The idea that we may not have all of the material or curriculum that fairbairn was teaching during his service between 1940-1945 is not unfounded. Infact is Definitly grounded in reality. We can not assume that simply becuse we read books like GET TOUGH and ALL IN FIGHTING that we know it all. OK I GET IT! but...then where is it? and how can I find the rest of it? Well...If you find out please let me know.
According to some experts parts of it were classifide and what is in Fairbairn's books is just a very broad overveiw of some simple techniques approved for civillians to read. Others yet have said that as the war progressed his curiculum actualy grew simpler and simpler. It is important to remember that William Fairbairn was a life long Martial Artist who studied and worked as a police officer in Asia. The amount of information in his head was no doubt extensive to say the least.
His job was to teach young kids who maybe had some boxing or wrestling experience at best to survive a life or death struggle. Understanding this LT. COL Fairbairn undoubtedly taught only stupid simple stuff that he knew would work under extream stress and adrenaline. Fairbairn has been creidited in being involved with over 600 altercations during his police career with the SMP (Shanghi Municiple Police) so he clearly understood violence. He knew that if he kept it simple it would work.
Fairbairn didnt only teach hand to hand combatives. He also worked with Col. Rex Applegate in development of an instinctual shooting program that would work under extream stress. This shooting system was supposed to allow men who were used to shooting at fixed targets on a flat range to survive and dominate a gunfight. (while being shot back at) I will add that this system much later was adopted by the Israeli Military as there official training methedology.
Refered to today as the Israeli Point Shooting Methed or The Israeli Method for short. This in its basic form is based off of exactly what Fairbairn and Applegate were teaching. The founder of KRAV MAGA Imi Lichtenfeld was a british soldier fighting on the North Afrikan front during WW2. I have no doubt that this is where the connection comes into play. He would have definitly been exposed to this system as well as the Gutter Fighting system to some degree. (This is a seprate discussion for a seprate blog) But i am convinced that alot of what is contained in Krav Maga stems from Defendu. I have other theories about the origen of Krav and moderen Israeli Point Shooting Methodology but i will keep those for a seprate blog...
I bring up these topics simply to say that ALOT of what Fairbairn was teaching at placed like CAMP-X was other than hand to hand combat. Things like Sentry Removal and Gurrila Tactics that no doubt were and possibly still are classifide to some degree. Infact In talking with MR. Bill Wolfe of Wolfes Combatives ( one of the last remaining unbroken lineages to the original Fairbairn Defendu system) He told me that since the OSS (office of stratigic services) later became the CIA that a good deal of this type of stuff was never Unclassifide. They actualy continued teaching it and Maybe even still do today (atleast parts of it) So ofcourse it is classifide.
The important thing i belive to focus on however, is not what we don't know. But what we do. We can look back at old films and get a glimps of HOW LT.COL Fairbairn was teaching these very simple techniques. I belive that the way he taught was almost more important that what he taught.
I will leave this as it is untill the next blog, But I think this is a good start for an in depth focus on why and how this system is so incredibly effective. Even by todays standards this is an incredibly effective system. Part of why that is, is becuse it is so incredibly simple. It takes relitivly little time to teach a tiger claw, front kick, ax hand and knee strike. However if TAUGHT CORRECTLY and in THE RIGHT SEQUENCES...Can allow the end user to dominate an ugly situation quickly.
Im going to end by stating that this is my own thinking on the subject and I HATE digging deep and looking at old text books and researching extensivly...So i may have gotten some things wrong here (infact i am sure of it lol) I simply like to fight and train Martial Arts. But I Have been around experts for some time now and talked with a lot of diffrent guys who do this for a living. So I took peices I have heard from all of them and combined that info into my own personal opinions. I hope You got something to make you think here. Thats all I am intending, just to get the convo started.
Stand by for the next ROOTS OF DEFENDU Blog. I'll be discussing the training methedology of the Fairbairn system and why I think that is what we should be focusing on...After all..There is nothing new under the sun when it comes to combative...Its all just recycled and put back together in new ways.
UNTIL NEXT TIME PLEASE REMEMBER YOU ARE YOU'RE FIRST AND LAST LINE OF DEFENSE.
