Rickson Gracie vs. Byron Amona: A Tale of Jiu-Jitsu, Surfing and Acai

One seemingly nondescript street fight over a surfboard ended up popularizing a fruit and changing the landscape of jiu-jitsu forever.

The Brazilian acai berry has taken the world by storm. Whether in Japan, the United States, the United Arab Emirates or Europe, the fruit is widely consumed as a delicacy. What few people know is that the consumption of this fruit was restricted anywhere north of Brazil until the 1980s.

In the late 1920s, brothers Carlos and Helio Gracie relocated from Belem, Brazil, to Rio de Janeiro to train jiu-jitsu with Mitsuyo Maeda. The brothers brought with them an unusual habit. To “recharge their batteries” after training, the Gracies would consume a bowl of the pulp from the acai fruit from the Para region. The fruit was not as readily available for them, but thanks to their friendship with the owner of a local bar called Arataca, they were able to make arrangement. The owner happened to be from Para as well, and the Gracies managed to convince him to import a monthly shipment of the berries from the Amazon.

This small agreement commenced a tradition that was passed on to family members and selected students over the years. Until the 1980s, however, it was restricted to a small circle within the Gracie family as well as their senior students. To have an acai bowl with the masters was a sign of the “status in the martial hierarchy.” This all changed in the late 1970s, thanks to a surfing championship of all things.

The ‘Small Monkey’ Beat ‘King Kong’

Tourists that travel to Rio now cannot help but observe the link between surf and jiu-jitsu in the region. At the beaches, a surf board and kimono are practically natural equipment for any young person in the area. This specific tradition came to light around the same time as the acai berry transformed from a regional delicacy to one shared around the world. In 1976, Brazil held one of its first national surfing events, called Waymea 5000, gathering people from all around the country to Rio to compete for top honors.

At that time, Vale Tudo had been banned in Rio. When Joao Alberto Barreto, a Helio Gracie student, snapped an opponent’s arm in a televised 1962 match, the government shut down no holds barred fighting. The TV show Herois do Ringue (Heroes of the Ring) found itself completely stifled, and with the main channel of advertising off the table, jiu-jitsu could not prosper. This happened despite the explosion of martial arts films and television, with the likes of Bruce Lee and David Carradine becoming household names at the time.

The jiu-jitsu of the highly renowned Gracie family, who in the 30s, 40s and 50s, commonly headlined in the newspaper covers, ended up being pushed to almost anonymity. Jiu-jitsu academies were empty. The Gracies kept training, with their student base dwindling to little more than family, and this gave them time for additional hobbies. Between the classes taught at the Gracie academy, Relson and his brother Rickson, Helio’s sons, surfed. It just so happened that those two were big into surfing while a surf wear brand decided to hold a championship, one that brought in competitors from Hawaii.

During the competition, Sergio Malibu, one of the more popular local surfers and a close friend of Relson and Rickson, borrowed a board from a friend. Malibu was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of surfing alongside his idols that he had only seen in imported magazines. When entering a wave, Sergio ended up losing control of the board, and struck Hawaii’s Byron Amona. At the time, Amona was a security guard for some of the famed individuals that came into town, while also the founder of a group called “Black Trunks.” Enraged, the Hawaiian broke Malibu’s board.

The story quickly spread to one of Rio’s surf meccas, Arpoador. The very next day Rickson, Relson, Malibu and a group of surfers went looking for Byron Amona. Visiting from Hawaii, Amona was staying at a renowned Brazilian surfer Rico de Souza’s house at the time. Encouraged by the Gracie brothers, Malibu entered the building, grabbed the Hawaiian’s board and broke it in front of him. An incensed Amona began a shouting match with the group, one that ended with a 18-year-old Rickson challenging the towering Hawaiian to a fight.

“I was terrified when Rickson said ‘just me and him, I don’t want nobody to interfere,’” Malibu remembered. “The gringo weighed easily more than 100kg (220 pounds) and Rickson just over 70kg (155 pounds). I had never heard of jiu-jitsu. When they started, I thought the big guys were going to kill Rickson and then beat us all.”

Malibu did not realize that the jiu-jitsu brown belt Rickson could already handle himself in a fight. He did not understand what was going on when Helio Gracie’s son quickly took the bigger man’s back, locked in a rear-naked choke and put the Hawaiian to sleep.

“My leg was shaking. I was terrified. How could it happen? It was like a small monkey beating King Kong,” Malibu exclaimed.

The fight was over in a flash. Gracie had embarrassed the muscular American surfer in the blink of an eye. This result did not turn into an all-out brawl, but rather, led to separate camps and teams joining forces. As if two warring tribes had just settled all of their differences in one battle, many of the awestruck surfers began to train jiu-jitsu. This included Malibu, an 8th dan coral belt that has made his life out of teaching students in the fine art. Since then, surfboards and kimonos have become part of the basic accessories of most young boys in Rio.

Ecological and Economic Impact

The habit of drinking acai ended up being incorporated by the growing surf population, many of whom jiu-jitsu practitioners, and soon the fruit became one of the most requested in all juice shops in the city. With the worldwide explosion of jiu-jitsu after Royce Gracie’s early UFC victories, and Rio becoming part of the World Surf League circuit, it was natural for the fruit to become popular. This worldwide popularization ended up having a positive ecological impact.

In the 1990s, there was a concern for growers in Para that the acai trees would be farmed to extinction. Hearts of palm were also being harvested with their popularity booming as well, and indiscriminate companies or individuals would chop down trees recklessly before fruit would even bloom. Due to the sudden boost in popularity, locals quickly began planting acai palm trees en masse. It did not take long for the desire for acai berries to outweigh heart of palm, and to this day, they serve as one of the major exports of the region. Para grew thanks to this new industry, drawing in farmers and businessmen alike to make certain that the trees were not going anywhere. Had Carlos Gracie not met Mitsuyo Maeda in Belem in 1916, the entire future of the acai fruit might have been changed drastically.