Military Unarmed Defenses Against Weapons
Military Unarmed Combat
To 1975
Hand-to-hand training World War II
In the wake of terrible hand-to-hand fighting in the trenches of World War I, armies sought to better prepare their troops. This led to the development of unarmed combat systems, also known as "combatives" or 'hand to hand combat." Borrowing from wrestling, boxing and Japanese Judo, a variety of simple and effective technqiues were developed.
Both Allied and Axis armies used Judo and Jujitsu techniques in their close combat training. Both sides invented systems that used a variety of simple, effective fighting tricks. The German Army went so far as to teach defenses against specific attacks in the Allied repertoire. More amusing: the German text's title: Abwehr Englisher Gangster-Methoden "Against the English Ganster Methods."
The Allied systems received a boost thanks to W. E. Fairbairn, who develoepd a practical syste mfor the Shanghai Municipal Police. Fairbairn's method was eventuially taught to US and British forces. Another former Shanghai member, Pat O'Neill, taught a system of his own. In 19542, Fairbairn was connected with Rex Applegate, an American speciality in close combat. Vestiges fo their work still hang heavily in the American close combat curriculum. O'Neill's influence is still felt, too. He remained in the U.S. afetr World War II and instructed special units and the CIA.
In another area, Major Biddle of the U. S. Marine Corps developed a close combat system that blended Jujitsu with illegal boxing tricks. He also devised their unique bayonet system. John Styers, a student of Biddle, refined and perpetuated the system during the 1950s.
Systems based on Judo and Jujitsu dominated military combatives until the late 1970s. Karate and Chinese Boxing (Kung Fu) took top billing, making their way into the miltiary manuals in the 1980s. The latest manuals have blended a few Judo and Jujitsu tricks with technqiues of full-contact karate and other exotic arts. In spite of this, there are still those who prefer the pre-1975 methods
Basic Techniques of Military Unarmed Combat
To 1975
The close combat systems of the early 20th century were based mostly on Judo, Jujitsu and Western combat sports. The techniques chosen for military combat had to be easy to learn and easy to use. They were pretty simple. Unlike the martial arts which are common today, the old systems were not flamboyant. There were no fancy kicks or bizarre hand strikes.
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The most common techniques were chops, palm heels punches with the heel of the hand, and low kicks to the knee and groin. Below are a few examples of the most basic strikes and kicks. They were taken from several old manuals. In fact, most of the systems were quite similar. The German manual of hand to hand combat is not all that different from its American and British counterparts.
The "chop" used the edge of hand, hacking in an axe-like motion. This photo from a German manual shows a soldier in a defensive stance, his hands poised to chop.
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This German photo shows the chop to the neck, a tactic used in most hand-to-hand systems. The Germans taught their fighters to keep the thumb against the side of the hand.
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A chop to the philtrum, under the nose, a very effective blow. This fighter uses the Fairbairn technique, with the thumb pointing out instead of lying against the hand. This was used in the British system devised by Major Fairbairn.
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A chop below the ear. Hand to hand combat manuals promoted the use of the chop as an extremely powerful attack.
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Knee kick. The kick to the knee is followed by scraping the foot along the adversary's shin, then capping it with a chin jab. This is one of Fairbairn's techniques. Picture is from, an American manual, circa 1971
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Knee lift and chin jab. A common Jujitsu attack, the soldier uses a knee to the groin and follows with a palm heel strike to the chin this picture is from a very old book American on Jujitsu. Fairbairn liked this technique and taught it widely to US and British troops..
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A palm heel used to break a choke, from a German manual
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Blocking a strike with a chop while simultaneously using a finger stab to the throat. From a German manual,
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How to strike with the chop
Military Unarmed Defenses Against Weapons
To 1975
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