What they call Combat Jujutsu is what I call Taiho Jutsu
Before you read on please understand:
I hate the term / concept of extreme martial arts
I hate the term / concept of the world's deadliest martial art
I hate the idea of preying on the afraid and uninformed for financial gain
(those pills I bought from the internet didn't make my pecker any bigger)
(learning lethal commando techniques won't magically protect you from dangerous situations)
Having said all that I thought I would hate this essay, but there was some pretty good stuff in there.
So, for your entertainment and enlightenment I tried to edit out most of the stuff I hated and leave in the good stuff here.
Enjoy -
History of Combat Jujitsu
Also known as close combat or close-in combat, hand to hand (H2H) combat is the most ancient form of fighting known to man. A majority of cultures have their own particular histories related to close combat, and their own methods of practice. However, the ultimate goal of all of them is to dominate the enemy, usually by termination! There are many varieties practiced throughout the world including various martial arts, boxing, and even wrestling.
Those who study the Art of War have always looked for quicker, more efficient methods by which to dispatch their enemies. Military organizations looked to the effectiveness of Japanese H2H methods and there found the deadliest martial art. It was refined and adapted for modern warfare. The ultimate result is Combat Jujitsu.
Military organizations have always taught some sort of unarmed combat for conditioning and as a supplement to armed combat.
Among the Samurai warriors of
Japan, such combatives were known as Bujutsu, meaning the Art of War. This included jujutsu (jujitsu, jiu jitsu), empty hand arts; tantojutsu, knife or dagger arts; bojutsu, staff arts, and so on. Moving into more sophisticated weapons of the time you had weapon arts such as kenjutsu, sword arts; yarijutsu, spear arts; and kyujutsu, archery. Each art was studied separately as is done in modern times where each specialty has its own school; i.e. infantry, airborne, artillery, etc.
Weapons and tactics change with new technology, but even with major technological changes such as the initially crude uses of gunpowder, all the way up to the invention of the machine gun, hand-to-hand fighting methods, including small arms and bayonet, remain central to modern military training.
Hand-to-hand tactics designed specifically for modern Special Operations was largely codified by Major William E. Fairbairn and Colonel Rex Applegate during World War II.
William Ewart Fairbairn (1885-1960) was a soldier, police officer, and exponent of hand-to-hand combat methods for allied special forces in World War II.
He served with the Royal Marine Light Infantry starting in 1901. After joining the Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP) in 1907, he studied Jujitsu and then Chinese martial arts. He developed his own training system and taught his method to members of that police force in order to reduce officer fatalities.
Fairbairn described this system as primarily based on his personal experience, under the most extreme martial arts conditions which according to police records included some 600 non-training fights, occurring while attempting to make arrests. Fairbairn published a book, Scientific Self Defence, in 1926 illustrating this method.
Fairbairn was recruited in WWII by the British Secret Service as an Army officer, where he trained
U.K.,
U.S. and Canadian Commando and Ranger forces and their instructors. He modified his techniques for military applications, rather than police and riot control. The original Police system was oriented towards self defense and restraint, while the military Close Quarters Combat Jujitsu system concentrated on rapidly disabling an opponent, with potentially lethal force.
The militarized version is the basis for all US Military Special Operations Forces H2H combat and is described in detail in a later manual for Allied Special Forces titled Get Tough, originally published in 1942.
His system was designed to be simple to learn and brutally effective. The techniques presented by Fairbairn are all Jujitsu techniques. All you need to do is scan through his training manual to see for yourself. Here are a few examples.
Technique No. 6A - "FROM A STRANGLE HOLD".
You are seized from in front by the throat, as in Fig. 23.
With your left hand seize your opponent's right elbow from underneath, your thumb to the right.
With your right hand, reach over his arms and seize his right wrist (Fig. 24).
With your right arm apply pressure downwards on his left arm; at the same time, with a circular upward motion of your left hand; force his elbow towards your right side. This will break his hold of your throat and put him off balance (Fig. 25, reverse view).
