Tricks of Self-Defence, A Useful Book for Everybody

by W H Collingridge

Probably the 1st English book to record the use of pressure points in self-defence. This historic work was a breakthrough in its day & remains a classic. Until the publication of 'Tricks of Self-Defence, A Useful Book for Everybody', in about 1910, most of the English books on jujitsu and connected martial arts dealt more with the systems in question. These were often quite complicated & took time to master. W. H. Collingridge's concept was to publish a practical, illustrated textbook for the everyday person, outlining the effective applications that anyone can easily pick up for self-defence. The result was this book, which graphically outlines 33 ‘Standing Positions’, and 9 ‘Ground Tricks’. All of these require little space to practise and notably some use arm or wrist grappling, while applying pressure to nerve points. In these respects, 'Tricks of Self-Defence, A Useful Book for Everybody', is considered to be the 1st of its kind in English to record Japanese techniques of applied practical self-defence.

58 pages, Paperback

Published July 12, 2019

Reviews

[Steve Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was first published in 1909. It’s an interesting look into the techniques of jujitsu at the start of the 20th century. Some of the techniques shown have survived to today, though their execution in the photographs are questionable.

As a self defense book, it is worthless...but for the martial arts nerd it is a quick and fun little book. It has been scanned and can be found for free online, as it is well past any copyright.