A good find John, really interesting. I don't think there is any mystery to his death, though. The killed in combat theory can be discounted with death certificates and newspapers evidencing death at home in 1942.
Hi Hack. I read that book The Art of Wrestling. It has NOTHING in common with what is in this video. Lol. A good book though highly recommend to everyone. Relw advertises traditional ENGLISH wrestling style in it, all holds are exclusively above the waist and tripping is a main tactics. Yes, and it is a standing wrestling, you figured. Gentlemen's Wrestle. Pretty much. Video makes him look like a modern MMA superstar, lol. They did that to Frank Gotch about 25 years ago...now they found a new victim Old English Relw...When I say they I do mean a group of weirdos who have revisionist views on history...and forge fabricate and re write history. Thats all.
I wonder if any of the members who looked at the video, noticed the mention of William Fairbairn. A most remarkable unarmed combat and weapons specialist who trained special agents and military men during and after the Second World War. If you haven't heard of this unassuming guy, (who apparently according to police records, had over six hundreds'fights' whilst serving in Shanghai) do yourself a favour and look him up on the web.
His self defence book (one of several he penned in '45) is also available free on the web.
Yes, Fairbairn was an interesting bloke. His original wartime close quarter combat manual was called "All In Fighting" but much later was republished as "Get Tough". It's pretty hairy stuff but as the author reminds us,"You may feel that the techniques are not cricket, but remember the enemy does not play that game." It seems that quite a few wrestlers seved as unarmed combat instructors during the war. Yet another list we could do?
Yes Ray, Fairbairn called his own combat method 'Gutter Fighting' with no apologies. War meant kill or be killed. Conversely, I have a 1924 book 'The Complete Kano Jui-Jitsu, by Hancock and Higashi which has over 400 different holds, locks, strangles, chokes, take-downs, etc., working both standing and grounded, many of which if applied with excess force, would be deadly if applied to someone who was trying to do you serious damage.
I was particularly intrigued by his description of what we know as a drop-kick, where he says the feet should be driven into the 'body'. Looking at the 40s and 50s 'drop-kicks, the feet would usually land on the body, which, being used to Jim Hussey, Johnny Peters, and many of the lighter weights of the 60s onwards, looked rather clumsy. I always have felt, the aforementioned workers as well as Rocca, Bastien and Steinborn, whose feet usually landed on the chest or higher, (albeit the legs often at full stretch to just reach the target,had the 'real kick' whereas, the older generations were performing a move, which may have originated in a military setting, with true malice the objective.
Exceptionally impressive vid
A good find John, really interesting. I don't think there is any mystery to his death, though. The killed in combat theory can be discounted with death certificates and newspapers evidencing death at home in 1942.
I wonder if any of the members who looked at the video, noticed the mention of William Fairbairn. A most remarkable unarmed combat and weapons specialist who trained special agents and military men during and after the Second World War. If you haven't heard of this unassuming guy, (who apparently according to police records, had over six hundreds'fights' whilst serving in Shanghai) do yourself a favour and look him up on the web.
His self defence book (one of several he penned in '45) is also available free on the web.
What a great find.