Keeping a firm grip with both hands, turn rapidly towards your right-hand side by bringing your right leg to your right-rear. Follow up with edge-of-the-hand blow on his right elbow to break the arm (Fig. 26).
Note - All the above movements must be one rapid and continuous motion.
Anyone familiar with Jujitsu will recognize technique No. 14 - Japanese Strangle Hold.
And of course, No. 19 - Wrist Throw.
These techniques are designed to quickly disable or kill an opponent!
As you can clearly see, It's All Jujitsu!
Rex Applegate's book "Kill or Get Killed".
Read for free here
Colonel Rex Applegate (1914-1998) worked in the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) where he trained allied special forces in close-quarter combat during World War II. In 1943 he wrote Kill or Get Killed, still considered the classic textbook of Western-style hand-to-hand combat.
Applegate developed the techniques outlined in the book during his work with William E. Fairbairn. The result of this was the development of what is widely considered the first scientifically based study of Combat Jujitsu. Applegate's techniques are heavily based on Fairbairn's system, and enhanced with feedback from the
OSS operatives who put his extreme martial arts techniques into action in World War II. In other words, these methods are tested and proven! Making Combat Jujitsu, without doubt, the world’s deadliest martial art!
Excerpt from Kill or Get Killed
Here Col. Applegate describes where his system of Combat Jujitsu came from, its purpose, and why it is important not to settle for imitations. This is a paraphrased version of Chapter 1: Introduction to Unarmed Combat. (You will notice he uses the jiu jitsu spelling.)
"Long before the existence of the stone knife and the bow and arrow, primitive man fought with his hands, teeth, legs, feet, and body.
Tibetan monks of the 12th century are reputed to have been among the first to develop a definite system of fighting without weapons. Some time after the 12th century, the Japanese learned of this method of combat and, characteristically, copied it and claimed its origin. They gave it the name of jiu jitsu, and claimed that it was developed during their mythological age. For centuries jiu jitsu was practiced, with many variations and improvements, by the Samurai warrior clans.
After WWII [due to the aura of mystery that surround the practice of jiu jitsu], there was a huge demand by the public for books and techniques on these methods of fighting. Bookstores were flooded with books and pamphlets on the subject of unarmed combat. Many of these, purporting to be genuine jiu jitsu, bore titles and slogans intended to appeal to the gullible. However, when the course was completed and students were called upon to use what they had learned against a determined opponent, they usually found themselves helpless. Such courses obviously did not give the student the extreme martial arts training necessary to adapt him to the uncertainties of combat.
Military experience, in combat and training centers throughout the world, has shown that the average man can be quickly turned into a dangerous, offensive fighter by concentrating on the correct principles of combat jiu jitsu and by advocating its use of blows executed by the hands, feet and other parts of the body, often overlooked by the average enthusiast.
All types of combat can be divided into two phases, offensive and defensive. Knowledge of both is necessary to any fighting man. However, in training Special Forces for warfare, the emphasis is usually on the offensive. The techniques presented in Kill or Get Killed, have been used successfully in training and in recent combat. They can be learned easily and applied quickly and instinctively, but only after adequate practice.
No text, no matter how well-illustrated or clearly explained can, alone, teach a man to fight. It can only serve as an instructional guide. Closely supervised intensive practice is the only path to practical knowledge. There are no easy methods or short cuts. Practice must be intensive enough to render the mechanics of each technique automatic. There is seldom time to stop and think when the pressure of combat is on. Being able to throw a man is much different from knowing how."
As you can see from the above statement, Col. Applegate stresses correct technique and supervised practice.
Special Forces all over the world will Always use Combat Jujitsu!
General Purpose Forces change H2H training based on changing technologies and changing missions, such as the recent concept of "peace-keeping". Spec Ops, on the other hand, require sticking to the basics! When the enemy is encountered, react swiftly and decisively! These tactics have not changed since the beginning of history, and they never will.
