THROW out the Queensberry rules. The British art of fighting dirty is returning home after an absence of more than 90 years.
Britain’s only modern martial art, invented in Liverpool in 1907 and used by Canadian soldiers in the First and Second World Wars, will be taught in Britain for the first time next year. Unlike the more graceful oriental martial arts, however, Defendo is a brutal discipline designed to end a fight as quickly as possible by causing one’s opponent pain.
It will be taught at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds where actors will perform demonstrations of wartime combat techniques. Members of the public will be invited to train in Defendo in a series of martial arts classes.
Defendo was created by a Briton and taught to British spies, including Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond books, but never took off in this country because its inventor, Bill Underwood, emigrated to Canada shortly before the First World War.
Mr Underwood, who was only 5ft 2in tall, first used his technique to deadly effect as part of the Grenadier Guards of the Royal Montreal Regiment. During the first gas attacks in Ypres in 1915 he found himself surrounded and had to defeat several German assailants in hand-to-hand combat before retreating to his own lines. During the Second World War Mr Underwood was employed by The Queen’s Own Rifle Reserve in Toronto to teach an “ occidental system of self-protection†to match the threat posed by Japanese soldiers trained in judo. His technique, which was then known under the prosaic name of Combato, was used in training camps for the Candian Army, Navy and Air Force, and his advice was also sought by the American Secret Service.
Mr Underwood also worked at Camp X, a special forces training camp in Oshawa near Toronto, where British Secret Service agents, including Fleming, were instructed in hand-to-hand combat. In later life he became a minor celebrity and the subject of a 1980 Oscar- nominated documentary entitled Don’t Mess with Bill.
Clive Elliott, the only British instructor of Defendo, said that the method was likely to be popular among British women because it was ruthlessly practical.
“It is not a beautiful martial art,†he said. “A lot of martial arts teach punching and kicking, but if you are fighting off a larger attacker that is not much use. With Defendo you can deal with the situation more easily because it is all about pain.â€
There are a handful of older British martial arts, but none is used as a modern system of self-defence. Mr Elliott added: “It’s essentially a box of 200 tricks to get you out of a tricky situation.â€
A NEW TWIST ON PAIN
Defendo was originally developed from Japanese jujitsu. Unlike karate or kung-fu, which involve punches and kicks, Defendo relies on twisting joints and applying pressure to the body’s weak spots.
Users can disable their enemies with pain by manipulating their nervous systems. Refined during the two world wars, Defendo was also designed to deal with attackers with fixed bayonets and knives.
-The Times, UK
Britain’s only modern martial art, invented in Liverpool in 1907 and used by Canadian soldiers in the First and Second World Wars, will be taught in Britain for the first time next year. Unlike the more graceful oriental martial arts, however, Defendo is a brutal discipline designed to end a fight as quickly as possible by causing one’s opponent pain.
It will be taught at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds where actors will perform demonstrations of wartime combat techniques. Members of the public will be invited to train in Defendo in a series of martial arts classes.
Defendo was created by a Briton and taught to British spies, including Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond books, but never took off in this country because its inventor, Bill Underwood, emigrated to Canada shortly before the First World War.
Mr Underwood, who was only 5ft 2in tall, first used his technique to deadly effect as part of the Grenadier Guards of the Royal Montreal Regiment. During the first gas attacks in Ypres in 1915 he found himself surrounded and had to defeat several German assailants in hand-to-hand combat before retreating to his own lines. During the Second World War Mr Underwood was employed by The Queen’s Own Rifle Reserve in Toronto to teach an “ occidental system of self-protection†to match the threat posed by Japanese soldiers trained in judo. His technique, which was then known under the prosaic name of Combato, was used in training camps for the Candian Army, Navy and Air Force, and his advice was also sought by the American Secret Service.
Mr Underwood also worked at Camp X, a special forces training camp in Oshawa near Toronto, where British Secret Service agents, including Fleming, were instructed in hand-to-hand combat. In later life he became a minor celebrity and the subject of a 1980 Oscar- nominated documentary entitled Don’t Mess with Bill.
Clive Elliott, the only British instructor of Defendo, said that the method was likely to be popular among British women because it was ruthlessly practical.
“It is not a beautiful martial art,†he said. “A lot of martial arts teach punching and kicking, but if you are fighting off a larger attacker that is not much use. With Defendo you can deal with the situation more easily because it is all about pain.â€
There are a handful of older British martial arts, but none is used as a modern system of self-defence. Mr Elliott added: “It’s essentially a box of 200 tricks to get you out of a tricky situation.â€
A NEW TWIST ON PAIN
Defendo was originally developed from Japanese jujitsu. Unlike karate or kung-fu, which involve punches and kicks, Defendo relies on twisting joints and applying pressure to the body’s weak spots.
Users can disable their enemies with pain by manipulating their nervous systems. Refined during the two world wars, Defendo was also designed to deal with attackers with fixed bayonets and knives.
-The Times, UK
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