From early times the need for self defence was paramount. Our earliest ancestors had to compete with others and with the raw energy of nature, the beasts of the wild. In this conflict we had an immediate disadvantage. We were not equipped with claws, horns or tusks, nor were we heavily armoured or fleet of foot. The one advantage we did have over the wild beasts was the ability of conceptual thought.

Often my students ask me, “What’s your favourite technique?” or “What’s your favourite weapon. I always answer the same, I don’t have one. Conversely I have been asked “what’s your least favourite weapon/technique” and again I don’t have one.

Japanese jujutsu systems typically place more emphasis on throwing, immobilizing and pinning, joint-locking, choking, and strangling techniques as compared with other martial arts systems such as karate.

It is human nature to improve knowledge and hone skills, attitudes epitomised by martial artists. Each generation of martial artists will avidly absorb instruction from their teachers and then just as avidly pass it on to the next generation. It is likely that the martial knowledge of the English was passed from generation to generation in this way for centuries (as it was/is for example in China).

Demonstrated by Gunnar Metzger AOR….

It is important to at least mention wrestling even though it is not a “martial art”. Many others cultures use wrestling and grappling techniques in their form of martial arts. Wrestling is a progression of Glima and Pankration. There are two main types of wrestling: Greco-Roman and freestyle.

This is the martial art of ancient Greece. The object of this martial art was to render your opponent unconscious or have him submit by surrendering. The only rules were no biting or eye gouging. The referees enforced the rules with a large stick.

This was a form of wrestling that our Nordic ancestors trained in. The object of the Glima match was to make the opponent fall. The to warriors would enter the playing field wearing only their leather pants. They would circle each other and try to bring each other down by using combinations of eight tricks [...]