Defendu
Encyclopedia
Defendu is a modern martial art
developed by William E. Fairbairn
and Eric A. Sykes
prior to World War II
. It is a hand-to-hand combat system based on practical experience mixed with jujutsu
and boxing
that was developed to train the Shanghai Municipal Police
, and was later taught in expanded form to Office of Strategic Services
and Special Operations Executive
members during World War II
.
at the Kodokan
in Tokyo
, and fights he was involved in during his police work, Fairbairn began to develop his own system of hand to hand combat
, calling it "Defendu". It was designed to be simple to learn and to provide effective results. Fairbairn published his book, Defendu, in 1926 (re-printed as Scientific Self Defence in 1931), illustrating this method and it is here that the term "Defendu" first appeared. This confused early readers of the book, who assumed that the techniques within had been based mainly in the Eastern martial arts that Fairbairn had learned. Thus, in an attempt to highlight the originality of Fairbairn's material, the term did not appear in the 1931 edition of the book.
Fairbairn was called upon by the British to help train Allied troops
in World War II. Fairbairn and others expanded on this system to create the Close Quarters Combat system that was then taught to the troops. This system was built on Defendu, but modified for military applications, rather than police and riot control
.
The original Defendu was oriented towards self-defence and restraint
, while the Close Quarters Combat system concentrated on rapid disabling of an opponent, with potentially lethal force
. The militarised version of Defendu is described in Rex Applegate
's book Kill or Get Killed.
Fairbairn published several more books on the subject of self defence, all of which refer to Defendu only in relation to the earlier book.
a winning edge. They found one such edge in Fairbairn's system. Immediately, Fairbairn was commissioned in the British Commandos
and ordered to teach a lethal version of his system at the Commando school in Scotland
.
It was at this top secret Scottish location that Colonel Rex Applegate
of the U.S. Army studied under Fairbairn. Through Col. Applegate and other instructors such as Col. Anthony Biddle, these highly effective skills were taught to U.S. troops including US Marines
and Rangers
, as well as OSS operatives and later to the FBI and CIA as the foundation of their basic training.
Once the British Commando School in Scotland was able to produce its own Fairbairn/Sykes qualified instructors, both men were transferred. Fairbairn to North America
, and Sykes to SOE, where he trained special agents for behind the lines duties . Fairbairn's 'special assignment' in Oshawa
, Canada
, was to teach his system to Allied special forces at the most highly classified training operation of WWII, Camp X
. Agents were trained in depth to dispose of their enemy quickly and quietly with brutal effectiveness. Following his instruction at Camp X, Fairbairn was rejoined by Col. Applegate to form the United States Camp B, now known as Camp David
.
This introduction of 'The Fairbairn Fighting System' at Camp X in conjunction with input from many highly skilled instructors with various backgrounds and fighting skills was the beginning of the evolution of Defendu. As close quarters battle or unarmed combat training progressed throughout this period, it was added to and refined utilising western fighting principles, eventually becoming referred to in slang as Defendo by Allied soldiers.
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
developed by William E. Fairbairn
William E. Fairbairn
William Ewart Fairbairn was a British soldier, police officer and exponent of hand-to-hand combat method, the close combat, for the Shanghai Police between the world wars, and allied special forces in World War II. He developed his own fighting system known as Defendu, as well as other weapons...
and Eric A. Sykes
Eric A. Sykes
Eric Anthony Sykes , born Eric Anthony Schwabe in Barton on Irwell, Manchester, England. He is most famous for his work with William E. Fairbairn in the development of the eponymous Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife and modern British Close Quarters Battle martial arts during World War II...
prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It is a hand-to-hand combat system based on practical experience mixed with jujutsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
that was developed to train the Shanghai Municipal Police
Shanghai Municipal Police
The Shanghai Municipal Police was the police force of the Shanghai Municipal Council which governed the Shanghai International Settlement between 1854 and 1943, when the settlement was retroceded to Chinese control....
, and was later taught in expanded form to Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
and Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
members during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Development
Based on his training in boxing, early JudoJudo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
at the Kodokan
Kodokan
, or the Kodokan Institute, is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. Literally, kō means "to lecture" or "to spread information," dō means "the way," and kan is "a public building or hall," together translating roughly as "a place for the study or promotion of the way." The Kodokan was...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and fights he was involved in during his police work, Fairbairn began to develop his own system of hand to hand combat
Hand to hand combat
Hand-to-hand combat is a lethal or nonlethal physical confrontation between two or more persons at very short range that does not involve the use of firearms or other distance weapons...
