EL FREAKIE-DO: HUKA HUKA

THE FREAKIE-DO HUKA HUKA

Indigenous Wrestling genuinely Brazilian

Throughout the world, martial arts are associated with Eastern culture. Iconic fighters like Bruce Lee (China/USA) and Miyamoto Musashi (Japan), as well as famous ninjas, prove this rule. However, at the beginning of the 21st century there was a rapid popularization of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Thus, several western wrestlers, mainly from Brazil, gained international fame. Examples of this new stage of martial arts are the Grace Family, fathers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Anderson Silva, Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, among other champions.

Unknown among the general public, one of the most authentically Brazilian martial arts with the longest tradition is the Huka-huka. This fighting style was created by the Bakairi and Xingu indigenous peoples, located in the state of Mato Grosso. The huka-huka is a very widespread practice in this region and represents one of the modalities of the Indigenous Peoples Games, a sports competition created in 1996. The fight is practiced with the athletes on their knees. In the ritual, a boss, who is considered the owner of the fight, goes to the central part of an arena and chooses the opponents by calling them by his name. The wrestlers then stand face to face, kneel, and spin in a clockwise circle. They confront each other and start fighting. The objective is to pick up the opponent and then bring them to the ground.

Outside of competition, the hukahuka is a traditional ritual to test the strength of young Indians. It is usually done after the Quarup, the Xingu ritual of homage to the dead. At dawn the day after Quarup, the champions of each tribe meet in huka-huka competitions. After the combat between adults, groups of young people also face each other to demonstrate their virility.

The indigenous martial art is so efficient that, in São Paulo, it has been tested in the training of the Military Police. Another field where the huka-huka is present is the UFC. An example is the fighter Anderson Silva, a middleweight who went to the Xingu to learn from the indigenous people who originated the martial art. Silva received explanations about the tactics used in combat and entered the fight in the most traditional way possible: special body paint, thick fabrics to protect his joints, jaguar skin around his waist, and a necklace made of snail plates around his waist. By the neck.

The indigenous Xingu revealed to the fighter that they have a belt, which goes to the last champion among tribal fights. Silva participated in one of the fights but did not last even 15 seconds in the arena. huka huka: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=MJ4_IYvUc2c