Long before Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dominated mixed martial arts and captured the world’s attention, an American president was quietly revolutionizing the martial arts landscape in the early 1900s. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, became the first commander-in-chief to embrace Japanese combat arts, fundamentally changing how Americans viewed and practiced martial arts.
In 1900, John O’Brien became the first jiu-jitsu instructor in America after spending four to five years learning traditional Japanese jiu-jitsu as a police constable in Nagasaki, Japan. O’Brien returned to the United States with his Japanese instructor, Inaway, and began conducting demonstrations and teaching classes. Despite his legitimate credentials and passion for the art, O’Brien struggled to gain widespread attention. Media coverage was sparse, with fewer than ten stories per year covering his activities.
O’Brien’s fortunes changed dramatically in 1902 when he caught the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt, famous for advocating what he called “the strenuous life,” was naturally drawn to athletic pursuits and combat sports. He was already an accomplished boxer and wrestler who regularly sparred with visitors to the White House.
When Roosevelt began taking jiu-jitsu lessons from O’Brien at the White House, he called the sessions “marvelous,” though he admitted the system was difficult for him to learn. This presidential endorsement transformed jiu-jitsu from an obscure curiosity into a national phenomenon. Media coverage exploded from fewer than ten stories annually to hundreds, eventually peaking at approximately 1,500 mainstream newspaper stories about jiu-jitsu in 1905.
Political cartoons began appearing in major newspapers showing Roosevelt in a gi, applying wrist locks to his boxing instructor, or using jiu-jitsu techniques metaphorically to “throw” monopolies and trusts.
Roosevelt’s involvement with martial arts deepened in 1904 when Yoshiaki Yamashita, one of the greatest Kodokan judoka of all time, arrived in America. Yamashita had been brought by Seattle businessman Sam Hill initially to teach his son, but word of Roosevelt’s interest in Japanese martial arts led to a White House demonstration. Roosevelt immediately recognized the superiority of Yamashita’s skills, seeing “what jiu-jitsu really is” compared to his earlier training.
Roosevelt employed Yamashita to teach not only himself but also established him as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. Yamashita’s wife, Fude, conducted the first women-only judo class in America and gave public demonstrations, often throwing male opponents. The president’s daughter, Alice Roosevelt, also took classes from Yamashita.
Roosevelt had effectively established an official martial arts program within the military, with one of Japan’s finest instructors creating what could have been a generation of American black belts in the nation’s center of power.
Unfortunately, xenophobia and racism derailed this promising development. American wrestlers, uncomfortable with Japanese instruction at a military academy, launched a campaign to remove Yamashita from his position. They argued that taxpayer money should support “good old American wrestling” rather than foreign martial arts. Despite Roosevelt’s strong support—he even wrote to the Secretary of the Navy defending the program—the grassroots opposition succeeded.
Yamashita’s $5,000 annual salary became a focal point of criticism, with opponents arguing it was wasteful spending. When Yamashita left America in 1906, it marked the end of jiu-jitsu’s first golden age in the United States.
Roosevelt’s era also witnessed remarkable female participation in martial arts. Fude Yamashita’s women-only classes established an American tradition of female martial arts instruction. Women across the country, from society elites like philanthropist Isabella Stewart Gardner to working-class women forming self-defense clubs, embraced jiu-jitsu training.
Media coverage of women using jiu-jitsu for self-defense was overwhelmingly positive. Stories of women successfully defending themselves against male attackers filled newspapers, with virtually no critical coverage of female martial artists.
Roosevelt’s influence on American martial arts extends far beyond his personal training. His presidency coincided with the creation of the NCAA, the first World Baseball Series, and America’s first Olympic hosting. Sports writer Robert Edgren began promoting mixed-style matches between different martial artists, essentially creating the conceptual foundation for modern mixed martial arts.
Theodore Roosevelt’s brief but intense involvement with jiu-jitsu created America’s first martial arts boom and established patterns that continue to influence how we train and think about combat sports. His legacy reminds us that the “gentle art” has always been shaped by the political, social, and cultural forces of its time.