, calling it "Defendu". It was designed to be simple to learn and to provide effective results. Fairbairn published his book, Defendu, in 1926 (re-printed as Scientific Self Defence in 1931), illustrating this method and it is here that the term "Defendu" first appeared. This confused early readers of the book, who assumed that the techniques within had been based mainly in the Eastern martial arts that Fairbairn had learned. Thus, in an attempt to highlight the originality of Fairbairn's material, the term did not appear in the 1931 edition of the book.
Fairbairn was called upon by the British to help train Allied troops
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
in World War II. Fairbairn and others expanded on this system to create the Close Quarters Combat system that was then taught to the troops. This system was built on Defendu, but modified for military applications, rather than police and riot control
Riot control
Riot control refers to the measures used by police, military, or other security forces to control, disperse, and arrest civilians who are involved in a riot, demonstration, or protest. Law enforcement officers or soldiers have long used non-lethal weapons such as batons and whips to disperse crowds...
.
The original Defendu was oriented towards self-defence and restraint
Physical restraint
Physical restraint refers to the practice of rendering people harmless, helpless or keeping them in captivity by means such as handcuffs, fetters, straitjackets, ropes, straps, or other forms of physical restraint...
, while the Close Quarters Combat system concentrated on rapid disabling of an opponent, with potentially lethal force
Deadly force
Deadly force, as defined by the United States Armed Forces, is the force which a person uses, causing—or that a person knows, or should know, would create a substantial risk of causing—death or serious bodily harm...
. The militarised version of Defendu is described in Rex Applegate
Rex Applegate
Rex Applegate was an American military officer who worked for the Office of Strategic Services, where he trained Allied special forces personnel in close-quarters combat during World War II. He held the rank of colonel....
's book Kill or Get Killed.
Fairbairn published several more books on the subject of self defence, all of which refer to Defendu only in relation to the earlier book.
World War II
The start of the Second World War saw the Allied forces needing every advantage to give their soldiers and special forcesSpecial forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
a winning edge. They found one such edge in Fairbairn's system. Immediately, Fairbairn was commissioned in the British Commandos
British Commandos
The British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe...
and ordered to teach a lethal version of his system at the Commando school in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
It was at this top secret Scottish location that Colonel Rex Applegate
Rex Applegate
Rex Applegate was an American military officer who worked for the Office of Strategic Services, where he trained Allied special forces personnel in close-quarters combat during World War II. He held the rank of colonel....
of the U.S. Army studied under Fairbairn. Through Col. Applegate and other instructors such as Col. Anthony Biddle, these highly effective skills were taught to U.S. troops including US Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and Rangers
United States Army Rangers
United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School...
, as well as OSS operatives and later to the FBI and CIA as the foundation of their basic training.
Once the British Commando School in Scotland was able to produce its own Fairbairn/Sykes qualified instructors, both men were transferred. Fairbairn to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and Sykes to SOE, where he trained special agents for behind the lines duties . Fairbairn's 'special assignment' in Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, was to teach his system to Allied special forces at the most highly classified training operation of WWII, Camp X
Camp X
Camp X was the unofficial name of a Second World War paramilitary and commando training installation, on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario between Whitby and Oshawa in Ontario, Canada...
. Agents were trained in depth to dispose of their enemy quickly and quietly with brutal effectiveness. Following his instruction at Camp X, Fairbairn was rejoined by Col. Applegate to form the United States Camp B, now known as Camp David
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...
.
This introduction of 'The Fairbairn Fighting System' at Camp X in conjunction with input from many highly skilled instructors with various backgrounds and fighting skills was the beginning of the evolution of Defendu. As close quarters battle or unarmed combat training progressed throughout this period, it was added to and refined utilising western fighting principles, eventually becoming referred to in slang as Defendo by Allied soldiers.
Post war
The large-scale demobilisation following allied victory in the Second World War marked the end of widespread instruction in Defendu within North America, although the methods were retained by peacetime forces.Further reading
- Defendu,W. E. Fairbairn
- The Close-Combat Files of Colonel Rex Applegate, Rex Applegate, Chuck Melson
External links
- The Source, Peter Robins, American Combatives
- Shanghai Municipal Police, Robert Bickers
- Fairbairn's Gutter Fighting
- W E Fairbairn Gentleman & Warrior The Shanghai Years (2005), Peter Robins
- International Defendo Federation
- Modern Defendo
- Defendo Magyarország
- Defendu Association Poland
- W. E. FAIRBAIRN - THE LEGENDARY INSTRUCTOR, Phil Matthews