WWI Combatives???
BY: Carl Cestari
A great question was asked by South Narc over at SDF in regards to WWI Combatives!
Carl I was browsing around on another board and I saw the topic of WW I combatives come up. I got to thinking about the horrific nature of trench warfare and grappling with an adversary while wearing the old style protective masks and cannisters. Alot of really nasty implements came out of that period also like the infamous knuckle duster knives, though I really don't know how prevalent they were. The environment must have been truly horrific to engage in hand to hand and we've all heard allusions to the trench fighting that went on.
Do we know very much about what was taught during that period and how it was trained? Who were the leaders in combatives training of the era? It would seem that close quarter hand to hand engagements would have been even more common place than in the second world war, due to the nature of the battlefield itself and the prevalence of machine gun nests covering the "no-man's land".
South Narc
PART-1
Right on the money SN! Great area of research!
The abject brutality and ruthless close-quarters engagements of the First World War were truly horrific.
The array of "up close and personal" weaponry was astounding.
I do have quite a number of manuals from that period on close-combat. American, English and French. Covering unarmed combat, knife and bayonet as well as close contact battle firing.
We also have some actual training films (silent, of course) teaching all of the above.
As far as close-combat goes there were several different "systems" being taught just at the various camps in the U.S. alone. The methods range from boxing and wrestling (old "anything goes" catch style) to Jiujitsu and "gutter" tactics.
There were several porponents that came to the forefront, not the least of whom was Captain Smith of "Secrets of Jiujitsu" notoriety. His inter-personal "battles" with Raycroft (head of US Army Physical Training) over adoption of a specific "system" of Jiujitsu for US personnel is a interesting "back story" all by itself.
YEP, the powers that be considered the "all in" hand to hand method developed by the Army of the time SUPERIOR to Jiujitsu methods and there's more to it than that.
Several well known sports champions of the period from the fields of boxing and wrestling also made very good contributions.
The French had a "simplified" military style based on Savate, but were also influenced by Lutte and Jiujitsu (which was gaining great popularity in Europe during this time).
The English based much of what they did on boxing, but also used a specialized wrestling system that was still in vogue by WWII. Jiujitsu was also gaining rapid popularity within military physical training circles.
Knife fighting was basic, direct and brutal. The design of the classic trench knife shows the influence that boxing and fist fighting had on the thinking of the time. Examine the "1918" pattern trench knife and note that it's design allows for only THREE types of attack. A direct fist blow with the knuckleduster grip, a hammering blow with the skull crushing pommel nut and an UPWARD stab.
One VERY small and right to point (!) "Manual" recommends that the left fist be continually smashed into the enemy's face boxing style and then once closed with the enemy the blade be used to "gut" him, failing that remember than a swift kick or knee to the crotch, a blow with the helmet(rim sharpened if possible)coupled with a crushing stomp to the instep were all good contingencies.
The rapid rise in popularity of Japanese training methods including Jiujitsu was most probably due to the much publicized routing of the Russians by Japanese forces in close combat at Port Arthur 1905. This and the fact that many native Japanese instructors were migrating to Europe.
Rysher Thornberry also was a major influence and his hand extends right through to WWII. Smith as well was STILL active teaching US troops at the outbreak of WWII. Biddle also plays a role here, or more importantly his experiences as an "official observer" did MUCH to shape his later developments in close combat.
The Canadians and Americans were developing Bayonet fighting methods based on boxing. Something Dr. Armond Seidler brought to a science decades later.
Hell, a book could be written about this era ALONE.
And.........being the crotchety and cynical old son of a bitch that I am I get a big hoot at all the "new wave" phenoms who keep trying to re-invent the wheel........................IT'S ALL BEEN DONE BEFORE!
With Ralph's partnership we will lay out a really detailed history on all of this for the Gutterfighting site.
Carl
P.S. OH NO, Mr. Bill.........................now they're gonna call us those WWI "combatives" guys! Well at least were still in the 20th century. Thanks ALOT South Narc!
PART - 2
We have Smith's WWI training film. Watching him actually execute the maneuvers you definitely see that he was VERY GOOD. There is also more atemi demonstrated in the film. He demonstrates a short sequence on fighting multiple assailants, it's very nice!
We also have him on film teaching during the Second World War. He is OLD. Still moves pretty good and obviously had NO compunction about stomping your brains out after he decked you.
Biddle's biography makes a point to tell us that the horrors of close in man to man killing and the brutality of trench warfare that he had witnessed during his albeit brief sojourn to France had a profound effect any his beliefs about what would be effective and his ABSOLUTE dedication to providing the BEST training he could to the US fighting man.
Biddle's earlier syllabus outlines and notes differed considerably from what he later advocated as a result of his interaction with the three Sams, men like Stavers, and of course the "celebrated" WEF (ref. both editions of Do or Die to get some idea).
Biddle was NOT the "dilettante" of "silver spooned" birth who liked to "dabble" in such endeavors, as some portray him. That was certainly NOT the case. Not at all.
It's also noteworthy to remember that the methods advocated by Smith were the "combat" methods and that he was planning to publish another series of manuals on the "competitive" aspect of Jiujitsu (read Judo). These never came to fruition, perhaps because Smith was NOT prudent with his (and sometimes others) finances. This also became a bone of contention between him and the US Army.
And we ain't even scratchin' the surface here.
I'm done for today.
CC
PART - 3
That's about right SN.
Basic Savate kicks. Some good basic blows. Some basic Jiu-Jitsu/Lutte.
Done in a very brutal manner.
Many of these manuals are only several pages long. BUT the beauty is that the few hardcore methods demonstrated can be APPLIED against a multitude of attacks. Some of these manuals were written for "specialized" killing teams (a little known aspect of WWI guerilla style trench warfare), but that's a whole 'nother story.
Here's another interesting possibility (one of many actually):
When one compares the methods shown in these old French military manuals and then realizes that it is far from improbable that at least some if not MANY officers of the French Concession Police were WWI veterans, well one wonders what influence this may have had on WEF(the FC bordered the International Settlement). If one compares the basic syllabus content of these manuals produced from 1915 thru 1918 and then compares them to WEF's final notes from the latter part of his OSS service, well it's VERY VERY interesting.
Later,
CC
A huge thanks to Ralph Grasso for sharing his research with me. You are ACES Bro!
