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WHAT IS DEFENDU?
What
is DEFENDU? DEFENDU is a complete method of armed and unarmed
Close-Quarters Combat. The foundation of the DEFENDU method is rooted
in the harsh and brutal realities of real world violence. The origin
and development of this method rests in great part with the famed
Lt. Colonel William Ewart Fairbairn.
HISTORY:
Fairbairn's
experience is unparalleled in the annuals of close combat. As a
teenager Fairbairn enlisted with the British Royal Marines. During his
tour of duty he successfully competed in and developed new methods for
bayonet fighting, for which annual international military competitions
were held. He also served as part of the legation guard for the British
Consul in Seoul, Korea. After his discharge from the Royal Marines,
Fairbairn made his way to Shanghai, China and joined the Shanghai
Municipal Police force of the International Settlement.
Shanghai
during this period was considered by most authorities to be the
roughest police beat in the world. The International Settlement was an
open "port" city that was rife with every imaginable criminal activity
and vice. Tong wars, dope smuggling, murder for hire, political
assassination, prostitution, kidnapping, and a host of other underworld
endeavors made Shanghai one of the most dangerous places in the world.
It
was this violent and deadly environment that forced W.E. Fairbairn to
develop effective and practical methods of survival. Fairbairn had
always been considered by his peers to be a "good man in a dust-up" or
brawl. His record established the fact that he was already a rough
customer in close combat in bayonet fighting while with the British
Royal Marines. In Shanghai however, the odds against him proved
greater. While on routine foot patrol assigned to one of the notorious
"Red light" districts of Shanghai waterfront he fell afoul of a group
of Tong members. The Chinese Tong and their infamous "Hatchet-men" were
legend for their brutal and lethal manner of dealing with any
opposition. Fairbairn was overpowered, severely beaten, and left for
dead.
After
a fairly lengthy recovery, Fairbairn was directed to the services of
Professor Okada, a Japanese Jujutsu expert & bonesetter teaching in
Shanghai, and at one time, personal instructor to the Emperor of Japan.
Prof. Okada's school was situated in a dirty alley down which Fairbairn
passed for the next 3 1/2 years every day. Fairbairn entered into his
new found passion completely, determined to never again suffer a
similar fate, in great part because he realized the next time he may
not be so fortunate.
In
the years that followed he studied and became proficient in Chinese
systems under the direction of Tsai Ching Tung, who at one time was
employed at the Imperial Palace, Peking, as an Instructor to the
Retainers of the late Dowager Empress. In 1918 Fairbairn applied for
entrance to and was accepted by the Kodokan Judo University in Tokyo.
Fairbairn received a 3rd degree brown belt in January 1919, a 1st
degree black belt in February 1926 and a 2nd degree black belt in
February 1931. Fairbairn's certificates are signed by Jigoro Kano.
Throughout
his over thirty year career with S.M.P., Fairbairn not only made an in
depth study of almost every known form of close-combat, but was also
able to test these methods in actual combat against determined and
often armed criminals who would rather kill an officer and make good an
escape than be captured and face almost certain execution.
Fairbairn
rose through the ranks and was charged with the duty of instructing
firearms and hand-to-hand combat. He revised completely the firearms
training previously employed and instituted a method, which reflected
actual conditions of real gun-fighting. In 1920, Fairbairn took an
extended leave, during which time he was attached as a captain to the
New York City Police Department for a ten-week period of observation.
During this period he participated in everything from routine patrol
duty to major gambling raids, in order to absorb as much as he could.
His
innovations in unarmed combat were taught not only to the nine thousand
(9000) officers of the Shanghai Police, but also the famed 4th Marine
Regiment known as the "China" Marines. He founded, developed, trained,
and headed the Shanghai Riot Squad called the Reserve Unit (RU). This
was the first ever Special Weapons & Tactics Unit, and served as
the prototype for today's S.W.A.T., and S.R.T. teams. Along with his
friend and colleague Eric Anthony Sykes (reserve officer in the S.M.P.
chief of the Riot Squad Sniper unit, and later Major with the British
Army assigned as close-combat instructor for the Commandos and Special
Operation), and then Lieutenant Samuel Yeaton (U.S.M.C.), Fairbairn
began work on the prototypes of what would become the most famous
combat knife in the world, the F/S fighting knife.
Fairbairn's
career with the S.M.P. came to a close in 1940. He retired with the
rank of Assistant Commissioner. During his tenure of over three decades
he had been involved with hundreds upon hundreds of violent clashes
between Mao Tse Tungs communist "Red" army and Chiang Kai Shek's
"Kumontong" forces. He had seen the invasion of China by the Japanese
and the bloody and brutal siege of Shanghai and the surrounding
provinces by the Imperial Japanese Army. He had worked closely with the
S.M.P. "Special Branch"; an intelligence gathering unit that operated
covertly throughout Shanghai. It was with this tremendous amount of
experience and real-world savvy that Fairbairn would enter into the
next phase of his life.
