About Defendo

Once the British Commando School in Scotland was able to produce it’s own Fairbairn/Sykes qualified instructors, both men were transferred. Fairbairn to North America on Special Assignment, and Sykes to S.O.E.(Special Operations Executive), where he trained special agents for behind the lines duties. Fairbairn's 'Special Assignment' in Oshawa Canada was to teach his system to Allied Spec. Ops. at the most highly classified training operation of WWII, Camp X. Agents were trained in depth to dispose of their enemy quickly and quietly with brutal effectiveness. To this day the American, Canadian and British Governments still hold certain aspects of what went on at Camp X classified. Following his instruction at Camp X, Fairbairn was rejoined by Col. Applegate to form the United States Camp B, now known as Camp David.

This introduction of 'The Fairbairn Fighting System' at Camp X in conjunction with input from many highly skilled Instructors with various backgrounds and fighting skills would be the beginning of the evolution of "DEFENDO". As Close Quarter Battle or Unarmed Combat training progressed throughout this period, it was added to and refined utilizing western fighting principals, eventually becoming referred to in slang as "DEFENDO" by Allied soldiers.

By far the most renowned unit of WWaII to be highly skilled in Unarmed Combat during that early period, was the 1st Special Service Force, better known as “The Devil’s Brigade”. The first of its kind, this unique unit was made up of Canadian and US troops, and carried a reputation for being able to take impenetrable objectives when no one else could. With "Pat" O'Neil (another of Fairbairn's senior students) as it Unarmed Combat Instructor these legendary men became known as some of the most highly trained soldiers during WWII with their unit being the predecessor to the US Special Forces

Allied victory in WWII marked the end of wide spread instruction of "DEFENDO" within North America as soldiers returned to their civilian lives, and only professional military personnel remained to continue the training. Following WWII, "DEFENDO" was adopted by a large number of Police agencies throughout Canada and the U.S. including the highly respected R.C.M.P. Since then, Fairbairn’s original system of CQB has been the foundation for every modern police and military system of Unarmed Combat.

LINAGE

Harold Stairn, a highly decorated WWII Special Operations Veteran with the British Army, was one of the few oiginal Certified Unarmed Combat Instructors that continued to teach following WWII. Stairn, a Master of Judo and Ju Jutsu, a Boxer, a Wrestler and Master Fencer, reserved instruction in "DEFENDO" for a select few military personnel. One of which was a young soldier named Bill Wolfe who was a Judo and Ju Jutsu student of Stair’s. Stairn, recognizing Wolfe's natural ability and tough as nails character, proceeded to pass on the skills that had allowed him to complete his missions in the worst of circumstances. To this day, much of Harold Stair’s past remains a secret, as he was a man of few words.



Following his training with Stairn, Bill Wolfe continued his training during his military service and received Official Certification as a Senior Unarmed Combat Instructor in the Canadian Army. Wolfe's Unarmed Combat Instructors during this period, were also WWII Special Forces Veterans who passed on training that evolved from Camp X.

                                                Bill Wolfe "Silent Killing" Training

ORIGIN OF MODERN DEFENDO

The system we know today as MODERN DEFENDO CQC
finds it's roots as 'Defendu' in the 1920's as a Police system for
dealing with some of the world's worst criminals.

The founder William E. Fairbairn, Assistant Commissioner of the
Shanghai Municipal Police, together with Inspector Eric Anthony
Sykes, needed an effective system to teach their officers so they
could survive the harsh realities of the troughest seaport in the
world. Proficient in several fighting disciplines, Fairbairn together
with Sykes compiled thousands of violent arrest reports, analysed
and then addressed the data borrowing and modifying various
techniques and principals to produce what would later prove to
be the basis of standard CQC instruction for Allied Special
Forces during WWII. The utilization of Fairbairn's system during
this early period on special 'Night Squads' (SWAT teams as they are called today), quickly earned it a no nonsense reputation.

Shanghai Municipal Police

The start of WWII saw the Allied forces needing every advantage to give their soldiers and Special Forces a winning edge. They found one such edge in Fairbairn's system. Immediately, Fairbairn was commissioned in the British Commandos and ordered to teach a lethal version of his system at the Commando school in Scotland

It was at this top secret Scottish location that Col. Rex Applegate of the U.S. Army studied under Fairbairn. Through Col. Applegate and other Instructors such as Col. Anthony Biddle, these highly effective skills were taught to U.S. Troops including US Marines and Rangers as well as OSS operatives and later to the FBI and CIA as the foundation of their basic training.