Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-04
Japanese Athletic Training
for Naval Cadets.
REMARKABLE FE ATS
TESTS TRIED BY THE ATHLETES
OF THE ACADEMY.
The Oriental Instructor Shows How to
Handle Men Of Drawn
and Muscle.

| In ANTICIPATION or the action or the JOINT
board appointed to consider the best meth
| cd of instructing the cadets at the Military
and Naval Academies in the mysterious
| Japanese art of defense and offense known
| as jiu jitsu Capt. Brownson, superntend-
ent of the Naval Academy, has already
caused some demonstrations of the system
| to be given to the first class boys at An
napolis who have just graduated. The re-
| suits of the demonstration as witnessed by
some of the visitors to the Academy from
| the Navy Department said by them to
| have been truly remarkable, and the ques-
| ton has been raised whether or not it will
not be necessary to make complete
| change in existing methods of instruction
| in athletics if our sailor boys are to be fit
| ted to meet on even terms the wry little
| orientals.
| President Roosevelt is responsible for the
introduction of jiu jitsu a Annapolis. He
| had heard much of it from American sail
| ors and soldiers returning from the far
| east, and 1t must be said that he was at
| first eincredulous. Then to resolve his
| doubts the Japanese military attache here
| brought to Washington an expert in jiu
| jitsu and the President made a personal
| test of the art at the White House. He
| was aStounded at the outcome so We're the
! spectators of the 'mix-up' The President
! Is powerful man and heavy but he could
4 not stay a minute with the japanese eX-
ponent of jiu jtsu. That set him thinking,
| and he induced Capt. BroWnson to try it at
| Annapolis, for If the Jap could do well
| with the husky mdshpmen he did with
| the President then our sailors should by
| all means learn the art.
Jiu Jitsu at the Naval Academy.
| 1t was one of these demonstrations that
was witnessed by the departmental visitors
| a few days ago. The first, or graduating
| class Of cadets had been called into the
gymnasium to witness the test and to take
| part in it. 1t was too late perhaps for them
| to take up the study of jiu jtsu at Annapo-
| lis because they were just about leaving
| for sea service, but they represented four
| years of the best athletic training in fenc-
| ing, rowing. foot ball, base ball, boxing
and wrestling. Facing them was the Japa-
nese instructor, a man slightly below mid
| die height, without super1uous flesh. almost
| in he.lightweight class and with muscular
development of the velvet type that does
not show in great ridges and masses, but
| has the quality of steel wire. His flesh was
clean and smooth but as hard as board
He had assistant in the person of
| young Japanese of noble blood who Is eX-
pected to enter Annapolis next year by
authority of his government for full
course in American seamanship. The as
| sistant had studied jiu jitsu for two years
himself and was remarkably agile, yet he
I was as putty in the hands of the instructor.
1t was impossible for the spectators to
keep close track of the demonstrations ow-
ing in large part to the wonderful quickness
of the participants, but some things they
saw and could understand impressed them
deeply.
| They saw the instructor catch a mans
hand in an apparently friendly clasp, yet
showed that slight increase of that grip
would break every bone in the mans hand.
By way of solace he showed the visitors how
by the turn of thumb such an attempt
might be thwarted Then there was wrist
grip that made it impossible for the per-
son held to release himself except with the
penalty of fractured fore arm. A defense
against that was also shown. Then the as
sistant rushed straight at the Instructor
with the intent to grapple him as a wres-
tier from the front, but in some mysterious
way his own rush was turned against MIN
so that he sprawled on the floor One OF
the athletic first class men thought he
could do better than the little Jap assist
ant in a rush of that kind. He tried it
and his end was even worse than the lttie
Jap's, for the latter had as part of his
training cultivated the knack of landing
on the ground with the least damage to
his person and he didn't receive the
bruises that the cadet did.
Result of an Attack From the Rear.
could you repel a foodpad leaping out
of the darkness upon you from the rear?'
the instructor was asked. He could not
reply in English, but smiled and by ges-
tured invited a trial. That was the down
fall of the best athlete at Annapolis
grand specimen of Drawn and muscle, tow
ering above the little Jap with his six feet
three. He smiled in conscious strength,
stepped behind the Jap and made one ire
menduous swoop upon his little antagonist
He caught the Jap from the back, pinning
his arms to his sides with hug that made
the ribs crack. Nobody knew how 1t hap
pened. 1t was all over so soon. Probably
the jap formed an inverted wedge by
ouick turn of his elbows opening the
athletes arms and slipping deity to the
floor There he caught the ankles OF the
big man, and in second the PRIDE or
Annapolis went flying over the head OF
the Jap as if shot out of catapault
That was not all; he lit on his back half
stunned, and before he could catch his
breath or recover himself the Jap. was
astride of him. pinioning his arms with
the elbow of his right arm held poised
for a terrible blow upon the solar picks
which, If delivered, would have stunned
or killed any man.
Could Not Strsngle the Jap.
Then the instructor, picking out some
of the most powerful among the cadets,
invited them to strangle him with their
hands if they could. Several of the boys
cheerfully accepted the invitation, but
they might as well have gripped piece
of terra Gotta pipe. They gripped and
strained at the instructors throat but
made impression, and he smiled
blandly in their faces. He possessed some
artful means of protecting his windpipe
from compression by a counter-strain Of
his own powerful neck muscles.
There were a number of other tests,
every one successful. The cadets were
deeply impressed, and it is safe to say
that jiu jitsu will be part of the athletic
training at the academy in the future.
Probably it will require all Of the time
available i'm the four year Annapolis
course to get satisfactory results and
even then tits probable that graduates in
tGl1 Eaa in ofo mt tipa
to remain proficient. However even IL
they lack in practice, and allowing that
owing to the superior racial agility of the
Japanese our own sailors may never be
able to cope with them on even terms in
the matter of offense. they at least will
be thoroughly equipped in defensive tao
tics and SO be able to hold their own
wherever the ancient and honorable arts
of boxing are not sufficient to meet the /
case.