Fairbairn
returned to England in 1940. England was at war with Nazi Germany and
was hanging on by a thread. The devastation of Dunkirk, and North
Africa, and soon to be felt defeat in the Far East by Japanese forces,
would render Great Britain almost incapable of fighting a conventional
war. It was the genius and steely resolve of Sir Winston Churchill that
would pave the way for W.E. Fairbairn to once again put his talents and
knowledge to excellent use.
Churchill's
declaration to "set Europe ablaze" was the war cry of the neophyte
covert and Special Forces operations that would strike at the Nazi
forces with daring and deadly speed, guile, and audacity. Fairbairn was
tasked with the responsibility of turning these men into deadly foes at
Close-quarters.
Fairbairn
and Sykes, as well as other former Shanghai Police officers who were
likewise expert in Fairbairn's methods were assigned as instructors to
various elite forces and covert intelligence units. These included the
numerous Commando units, Secret Intelligence Service (SIS/MI6), Special
Operations Executive (SOE), Royal Marines, and the "Paras", as well as
giving special instruction to the British Home Guard. Fairbairn and
Sykes taught not only unarmed combat, and small arms, but devised a
number of nasty methods for dealing with an enemy which were classified
under the heading of "Silent Killing".
In
March 1942, Fairbairn was ordered to temporary duty, assigned to
Canada, where at the behest of the BSC (British Security Co-ordinator)
he taught his methods to covert operatives at Camp X, [also know as
Special Training School No. 103]. While Fairbairn was at Camp X, Sykes
remained in England engaged as a supervisor to SOE personnel engaged in
underground action, sabotage, espionage, and assassination in German
occupied Europe.
Soon
after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States entry into the
war against the axis powers, Fairbairn was engaged in instructing U.S.
personnel at a secret training camp in Maryland, known as Area B (some
suggest that was already taking place before the official declaration
of war). This camp was one of several "schools" that were set up to
train covert operatives assigned to the Office of Strategic Services.
For a time Fairbairn divided his schedule between Camp X, and Area B in
Maryland. Soon, however, the O.S.S. would have him full time.
Fairbairn's
contributions to the field of close combat are numerous. Virtually
every allied military force adopted his methods. These included the
U.S. Army Special Forces, Army Rangers, Paratroopers, Marine Raiders
& Scouts, (ONI) Office of Naval Intelligence, (CIC) Counter
Intelligence Corps), (MID) Military Intelligence Division and the First
Special Service Force, also know as the "Devil's Brigade" or "Black
Devil's", (taught by former S.M.P. Detective Sergeant and Fairbairn's
protégé (Capt. Dermot M. "Pat" O'Neill).
Another
driving force in close combat during this period was Fairbairn's U.S.
counterpart Colonel Rex Applegate. Col. Applegate was given the
specific job of learning all there was to learn about close-quarter
combat. Col. Applegate is responsible for numerous innovations in all
fields of Close Combat, armed and unarmed. His work at the Military
Intelligence Training Center (MITC) which adjoined Area B is legend.
As
the war ended, Fairbairn was 60 years of age. In the mid-1950's, he
found himself in Singapore, employed by the Singapore Police to create
a riot squad. In 1956, at the age of 71 he was employed in Cyprus, by
the Cyprus Police, teaching riot work, point shooting, authoring a riot
manual, and developing a bulletproof shield he called the "STONE". It
was also while working in Cyprus, that Fairbairn introduced a new knife
that he had been working on for sometime, to be used for riot work.
Fairbairn called his new knife the "COBRA" fighting knife. His interest
in this weapon, and the system of knife fighting it supported,
continued after he left Cyprus, and returned to England, and occupied
his time up until his death. William Ewart Fairbairn died at his home
in England on June 20th, 1960.
To
put it simply, Fairbairn's methods worked. His system of unarmed combat
made it possible for a person of average strength and skills to meet
and win against a highly trained opponent in the martial arts. His
unparalleled experience with knife attacks and attacks with blunt
instruments, unlikely to be duplicated in this day and age, proved a
sound basis for instruction in the use of or defense against edged
weapons, batons and clubs. His theories of close-quarter use of the gun
represent the first systematic approach to combat pistol-craft ever
devised, and remains valid to this very day. The same may be said for
his riot work, his concepts of countersniping, and his development of
the police role in urban combat.
WWII
was the Zenith of all methods of Close-Quarters Combat. The
contributions made by these men are of enormous value to us today.
Methods of close combat that were battle tested and have been proven
effective under conditions of actual combat are obviously of great
importance to anyone seeking realistic and effective training in
personal combat.
The
DEFENDU method is an effective & battle proven system of
Close-Quarters Combat. It is NOT a "Martial-Art", it is NOT a "Sport",
it is NOT for amusement or recreation!
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