Emily Diana Watts was among the first female instructors of the Japanese art of jujitsu in the Western world

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

. She was also an innovator in the field of physical culture

Physical culture

Physical culture is a term applied to health and strength training regimens, particularly those that originated during the 19th century. During the mid-late 20th century, the term "physical culture" became largely outmoded in most English-speaking countries, being replaced by terms such as...

.

Born into a wealthy family in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 during the latter Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 era, she studied dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 from a young age. By 1903 Watts had developed a strong interest in jujitsu and joined the Golden Square

Golden Square

Golden Square, Soho, London in the City of Westminster is one of the historic squares of Central London. The square is just east of Regent Street and north of Piccadilly Circus....

 dojo

Dojo

A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...

 of Sadakazu Uyenishi

Sadakazu Uyenishi

Sadakazu Uyenishi was amongst the first Japanese jujitsu practitioners to both teach jujitsu and to compete using the art outside of Japan.- Early years and martial arts training :...

 and Akitaro Ono. By 1906 she was teaching her own classes and also published a book, "The Fine Art of Jujitsu", which is notable for having been the first book in the English language to detail 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...

judo

Judo

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...

 kata

Kata

is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....

.

In 1914 Watts produced another book, "The Renaissance of the Greek Ideal", presenting an original system of calisthenic exercises inspired by ancient Greek statuary and artwork. On the strength of this work, she was inducted into the French Institut Marey and the American Institute of Archeology.

Watts spent much of the subsequent four decades touring the international lecture circuit, performing demonstrations of her system. By the 1940s she had circled the globe five times, meeting Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

 and befriending George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...

and other notables.

Emily Diana Watts died in 1968 at the age of 101.

Works

• The Fine Art of Jujitsu (1906) (writing as Mrs. Roger Watts)
• The Renaissance of the Greek Ideal (1914)