PRACTICAL
UNARMED COMBAT
M. Feldenkrais
FREDERICK WARNE & Co. Ltd, London, 1942
A rare original WW2 Unarmed Combat manual, published by Frederick Warne in 1942. Written by Moshe Feldenkrais, a scientist and Judo expert, the book includes details of a wide variety of blows, holds, kicks, throws, strikes, and other self defence techniques. With instructions on unarmed combat, and how to deal with assailants armed with knives, bayonets and rifles. The book is well illustrated throughout with photographs of British servicemen using the techniques described in the text. The book was intended to be used by the regular army, the Home Guard, and civilians in the event of a German invasion.
Moshé Pinchas Feldenkrais (1904-1984) was born in 1904 to a Ukrainian Jewish family in the Russian Empire city of Slavuta (now in Ukraine) and grew up in Baranovichi, Belarus. In 1918, he emigrated to The British Mandate of Palestine. He later worked as a cartographer for the British survey office and began to study self-defence, including Ju-Jitsu. He suffered a sporting injury in 1929 that was aggravated during WW2, prompting him to develop his own method of healing. During the 1930s, Feldenkrais lived in France, where he earned his engineering degree from the École Spéciale des Travaux Publics. Later he earned his Doctorate of Science in Physics at the University of Paris, where Marie Curie was one of his teachers. He then worked as a research assistant to nuclear chemist and Nobel Prize laureate Frédéric Joliot-Curie at the Radium Institute. In September 1933, Feldenkrais met Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo in Paris. Kano encouraged him to study judo under Mikinosuke Kawaishi. Feldenkrais became a close friend of Kano and corresponded with him regularly. In 1936 he earned a black belt in judo, and later gained his 2nd degree black belt in 1938. He was a co-founding member of the Ju-Jitsu Club de France, one of the oldest Judo clubs in Europe, which still exists today. On the eve of the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, Feldenkrais fled to Britain with a jar of heavy water and a sheaf of research material, with instructions to deliver them to the Admiralty. Until 1946, he was a science officer in the Admiralty working on anti-submarine weaponry in Fairlie, Scotland. His work on improving sonar led to several patents. During the war he also taught self-defence techniques to his fellow servicemen. After leaving the Admiralty, Feldenkrais lived and worked in private industry in London.
Condition:
In good condition. The card cover is in good condition, with minor signs of wear and use. The original dust jacket is in good condition, with some wear and creases, and some minor archival tape repairs. The text and illustrations are in very good condition. The binding and hinges are good and secure.
Published: 1942
Illustrated with photographs
Illustrated dust jacket, card cover with blue titling
Dimensions: 110mm x 135mm
Pages: 96
