Editing Defendu

{{Short description|Martial art}}
{{About|the fighting style developed by Fairbairn and Sykes|Bill Underwood's system|Defendo}}
{{Infobox martial art
| name = Defendu
| aka = Gutter Fighting, Fairbairn's Gutter Fighting, The Fairbairn Fighting System, The Fairbairn system
| focus = [[Hybrid martial arts|Hybrid]]
| country =
{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
| creator = [[William E. Fairbairn]], [[Eric A. Sykes]]
| parenthood = [[Boxing]], [[Judo]], [[Jujutsu]], [[Savate]], [[Wrestling]], [[Pro Wrestling]], [[Street fighting]], [[Chinese martial arts]]
| famous_pract = [[Rex Applegate]], Dermot M. "PAT" O'Neill, [[Devil's Brigade]], [[Ian Fleming]], Samuel G. Taxis
| olympic = No
}}

'''Close Quarters Combat System''' (also known as '''Defendu''') is a modern [[Martial arts|martial art]] developed by [[William E. Fairbairn]] and [[Eric A. Sykes]] prior to [[World War II]].  It is a [[hand-to-hand combat]] system based on practical experience mixed with [[Jujutsu]] and [[boxing]] that was developed to train the [[Shanghai Municipal Police]], and was later taught in expanded form to [[Office of Strategic Services]]  and [[Special Operations Executive]] members during World War II.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.gutterfighting.org/WhatIsDefendu.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020301092041/http://www.gutterfighting.org/WhatIsDefendu.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2002-03-01 |title=What Is Defendu? |accessdate=2007-06-23 |author=Carl Cestari |year=2006}}</ref>

==Development==
Based on his training and knowledge in boxing, wrestling, Savate, Jujutsu, Judo, street fighting, and Chinese martial arts he was involved in during his police work, Fairbairn began to develop his own system of [[hand to hand combat]], 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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paladin-press.com/detail.aspx?ID=1518 |title=DEFENDU |accessdate=2007-06-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714182750/http://www.paladin-press.com/detail.aspx?ID=1518 |archivedate=July 14, 2007 }}</ref> (re-printed as ''Scientific Self Defence'' in 1931), illustrating this method and it is here that the term "Defendu" first appeared.{{Citation needed|date=June 2007}} 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 [[Allies of World War II|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]].

The original Defendu was oriented towards [[self-defense]] and [[Physical restraint|restraint]], while the Close Quarters Combat system concentrated on rapid disabling of an opponent, with potentially [[Deadly force|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]]'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]] a winning edge. They found one such edge in Fairbairn's system. Immediately, Fairbairn was commissioned in the [[British Commandos]] and ordered to teach a lethal version of his system at the [[Achnacarry Castle|Commando school]] in [[Scotland]].

It was at this top secret Scottish location that Colonel [[Rex Applegate]] of the [[U.S. Army]] studied under Fairbairn. Through Col. Applegate and other instructors such as [[Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Sr.|Col. Anthony Biddle]], these highly effective skills were taught to U.S. troops including [[United States Marine Corps|US Marines]] and [[United States Army Rangers|Rangers]], as well as OSS operatives and later to the [[FBI]] and [[CIA]] 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]], and Sykes to SOE, where he trained special agents for behind the lines duties {{clarify|date=November 2011}}. Fairbairn's 'special assignment' in [[Oshawa]], Ontario, Canada, was to teach his system to Allied special forces at the most highly classified training operation of WWII, [[Camp X]]. 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]].

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

==Basic principles==
Defendu encourages its practitioner to end a confrontation as quickly as possible using "rude" 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. 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).

==See also==
*[[World War II combatives]]
*[[All-In Fighting]] Manual
*[[Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*''Defendu'', W. E. Fairbairn  
*''The Close-Combat Files of Colonel Rex Applegate'', Rex Applegate, Chuck Melson
*Tommy Moore from the Bartitsu Lab UK will be publishing a Fairbairn Combatives self defence book titled: "The Shanghai School of Streetfighting" in September 2020

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080416140210/http://www.americancombatives.com/source.php The Source], Peter Robins, American Combatives
*[http://eis.bris.ac.uk/~hirab/smp2.html Shanghai Municipal Police], [[Robert Bickers]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090812134935/http://www.gutterfighting.org/main.html Fairbairn's Gutter Fighting] 
*[http://cqbpublications.com W E Fairbairn Gentleman & Warrior The Shanghai Years] (2005), Peter Robins
*[http://www.defendo.com/ International Defendo Federation] 
*[http://www.defendo.hu/ Defendo Magyarország] 
*[http://www.defendu.pl/ Defendu Association Poland]
*[https://www.cvpsd.org/post/defendu-the-pioneering-self-defense-system-that-revolutionized-self-defense-training Center for Violence Prevention and Self Defense]

{{martial arts}}
[[Category:Hybrid martial arts]]
[[Category:Hand to hand tactics]]
[[Category:European martial arts]]
[[Category:Law enforcement techniques]]