The militarised version of Defendu is described in the military manual 'All-in Fighting 1942', used as a supplement during WW2 CQC training. The original Defendu was oriented towards self-defence and restraint, while the Close Quarters Combat system concentrated on rapid disabling of an opponent, with potentially lethal force. This system was built on Defendu, but modified for military applications, rather than police and riot control. Fairbairn and others expanded on this system to create the Close Quarters Combat system that was then taught to the troops.
This confused early readers of the book, who assumed that the techniques within it had been based mainly in the Eastern martial arts that Fairbairn had learned.įairbairn was called upon by the British to help train Allied troops in World War II.
Fairbairn published his book, 'Defendu', in 1926 (reprinted as 'Scientific Self Defence' in 1931), illustrating this method and it is here that the term 'Defendu' first appeared. It was designed to be simple to learn and to provide effective results. Fairbairn began to develop his own system of hand-to-hand combat, initially referring to it as 'Defendu'. The Fairbairn system was based on his training and knowledge in boxing, wrestling, savate, jujutsu, judo and fights he was also involved in during his police work.