#jiujitsu

[sorthaz]

I want to see if he can make him tap with the triangle....

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Policewomen practicing jiujitsu, March 22, 1924. Mrs. Hamilton, who is in charge of the class, gives instructions. The policewomen said that after they got their muscles hardened a little more, they would be able to make arrests without the aid of a male partner.

Photo: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images/Fine Art America

[city-of-ladies]

Edith Garrud - The suffragette that knew martial arts

The first British female teacher of jujutsu, Edith Garrud (1872-1971) taught the suffragettes to protect themselves.

A passion for martial arts 

Edith Margaret Williams was born in Bath in 1872 and started her career as a physical instructor for girls. She shared this passion for physical culture with her husband, William Garrud, a wrestling and boxing instructor.

They came in contact with Edward Barton-Wright who had spent three years in Japan, and studied judo and jujutsu. He elaborated his self-defense techniques known as “bartitsu” and opened his club in London in 1899.

The Bartitsu Club was notably opened to women. Edith was thus able to train alongside her husband. By 1908, Edith and William became jujutsu instructors themselves with William in charge of the men’s class and Edith teaching the women and children. 

Jujutsu specializes in speed, precision and the use of soft, flowing movements to deal with aggression rather than using just brute strength. The couple showcased their skills through demonstrations. In one of them, Edith defeated a male aggressor played by her husband. The sight of this 4ft-11inch (150cm) woman effortlessly throwing a much taller man greatly impressed the audience. 

In 1907, Edith starred in a short film Jujutsu down the footpads in which an innocent lady overpowers two ruffians. 

Vote for women

Edith took an interest in the cause of women’s suffrage. In 1909, she was invited by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) to give a demonstration in the presence of Emeline Pankhurst and other leading figures of the movement. As William was ill, Edith demonstrated alone and invited members of the audience to test her skills. This included subjecting a skeptical police officer to a powerful shoulder throw. 

In 1910, Edith also wrote a series of essays, advocating for the growing community of female martial artists and how self-defense could free women by giving them the means to protect themselves:

“You constantly read in the papers reports of dastardly attacks on helpless women by thieves and ruffians. A woman who knows jujutsu, even though she may not be physically strong, even though she may not have even an umbrella or parasol, is not helpless. I know many women personally who have tried the tricks I shall explain to you and come out on top. They have brought great burly cowards nearly twice their size to their feet and made them howl for mercy.”

The bodyguards

The suffragettes faced dangerous and violent situations. This was especially the case on Friday 18th November 1910. 300 WSPU members marched on the House of Parliament and faced police officers armed with batons. Women were subjected to six hours of beatings and arrests and there were widespread reports of sexual abuses.

Emeline Pankhurst thus asked Edith to train a group of women that would be known within the WSPU as the Bodyguard. Led by Gertrude Harding, they acted as agitators, disruptors and decoys. 

Edith trained them in hand-to-hand combat and the use of homemade concealed weapons such as wooden India clubs and the fashioning of cardboard body armor. The suffragettes took advantage of their opponent's surprise and exploited their weaknesses.

They for instance struck directly at a police officer’s helmet to knock it from his head. Policemen were held accountable for the loss of uniform items and had to pay for their replacement. They cut the suspenders so that the policeman had to hold back his pants, blinded the police with a charge of umbrellas etc.

When told by a policeman that she was making an “obstruction” during a demonstration near the House of Commons, Edith pretended to drop her handkerchief, threw the policeman over her shoulder and disappeared into the crowd. 

In prison, suffragettes went on hunger strikes and were subjected to force-feeding. The “Cat and Mouse Act” of 1913 allowed hunger-striking prisoners to be released and then re-incarcerated as soon as they had recovered their health. The Bodyguard thus protected and hid those women.

Edith for instance hid militant suffragettes in her dojo, telling the police not to disturb her lessons and leave her property. 

A quiet retirement

Edith’s contributions to the suffragist movement ended with the beginning of the First World War. Little is known of her life afterward. 

She and her husband would run the Golden Square dojo until their retirement in 1925 and retired to a quieter life. William passed away in 1960. In an interview in 1965, Edith said that her recipe for a long, happy and healthy life was: 

“Self-discipline. Of course, I had to be extremely disciplined to succeed at jujutsu and hold my own with men […] but it is the mind which really has control, not only of your muscles and your limbs and how you use them, but also your thoughts, your whole attitude to life and other people.”

She died in 1971. A plaque on the building that had been her home can be seen today: “Edith Garrud 1872–1971. The suffragette who knew jiu-jitsu lived here”.

