Euclydes Hatem
| Euclydes Hatem | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 September 1914 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Died | 26 September 1984 |
| Other names | Tatu |
| Style | Luta Livre |
| Notable students | Marco Ruas |
Euclydes "Tatu" Hatem (September 16, 1914 - September 26, 1984) was a Brazilian catch wrestler, known for being the founder of the martial art of luta livre.
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 "Tatú" ("armadillo") for his short, stocky build, which did not impede him from showing skill for the art. The main of his teachers was the legendary Orlando Americo da Silva or "Dudú", who also taught to George and Hélio Gracie and defeated Geo Omori in a match.
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 submit the veteran Kutter. Just one month after, Hatem (now known as "Mestre Tatú" or simply "Tatú") was pitted against a 300 ib wrestler nicknamed "Máscara Negra" ("Black Mask"). He lost the match after 40 minutes, but the audience left convinced of his talent, moreover for the fact that Máscara was suspected to be the famous Wladek Zbyszko. Hatem became known for his skill with chokeholds, to the point many opponents only fought him if this kind of move was forbidden.
In 1937 Tatú faced Japanese judoka Takeo Yano, Mitsuyo Maeda’s colleague and Brazilian Navy’s hand-to-hand instructor. Actually, Hatem and Yano had trained together before a match between Takeo and Hélio Gracie, but both left personal feelings outside the fight. Characteristically, Hatem won the match by choke. Yano requested a rematch and it took place after two months, but with the additional rule that Euclydes would have to wear a judogi. This rule gave the advantage to Yano, who won when his second attempted hip throw made Tatú take a bad fall and get his shoulder injured, turning an easy prey. 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.
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