Close Quarters Combat System (also known as Defendu) is a modern

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

developed by

William E. Fairbairn Lieutenant-Colonel William Ewart Fairbairn (; 28 February 1885 – 20 June 1960) was a British Royal Marine and police officer. He developed hand-to-hand combat methods for the Shanghai Police during the interwar period, as well as for the all ...

and

Eric A. Sykes Major Eric Anthony Sykes (5 February 1883 – 12 May 1945), born Eric Anthony Schwabe, was a soldier and firearms expert. He is most famous for his work with William E. Fairbairn in the development of the eponymous Fairbairn–Sykes fighting k ...

prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is a

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

system based on practical experience mixed with

Jujutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

that was developed to train the

Shanghai Municipal Police The Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP; ) 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. Initially composed of ...

, and was later taught in expanded form to

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

and

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

members during

Development

Based on his training and knowledge in boxing, wrestling, Savate, Jujutsu, Judo and street fighting he was involved in during his police work, Fairbairn began to develop his own system of

hand to hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

, initially referring to it as "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 Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...

. The original Defendu was oriented towards

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

and restraint, while the Close Quarters Combat system concentrated on rapid disabling of an opponent, with potentially lethal force. The militarized version of Defendu is described in the military manual ''All in fighting 1942'', used as a supplement during WW2 CQB-training. This book was later published in a civilian edition, missing the chapters on bayonet-fighting and rifle sighting, under the name ''Get Tough! How To Win In Hand-To-Hand Fighting. As Taught To The British Commandos And The U.S. Armed Forces''. Fairbairn's CQC-system is also described in

Rex Applegate Rex Applegate (June 21, 1914 – July 14, 1998) 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 co ...

's book ''Kill or Get Killed''. Fairbairn published several more books on the subject of self-defense, all of which refer to Defendu only in relation to the earlier book.

Second World War

The start of the Second World War saw the Allied forces needing every advantage to give their soldiers and

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

a winning edge. They found one such edge in Fairbairn's system. Immediately, Fairbairn was commissioned in the

British Commandos The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn ...

and ordered to teach a lethal version of his system at the Commando school in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It was at this top secret Scottish location that Colonel

of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

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 The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and Rangers, as well as OSS operatives and later to the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

and

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

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 is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and Sykes to SOE, where he trained special agents for behind the lines duties . Fairbairn's 'special assignment' in

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

, Ontario, Canada, was to teach his system to Allied special forces at the most highly classified training operation of WWII,

Camp X Camp X was the unofficial name of the secret Special Training School No. 103, a Second World War British paramilitary installation for training covert agents in the methods required for success in clandestine operations. It was located on the ...

. 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 is the country retreat for the president of the United States of America. It is located in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont and Emmitsburg, about north-northwe ...

. 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 Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

training progressed throughout this period, it was added to and refined utilising western fighting principles.

Basic principles

Defendu encourages its practitioner to end a confrontation as quickly as possible using "ungentlemanly" means by rapidly attacking vital spot area (such as the groin, throat, side of the neck, shin, eyes, ears, etc.) by using only several pragmatic and powerful strikes. These strikes are taught as a method and not as disconnected isolated strikes found in traditional martial arts. Done properly, these strikes will "chain" at each other just like boxing. Defendu was also designed to be able to be mastered in mere days due to the extremely compressed curriculum. Students are also taught to always take initiative, employ artifice, and remain at offense (as no block or parry were found in the system).

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

The Source
Peter Robins, American Combatives

Robert Bickers Robert A. Bickers (born 1964) is a British historian of modern China and colonialism. He is currently a professor of history at the University of Bristol. Bickers is the author of six books and editor or co-editor of three more. Biography Born ...

Fairbairn's Gutter Fighting

W E Fairbairn Gentleman & Warrior The Shanghai Years
(2005), Peter Robins
International Defendo Federation

Defendo Magyarország

Defendu Association PolandComsass International Combative Sciences Association
Hybrid martial arts Hand to hand tactics European martial arts Law enforcement techniques

Development

Second World War

Basic principles

See also

References

Further reading

External links