Shanghai Municipal Police
World War II combatives are rooted in British colonial history with the Shanghai Municipal Police (1854–1943), pioneers of modern SWAT, who operated in what was widely acknowledged as the most dangerous port city in the world at the time. After studying under some of the finest warriors of pre-Communist China and pre-war Japan, these officers condensed the most practical elements of these arts, combined it with elements of Shanghai gangster fighting, and field-tested their skills in over 2000 documented encounters, including over 600 lethal force engagements.