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Self Defense
The Hidden Classic of mid-20th Century Defensive Tactics
Originally published in 1951, this little known defensive classic is 'the manual' of Wesley Brown's Defensive Combat system as taught to Naval Aviators during World War 2.
After a chance encounter at the Chicago World's Fair, he is recruited as a plain clothes officer to a Chicago police department by Col. Isham Randolph (of the crime-fighting Chicago Secret Six). Wesley rose quickly to become the asst. Director of the police training Traffic Institute at Northwestern University. Here he honed his concepts for defensive tactics suitable for police close quarters encounters with the criminal element.
With the outbreak of WW2, he joined the Navy and was assigned to create a new hand-to-hand combat program for the Naval Air Corps. The program was so well received that both the Army, and fledgling O.S.S. patterned their courses after it.
This course and the techniques in it are immortalized in the U.S. Navy film, "Hand to Hand Combat in Three Parts" which was both produced and stars Wesley Brown, showing his style of rough-and-tumble moves/counter-moves. An amazing and comprehensive look into early 1930's–40's defensive techniques. It deserves a place on any serious martial arts bookshelf.
Topics covered includeUnarmed OpponentsArmed opponents (Pistol/rifle/knife)Police club useWrist Locks and escapesGrapples, Chokes / escapesVulnerable AreasHand BlowsKicksThrows / Leg sweepsDefensive moves for LadiesControl holds, etc.Training regimens
Originally published in 1951, this little known defensive classic is 'the manual' of Wesley Brown's Defensive Combat system as taught to Naval Aviators during World War 2.
After a chance encounter at the Chicago World's Fair, he is recruited as a plain clothes officer to a Chicago police department by Col. Isham Randolph (of the crime-fighting Chicago Secret Six). Wesley rose quickly to become the asst. Director of the police training Traffic Institute at Northwestern University. Here he honed his concepts for defensive tactics suitable for police close quarters encounters with the criminal element.
With the outbreak of WW2, he joined the Navy and was assigned to create a new hand-to-hand combat program for the Naval Air Corps. The program was so well received that both the Army, and fledgling O.S.S. patterned their courses after it.
This course and the techniques in it are immortalized in the U.S. Navy film, "Hand to Hand Combat in Three Parts" which was both produced and stars Wesley Brown, showing his style of rough-and-tumble moves/counter-moves. An amazing and comprehensive look into early 1930's–40's defensive techniques. It deserves a place on any serious martial arts bookshelf.
Topics covered includeUnarmed OpponentsArmed opponents (Pistol/rifle/knife)Police club useWrist Locks and escapesGrapples, Chokes / escapesVulnerable AreasHand BlowsKicksThrows / Leg sweepsDefensive moves for LadiesControl holds, etc.Training regimens
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 25, 2023
2 people are currently reading
About the author
Wesley Brown
46 books18 followersNovelist, playwright, and teacher Wesley Brown was born and raised in Harlem, NYC. His work includes three acclaimed novels (Tragic Magic, Darktown Strutters, and Push Comes to Shove) and three produced plays (Boogie Woogie and Booker T, Life During Wartime, and A Prophet Among Them).
Brown's work often reflects his political involvement. In 1965, Brown worked with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party on voting registration. In 1968, he became a member of the Black Panther Party in Rochester, New York. In 1972, he was sentenced to three years in prison for refusing induction into the armed services and spent eighteen months in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary.
He is Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University, where he taught for 27 years. He currently teaches literature at Bard College at Simon's Rock, and lives in Spencertown, New York.
Brown's work often reflects his political involvement. In 1965, Brown worked with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party on voting registration. In 1968, he became a member of the Black Panther Party in Rochester, New York. In 1972, he was sentenced to three years in prison for refusing induction into the armed services and spent eighteen months in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary.
He is Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University, where he taught for 27 years. He currently teaches literature at Bard College at Simon's Rock, and lives in Spencertown, New York.
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