The Savannah morning news., 1904-03-24

JU-JITSU AS A FINE ART.
Science Beats Strength in the ia
panese Method of SeIf-Defense.
From the London Express.


From the London Express.
TAM, the japanese wrestler, was in
the midst of bout with an alert,
muscular young Englshman from the
Mile End road.
The Engllshman was doing very well,
and the audience at the Royal, Hol-
born, were enthusiastically on his side,
urging him, with shouts of encour-
agement native to the East End to
hold on like death.
The odds seemed to be in his favor.
He was the bigger man of the two,
and apparently the stronger. He had
good, stout limbs, yet he was 1.-the and
quick. 1t seemed absurd to set him
against the short, slight, wiry Japa-
nese, who looked even less than his
eight stone ten.
| And the japanese was down on his
back, and the Englishman held with a
| grip of iron, and the Mile End Road
thought he could do it for the five
minutes that remained of the stipu-
lated fifteen, and thus win the prize.
Suddenly there was a change. The
japanese wriggled out of trouble like a
cat. He stepped around his opponent
as lightly as If he were Waiting, seiz-
ed a wrist, hitched the man down
with a leg trip, and at once, sinking
on his back at right angles to the
Englishman, threw his leg across the
mans neck, and held him there like a
log until Mile End Road tapped the
mat in signal of defeat.
There were some murmurings among
the audience. 1t looked suspiciously as
II the Japanese had half strangled his
opponent, and the Englishmans ad-
mission from the stage that he had
nothing to complain of scarcely remov-
ed the impression. I went behind the
scenes afterward, and TAM showed me
this particular fall.
well" said he, you are in the
street and you desire my life You
have heavy dagger and l have none.
You make a downward plunge-so; and
see what happens"
What Happened.
1 made the downward plunge in a
double sense. Quick as lightning TAM
had me by the wrist, his other hand
pressed hard on my sholder, the back
of his leg pressing inward on the back
of mine.
1 went sprawling on my back, Tani
slipped down on his, and his leg was
| curled over my throat But that was
the least part of the operation, only
designed to keep my head in position.
TAM had retained his hold on my
wrist, and now held 1t with both
hands The slightest struggle on my
part eXerted a pressure on the elbow
which went near to breaking the arm.
With my disengaged hand beat vio-
lent tattoo on the mat to indicate that
l was convinced.
That's all very we'll with me- being
no lion for strength" / said, But what
would happen with Hackenschmidt?
You couldn't get his arm down for
that lock-"
This" said the Japanese-and he
| quickly turned the arm the other way,
fixing the lock of exquisite agony I'm
fact" he pursued, 1.-The bigger the man
the better l like him. 1t is his strength,
not mine, that does the mischief. That
stands to reason. If / put on lock
he cannot break, the harder he may
| struggle against it the greater the
| damage he enjoys"
To correctly appreciate ju-jitsu. it is
! necessary to understand that it is
| something more than a sport. 1t is an
elaborate system of self-defense, de-
signed to teach the student to meet
every form of attack that may be
made upon him.
1t was developed by men who had
made a profound study of anatomy and
the laws of leverage and force; and il
was perfected by generation after gen.
GRAFTON of clever men. Every boy of the
samurai or warrior class was taught
it. and IL was their favorite form OF
competitive sport.
ApoIIO's Knockout Blow.
There is one deadly grip which al
ways offends English notions of fail
play. That is what Apollo, Tani's man
ager, has christened the knockout
| blow.
TAM grips both sides of your collar
hands crossed, palms outward. puts
one foot on your thigh, and falls back
ward. You fall with him. Retaining
his double grip on the collar and hi:
leg on the thigh, he rolls over, and you
roll over with him. Then. like a cat
he is sitting astride your chest, and
| you are done.
This grip is generally regarded by
British audiences as strangle, and II
has been known to provoke howls OF
protest. But il is not a strangle, al
! can testify by personal experience,
The pressure is all at the sides and