William E . Fairbairn William Ewart Fairbairn ( 28 February 1885 – 20 June 1960 ) was a British soldier , police officer and exponent of hand - to - hand combat method , the close combat , for the Shanghai Police between the world war s , and allied special forces in World War II . He developed his own fighting system known as Defendu , as well as other weapons tactics . Notably , this included innovative pistol shooting techniques and the development of the Fairbairn - Sykes Fighting Knife . The television series " Secrets of War " suggested him as a possible inspiration for Q branch in James Bond . Military career . Fairbairn served with the Royal Marine Light Infantry starting in 1901 , and joined the Shanghai Municipal Police ( SMP ) in 1907 . He served in one of the red light districts . During his service with the International Police in Shanghai , Fairbairn reportedly engaged in hundreds of street fights in the course of his duties over a twenty - year career , where he organised and headed a special anti - riot squad . Much of his body , arms , legs , torso , even the palms of his hands , was covered with scars from knife wounds from those fights . Fairbairn later created , organised and trained a special anti - riot squad for the Shanghai police force , as well as developing numerous firearms training courses and items of police equipment , including a special metal - lined bulletproof vest designed to stop high - velocity bullets from the 7 . 63x25mm Mauser pistol . During World War II , he was recruited by the British Secret Service as an Army officer , where he was given the nickname " Dangerous Dan " . Together with fellow close - combat instructor Eric Sykes , Fairbairn was commissioned on the General List in 1941 . He trained British , American and Canadian Commando forces , along with Ranger candidates in close - combat , pistol - shooting and knife - fighting techniques . Fairbairn emphasised the necessity of forgetting any idea of gentlemanly conduct or fighting fair : " Get tough , get down in the gutter , win at all costs . . . I teach what is called ‘ Gutter Fighting . ’ There ’ s no fair play , no rules except one : " kill or be killed " , ” he declared . For his achievements in training OSS personnel , Fairbairn eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant - Colonel by the end of the war , and received the U . S . Legion of Merit ( Officer grade ) at the specific request of " Wild Bill " Donovan , founder of the U . S . O . S . S . Martial arts . After joining the SMP , he studied boxing , Shin no Shin do ryu jujutsu ( Yoshin ryu ) , Kodokan judo in which he gained 2nd degrees black belt , and then Chinese martial arts . He developed his own fighting system — Defendu — and taught it to members of that police force in order to reduce officer fatalities . He described this system as primarily based on his personal experience , which according to police records included some 600 non - training fights , by his retirement at age 55 from the position of Assistant Commissioner in 1940 . In 1951 he went to Cyprus to train police and in 1952 ( and 1956 ) Fairbairn provided training to the Singapore Police Force ' s Riot Squad unit , which is now Police Tactical Unit . Weapons innovations . Together with Eric A . Sykes he developed innovative pistol shooting techniques and handgun specifications for the SMP which were later disseminated through their book " Shooting To Live With The One - Hand Gun " ( 1942 ) , along with various other police innovations such as riot batons , armoured vests and other equipment . He is perhaps best known for designing the famous " Fairbairn - Sykes fighting knife " , or ' Commando ' knife , a razor - sharp stilletto - style fighting dagger used by British Special Forces in the Second World War , and featured in his textbook " Scientific Self - Defence " . Fairbairn also designed the lesser known Smatchet , and collaborated on the design of several other combat knife designs .