The big misconception is that Special Operations Forces are like Ninjas that sneak in and assassinate enemy forces in their sleep. Well, this may occasionally be part of the mission. But usually, Spec Ops missions are to destroy vital infrastructure, and the goal is to never make contact with enemy combatants! In fact, it is preferable to avoid contact, as it slows down a unit from reaching its objective.
However, if you encounter an enemy combatant during Spec Ops, there is no time for hesitation. You must always keep in mind two vital assumptions:
He is Armed!
He is not alone!
Therefore, speed and surprise will always work to your advantage.
When meeting the enemy during Spec Ops, you will have three choices:
Dis-arm (and/or bind, but leave behind)
Capture (rescue hostage or take prisoner back)
or Kill.
[Can you see where a Law Enforcement Officer may need to make similar choices? That's why Combat Jujitsu is perfect of those tasked with keeping our streets safe.]
In most cases, the objective of the mission will predetermine some of this (as in whether or not to take prisoners), but sometimes the decision must be made in an instant. When necessary, you cannot hesitate to make use of the deadliest martial art, Combat Jujitsu.
Techniques must be functional in actual close-in combat. Spec Ops troops may be wearing helmets and flak jackets. They could be armed with M-16s and carrying heavy packs. It would make little sense for a soldier thus encumbered to try a taekwondo kick to the head of a helmeted enemy. This is precisely the lesson learned by armored Samurai four centuries ago, and it is still relevant today!
Civilian Instructors
Most civilian instructors in Combat Jujitsu train police, martial artists or combative sport athletes, due to the limited need to learn lethal tactics outside the military. But some may train civilians for private security and self-defense. The very things which make Combat Jujitsu the deadliest martial art, being that it is well-adapted for military training (fast, ease of use, modest physical demands) also make it suitable in many ways for civilian self-defense. The world's military forces train thousands of instructors every year.
Frequently emphasizing their law-enforcement, corrections or military background, many Combat Jujitsu instructors also offer training to law enforcement agencies, the military, private individuals, security guards or companies. However, you should be very skeptical of anyone who tells you the US Navy SEALs use their system.
The Department of Defense has always looked for "educational" methods whereby the extreme martial arts techniques of Combat Jujitsu may be learned by trainees faster, and retained longer, and also making their reaction instantaneous. However, the techniques themselves have changed very little over the last fifty years. They have been proven effective, so why mess with a good thing? Besides, there are only a certain number of ways to kill someone with your bare hands. No one has yet to come up with anything better. So be very skeptical of anyone who says, or implies, they taught the SEALS or any other Special Operations Forces how to do Combat Jujitsu techniques.
No one since Fairbairn and Applegate have been able to improve on the world's deadliest martial art. But, many civilian "instructors" just outright lie about teaching Navy SEALs (Green Beret, etc.) their techniques. Most have never seen a harbor seal, much less a real Navy SEAL! Others "misrepresent" their program by saying they taught their "methods" to so-and-so & such-and-such Special Forces.
They may have indeed "demonstrated" their "training" (educational) program to representatives of the "D.O.D.". But, I guarantee you they never taught NEW Combat Jujitsu techniques to Special Forces. Most likely, they learned the techniques from Special Forces in order to plug them into their programs. Now they are making money by showing what they learned, not what they taught!
I do not make any such extravagant claims; nor do I need to! I admit, I'm showing you what I've learned through two decades of martial arts study, teaching and training with some of the most experienced Combat Jujitsu Masters in the world!
I didn't make these techniques up! They have been around for centuries!
After all, It's Jujitsu!
As warfare continues to evolve, high-tech weaponry will reduce the need for H2H (the enemy will be destroyed long before contact is ever made). However, it will never be completely eliminated, and it is important to continue to train and improve. There will be slight improvements in techniques, and changes may be made due to changing missions. But the core techniques of Combat Jujitsu will always remain. Why?
Because there are only a finite number of ways to kill a man with your bare hands, and we have probably explored all of them. Science and medical research may discover a few more in the future, but the core still remains. It has been proven in combat, so why take chances with unproven theory?
