan and his brothers.

Sources for this profile

  • Josh Simon, "If You Can't Beat Them, Hire Them, Ivan Gomes", Simon BJJ (BJJHistory.org), undated.(opens in a new tab)

    • Conflicting accounts

      According to Ivan Gomes's brother José, as reported by historian Josh Simon, the Gomes brothers added Agatangelo Braga as a jiu-jitsu instructor in 1959.

      Where in the source: Bulleted chronology attributed to Ivan's brother José, fourth bullet (1959) — "also add Agatangelo Braga as a Jiu-Jitsu instructor"

      Accessed:

    • Josh Simon describes Braga as Builson's brother-in-law, also from the Takeo Yano and George Gracie lineage, and as a specialist in vale tudo.

      Where in the source: Same 1959 bullet in the chronology attributed to José — "specialized in Vale Tudo"

      Accessed:

    • Josh Simon writes that in 1960, after six years of training, Braga promoted Ivan Gomes to black belt, by which time Ivan reportedly had about forty local boxing and jiu-jitsu matches without a defeat; the 21-year-old was then invited to move to Recife.

      Where in the source: Paragraph directly after the bulleted chronology — "Braga promoted Ivan to Black Belt"

      Accessed:

    • Josh Simon notes that the information conflicts on who trained Ivan Gomes first, whether he trained with his instructors at the same time, and who actually promoted him to black belt, and that he follows the account of Ivan's brother José.

      Where in the source: Third paragraph, introducing the bulleted chronology attributed to Ivan's brother José.

      Accessed:

    • Ivan Gomes went on to fight vale tudo without a loss in the early 1960s, and on 28 December 1963 in Recife he drew with Carlson Gracie over three ten-minute rounds, a result that made him a star.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on the Carlson Gracie match, dated December 28, 1963.

      Accessed:

    • Josh Simon writes that Ivan's younger brother Jalido (Jaildo), left in charge of the Rio de Janeiro academy in 1967, became the first jiu-jitsu instructor of Romero "Jacaré" Cavalcanti, later founder of the Alliance team.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning with Ivan's 1967 return to Recife.

      Accessed:

    • Josh Simon writes that a handful of academies in Brazil's north and northeast trace their lineage to Ivan Gomes and his brothers, and that José Gomes and his son run a federation in Recife with affiliates in the United States and Europe.

      Where in the source: Closing paragraph on Ivan's legacy.

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, "Ivan Gomes: The Man The Gracies Didn't Want To Fight" (editorial; quotes from BJJ Heroes interviews with José Gomes, first half of 2016).(opens in a new tab)

    • Recalling the period in a 2016 interview series with BJJ Heroes, José Gomes said that the black belt Zé Maria came to Paraíba in 1957 and stayed about a year, and that Agatangelo Braga arrived as Zé Maria left.

      Where in the source: Opening section, José Gomes quote beginning with the brothers’ first contact with a black belt in 1957 — "Braga arrived"

      Accessed:

    • José Gomes described Agatangelo Braga as the brother-in-law of Osmar "Biuson" Mouzinho de Oliveira and said that both men had trained under Takeo Yano.

      Where in the source: Same José Gomes quote, sentence after Braga’s arrival — "brother in law"

      Accessed:

    • José Gomes contrasted the two teachers: Zé Maria was technical on the ground and taught the Kodokan style he had learned, while Braga was more of a fighter, a vale tudo enthusiast from Yano's lineage who saw great potential in Ivan.

      Where in the source: Same José Gomes quote, comparison of Zé Maria and Braga — "more of a fighter"

      Accessed:

    • José Gomes said that Agatangelo Braga gave Ivan Gomes his black belt in 1960.

      Where in the source: Last sentence of the same José Gomes quote — "black belt in 1960"

      Accessed:

    • In 1960 Ivan and José Gomes left Braga and moved to Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, where they rejoined Zé Maria, whose gym there had more than 30 black belts.

      Where in the source: First paragraph under the section on no-holds-barred fighting in 1960s Brazil — "left Agatangelo Braga"

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes writes that the belt order at the time had no blue belt (white, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown, black); according to José Gomes, there were no degrees, and there was a clear distinction between amateur black belts, who trained grappling in the Kodokan style, and professionals, who trained for the ring.

      Where in the source: Paragraph directly after the José Gomes quote about Braga, describing the belt order and amateur versus professional black belts.

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes writes that Takeo Yano, who taught George Gracie, Biuson Osmar and Agatangelo Braga, did not follow the Kodokan doctrine but was a navy man and expert in the Bukoku-kai style, which leaned towards vale tudo and hand-to-hand combat.

      Where in the source: Third paragraph of the editorial, on Takeo Yano and the Bukoku-kai style.

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, "Ivan Gomes" (fighter profile), undated.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes lists Ivan Gomes's lineage as Takeo Yano, Osmar Mouzinho, Agatangelo Braga, Ivan Gomes.

      Where in the source: Profile header facts, "Lineage:" line.

      Accessed:

    • Conflicting accounts

      The BJJ Heroes biography of Ivan Gomes says that, after first going to Zé Maria, Ivan turned to Agatangelo Braga, a student of Osmar Mouzinho "Builson" (1958) who had trained under Biuce and Takeo Yano, and that Braga was the first to push Ivan's game.

      Where in the source: Biography, third paragraph — "first to push"

      Accessed:

    • Conflicting accounts

      BJJ Heroes reports that, according to what is said, Ivan Gomes fought more than 40 times in boxing and jiu-jitsu during the two years he spent with Braga.

      Where in the source: Biography, fourth paragraph — "over 40 times"

      Accessed:

  • Portal do Vale Tudo (PVT), "Ivan Gomes: 81 anos do lutador imbatível", Baú do Alonso, 24 December 2020.(opens in a new tab)

    • Portal do Vale Tudo writes that Ivan Gomes, after coming to Campina Grande to study as a teenager, met his first teachers Biulson Osmar, Zé Maria and Agatangelo, and that training took place at Biulson's academy and, at weekends, on the banks of the Bodocongó reservoir.

      Where in the source: Section "O INICIO NA LUTA", first paragraph — "margens do açude de Bodocongó"

      Accessed:

Research

Genealogy and source research: Josh Simon, simonbjj.com(opens in a new tab)

Lineage

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Trained under

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