Combatives at

DEFCOM

Sometimes called Close Quarters Combat (CQC or close combat), World War II-era American combatives were largely developed by Britain’s William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes. Also known for their eponymous Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, Fairbairn and Sykes had worked in the British Armed Forces and helped teach the Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP) quick, effective, and simple techniques for fighting with or without weapons in melee situations. Similar training was provided to British Commandos, the First Special Service Force, Office of Strategic Services, Army Rangers, and Marine Raiders. Fairbairn at one point called this system Defendu and published on it, as did their American colleague Rex Applegate. Fairbairn often referred to the technique as “gutter fighting,” a term which Applegate used, along with “the Fairbairn system.”

Other combatives systems having their origins in the modern military include Chinese Sanshou, Soviet Bojewoje (Combat) Sambo, and Israeli Kapap. The prevalence and style of combatives training often changes based on perceived need, and even in times of peace, special forces and commando units tend to have a much higher emphasis on close combat than most personnel, as may embassy guards or paramilitary units such as police SWAT teams.