Editing Rex Applegate (section)

===Unarmed combat===
In 1943 he wrote ''Kill or Get Killed'', which is still considered a classic manual of [[Western martial arts|Western-style hand-to-hand combat]].  The updated 1976 edition of ''Kill or Get Killed'' was published by the [[United States Marine Corps|US Marine Corps]] as Fleet Marine Force Reference Publication 12-80.  From the foreword:

<blockquote>Fleet Marine Force Reference Publication (FMFRP) 12-80, ''Kill or Get Killed'', is published to ensure the retention and dissemination of useful information which is not intended to become doctrine or to be published in Fleet Marine Force manuals.</blockquote>

and

<blockquote>This reference publication was written in 1976 by Lieutenant Colonel Rex Applegate, USA (Ret), with the help of the Combat Section, Military Intelligence Training Center, Camp Ritchie, Maryland.  At last there is one volume which speaks to the subjects of unarmed combat (offensive and defensive), combat use of weapons, disarming the enemy, handling of prisoners, the handle of mob/crowd disobedience, the use of chemicals in such situations, and how to establish a professional riot control unit.</blockquote>

Applegate developed the techniques outlined in the book during his work with [[William E. Fairbairn]], who had previously developed his own techniques while working for the Shanghai Municipal Police from 1907 to 1940.  Fairbairn drew heavily on [[Chinese martial arts]], which he simplified and tailored to the needs of police training in one of the world's most crime-ridden cities, due to its history of crime related to the [[opium]] trade, the [[Taiping Rebellion|rebellion]], and the activities of [[Triad (organized crime)|Triad]] gangsters. His result was the development of [[Defendu]], widely considered the first of what became known as modern [[combatives]].<ref name="BB">{{cite journal|last=Angeles|first=Lito|year=2001|title=Battle School|journal=[[Black Belt Magazine]]|publisher=[[Active Interest Media]]|volume=39|issue=47|pages=74–77}}</ref> Applegate's techniques are heavily based on Fairbairn's Defendu, enhanced with feedback from the OSS operatives who put his techniques into action during World War II.