Further reading

Dorlin Elsa, Se défendre : une philosophie de la violence  

Godfrey Emelyne, Femininity, Crime and Self-Defence in Victorian Literature and Society: From Dagger-Fans to Suffragettes

Kelly Simon, "Edith Garrud: The jujutsuffragette". In McMurray, Robert; Pullen, Allison (eds.), Power, Politics and Exclusion in Organization and Management

Ruz Camila, Parkinson Justin, ““'Suffrajitsu': How the suffragettes fought back using martial arts”

[tomhardymyking]

And new video of 𝗧𝗼𝗺 learning more Jiu-jitsu techniques with 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗶 in Las Vegas, uploaded a few hours ago 🥋 He is wonderful ❤️‍🔥

Oh, that tattoo on his left leg... What could it be 👀? I don't know if we will know someday 😆 In some photos it looked like 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘆 (his dog, may he rest in peace 🙏🏻)

By the way, certain moments in the video... 🔥

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Y nuevo vídeo de 𝗧𝗼𝗺 aprendiendo más técnicas de Jiu-jitsu con 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗶 en Las Vegas, subido hace unas horas 🥋 Es maravilloso ❤️‍🔥

Ay, ese tatuaje de su pierna izquierda... ¿Qué será 👀? No sé si lo sabremos algún día 😆 En algunas fotos parecía 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘆 (su perro, que en paz descanse 🙏🏻)

Por cierto, ciertos momentos del vídeo... 🔥

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[guysshowingofftheirmuscles]

Happy Monday!

[the-ghost-bird]

You know what I think is interesting? As a decently buff woman, the attitude of men towards me in a gym vs in a martial arts academy is VERY different.

Usually men in a gym will look at me That Way™ when I walk into the weight section and do 2 hours of upper body weight training. A lot are judgemental af, trying to dissect my form even tho I've gone through several personal trainers and my form is usually better than theirs. Just overall bad energy.

The men in my martial arts academy?

Something else entirely.

The guys from muay thai and bjj, especially the ones from wrestling, are always hyping me up and encouraging me. Of course there's some exceptions, but most of these dudes have already been humbled by enough women that they're eons less judgemental.

They respect me enough to not go easy on me but they don't try to genuinely injure me (bad sportsmanship no matter the gender). If something about my form in a technique is off, they will give me constructive criticism instead of being demeaning or just staying silent about it to try to guarantee a win.

A guy last week was like "you really be brawling, you picked me up and rolled my on the ground like an alligator", and another dude today was like "you're getting so strong so fast it's ridiculous." AND I'M LIKE THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD ENERGY, WORKING OUT IS 80% OF MY PERSONALITY SO IM HOPING TO BE GOOD IN AT LEAST THAT😭😭😭💕💕

[weepingchoir]

For something different, DONE BLEEDING (NO RELATION), about the ways in which martial arts mirror fine arts, and about avoiding burnout through pride.

On SUBSTACK

On MEDIUM

[sorthaz]

Now is it tighter if flex and move this leg, or bend this arm...... What if I do both!

[agressivieandrophilia]

Brotherhood is the supreme manifestation of men. Between brothers the male becomes more male. Relationships between males become closer in struggle, in the mixing of sweat, in competition for strength, in aggressiveness. Men are social beings, fighting is where males find their brothers, between brothers the boy finds his manhood.

Irmandade é a manifestação suprema dos homens. Entre irmãos o macho torna-se mais macho. As relações entre machos estreitam-se na luta, na mistura de suor, na competição de força, na agressividade. Homens são seres socias, a luta é onde os machos encontram seus irmãos, entre irmãos o garoto encontra sua virilidade.

[danskjavlarna]

Source details and larger version.

[graciehunter24]

Bjj in mma

[tomhardymyking]

Remembering today, all the Jiu-jitsu championships 𝗧𝗼𝗺 has participated in, so far 🥇 He currently has his purple belt (which we haven't seen him with yet) 💜!

I am infinitely proud of him, of his achievements... He's wonderful 🥰💖

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Recordando hoy, todos los campeonatos de Jiu-jitsu en los que 𝗧𝗼𝗺 ha participado, hasta ahora 🥇 ¡Actualmente tiene su cinturón morado (con el cual no le hemos visto aún) 💜!

Estoy infinitamente orgullosa de él, de sus logros... Es maravilloso 🥰💖

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[guysshowingofftheirmuscles]

Have a great day! B

[mads-schubert]

Halloween rash guard design for Charlotte Jiu-Jitsu Academy