Euclydes Hatem

Euclydes Hatem (; September 16, 1914 – September 26, 1984), known as Mestre Tatu , was a Brazilian catch wrestler, known for being the founder of the martial art of Luta Livre.

Biography

Early life He was born into a Brazilian family of Lebanese origin. At 14 years old, after an unsuccessful career as a rower, Hatem started learning catch wrestling at the Associação de Cristã de Moços in Rio de Janeiro. From his childhood he received the nickname of "Tatu" ("armadillo") for his short, stocky build, which did not impede him from showing skill for the art.

Fighting career After years of training, Euclydes turned professional and got into the fighting circuit of the time, which fluctuated between catch-as-catch-can and vale tudo. In 1935, after gaining success upon beating names like the Italian Attilio and the Brazilian Bogma, Euclyes took part in the first international wrestling championship held in Brazil, winning after submitting the veteran Kutter. Euclydes resumed competing after healing, moving to Porto Alegre to find more opponents. In another of his most known matches, he submitted Luiz Stock, who protested and demanded another round only to fall again to Hatem.

Three years later, Hatem participated in the Copa Mundial Benito Valladares, where the winner would face French wrestling champion Charles Ulsemer. Not only did Tatu win the qualifier, but he also drew with Ulsemer. They faced again two months after, and this time Euclydes won by armlock in a match refereed by Oswaldo Gracie. Tatu and Ulsemer became close friends after this result.

In 1942, Mestre Tatu returned to Porto Alegre to answer the challenge written down by George Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu exponent who had also trained in catch wrestling under Hatem's teachers. The match between them was celebrated to a great expectation, with Euclydes winning by rear naked choke at the second round. According to Brazilian historians such as Elton Silva, many people erroneously think he won the match via an Americana lock because of a newspaper picture from the match, but that picture was from the first round and George had managed to escape from that lock. Supposedly, he showed himself so dominant that Brazilian promoters dismissed the chance of a rematch, which Gracie didn't ask anyway.

After an unbeaten tour through Argentina in 1947, Hatem had a rubber match with his old enemy Takeo Yano, winning again by submission. The same year, Tatu was pitted against Russian superheavyweight Leon Falkenstein, nicknamed "Homem Montanha" ("Mountain Man") for his 330 ib and large height. Falkenstein had contacted Hatem to discuss the possibility of a worked match, but Euclydes refused, and negotiations got so heated that newspapers echoed them. However, when the match happened, Hatem defeated him in only 37 seconds. The Russian demanded a rematch after training with several vale tudo exponents, but results were again a victory by submission for Tatu.

Retirement Tatu ended his career in the 1950s. After his retirement, he founded a gym and started teaching his fighting style of luta livre. Though he retired professionally, he didn't retire from fighting altogether; on one occasion, Valdemar Santana came to his gym to challenge him. Santana was immediately defeated by Hatem. After this, promoters proposed a fight between Tatu and Hélio Gracie, but the fight never happened, as Gracie demanded his opponent wear a gi and Hatem refused. Hatem focused himself on teaching, passing his knowledge to the brothers Carlos and Fausto Brunocilla until his death in 1984.