Kill Or Get Killed Rex Applegate
Trudi Kuzyk
In 1941, Applegate was developing armed and unarmed close quarter combat courses for the US Army at Camp Ritchie when he was recruited by Wild Bill Donovan for the OSS, specifically to build and run what was called "The School for Spies and Assassins", the location of which is now Camp David.[2] Donovan had Applegate learn all that he could about armed and unarmed fighting from William E. Fairbairn to form a brutal and effective system. He was the close-combat coordinator for all clandestine missions and this role brought him into contact with other fighters and martial artists of the time period such as a Finnish soldier who killed 21 Russians with a knife and the founder of the British SAS: David Stirling.[3]
Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press, 1976. Reprint. Hardcover. Navy Blue cloth with title in gilt on cover. Octavo. Inscribed, signed and dated [October 1993] by the author on the front endpaper. xiii,421 pages, index. Profusely illustrated with text photos and drawings. Introduction by no less than Bill Jordan, author of "No Second Place Winner". Colonel Applegate was THE recognized authority on unarmed combat techniques. Near Fine. Item #84462
"This edition is being published at a time when the world is in a state of unrest. Race riots, intolerance, Communist-inspired mob violence, and nationalism emphasize the importance of mob control by the established forces of law and order. Three new chapters have been added on the techniques involved. in riot control..." (from Publisher's Foreword).
"In 1941 Applegate was developing armed and unarmed close quarter combat courses for the US Army Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S), specifically to build and run what was called 'The School for Spies and Assassins', Applegate was assigned to learn all that he could about armed and unarmed fighting from William E. Fairbairn (who worked in a then-very-dangerous Shanghai in the 1920's) to form a brutal and effective system. He was the close-combat coordinator for all clandestine missions and this role brought him into contact with other fighters and martial artists of the time period such as a Finnish soldier who killed 21 Russians with a knife and the founder of the British SAS: David Stirling.. At one point during the war, Applegate served as the personal bodyguard to President Franklin D Roosevelt. (paraphrased from Wikipedia entry).
Geoff (Tank)Todd was originally trained by the late Harry Baldock, a World War II New Zealand Army Unarmed Combat chief instructor who learned his skills from the British. Harry instructed in New Zealand from 1927 until his retirement in 1982 when he handed the school over to Geoff Todd. Geoff Todd travelled to New York on Harry Baldock's advice to train under Charles Nelson a veteran of the Guardal Canal and a marine corps hand to hand combat instructor of over ten years. In Charles Nelson's retirement from the Marine Corps he opened hisSchool of Self Defence in New York City specialising in self-defence, hand-to-hand combat and police training. This was the first self defence facility in the United States.
Always hungry for more knowledge Geoff has been trained and certified up to Master chief instructor by some of the modern-day military Master chiefs of close combat as well. These modern-day Master chief's include Captain BenMängels a former chief instructor to the South African military elite and police as well as the British elite. US Army Special Forces Master chief instructor Lawrence Jordan.
From research, association and training with exponents trained by New Zealand's late elite forces close combat expert Shocker Shaw who was trained by the feared and famous British Unarmed Combat expert Mad Mike Calvert. Geoff has preserved a valuable part of New Zealand's close combat history. After over 25 years of training, instructing and research and development Mr Geoff Todd is the only living individual to be collectively trained by Colonel Rex Applegate, Charles Nelson, Harry Baldock and from these individuals and others to learn the skills of Fairbairn, Sykes, Biddle, O'Neill, Kelly, Shaw and Calvert.
Combined with his training and qualifications from the modern-day expertsMängels, and Jordan as well as his association with the leading international instructors of the International Close Combat InstructorsAssociation Geoff Todd has a pedigree in military close combat and self defence unequalled by any living individual. From exponent training under Harry Baldock through to hand-to-hand combat and specialist self defence training under Charles Nelson and special operations armed and unarmed combat under Colonel Rex Applegate to passing his Special Forces Combative instructor qualification course and achieving Master Chief Instructor status, Geoff Todd has moved up through the ranks and has been trained and qualified by the world's best, past and present.
The Todd System of Close Combat is a combination of the best of the best, past and present and includes 25 years and over 100,000 hours of his full-time commitment to developing a system that is practical, effective, battle proven and a true military science. The Todd system with over 50 specialist module's, is current and correct and has been tested in the research and development phases as well as in urban and military special operations, the system has proven itself time and time again.
The Todd System has been and is continuing to be instructed to regular and elite forces to this day. Following in the direction of his former instructor's Geoff Todd realises his responsibility to the service personnel he trains and takes this responsibility most seriously. He works for the love of his trade and has a commitment to that trade and the people he trains. A heavy weight rests upon his shoulders when you consider those he trains, life or death may well depend upon his commitment to excellence. He considers himself a caretaker of the close combat doctrine at this point in time and is fully committed to the continued research development and improvement of his close combat system. His duty is not only to ensure the best in skills but the continuation of the close combat practices and teachings well into the future and as such and unselfishly he trains several assistants of the highest calibre to continue with the work that was handed on to him by his former instructors and be current assistant instructors to the Todd Group.
There is nothing Geoff considers more deadly close or final than battlefield close combat and this is his motivation and commitment to the preservation, improvement and continuation of excellence in the field of true military close combat.
He is a current Military Special Operations Master chief instructor and a director of the International Close Combat InstructorsAssociation.
I have had many visitors from around the world very interested in the combined skills of Col Applegate and myself and equally interested in the history lineage and collection of historical material I possess.
Others only met the Col at trade shows or stopped in for a visit, certainly never trained from him. He told me he would never instruct Special Operation Close Combat skills to anyone if they were not qualified military close combat instructors beforehand.
I recorded every detail he showed me and have used many of the combat proven principles he versed me in with skills and programs design and still do to this day, including the design of knifes, batons and equipment.
In 1989 Col Applegate told me of his first meeting with Fairbairn. He was in the UK and partaking in a demo for the Brass up on a raised platform when Fairbairn requested Col Applegate attack him. Col Applegate described Fairbairn as a crusty old Brit and protested he was afraid he might kill him if he attacked him outright.
Bellavia was awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of his heroic actions of Nov. 10, 2004, when he killed five enemy fighters during a chaotic battle inside an enemy-held house during the second battle of Fallujah, rescuing an entire squad in the process.
But after killing four insurgents, Bellavia was confronted by a wounded fighter who engaged him in hand-to-hand combat, forcing the soldier to pull out his
Gerber Rex Applegate folding knife and kill him.
Today, we have folks like Massad Ayoob and others whose teachings are founded on those principles developed by Applegate and Cooper with emphasis on modern combat and weaponry. The need to learn how to shoot instinctively is no greater today than in the past. It can make the difference between being killed and going home to your family.
When it comes to preparing oneself for a violent street encounter, grappling or going to the ground (ie, the street) might not be the wisest choice for a number of reasons. Same goes for learning complex small joint holds, like finger or elbow locks, because with the huge adrenaline dump that goes with being attacked suddenly, your fine motor skills deteriorate very rapidly. (see Bruce Siddle's excellent book called "Sharpening the Warrior's Edge" for more detail about this).
What does work best in short violent street encounters are gross motor skill movements (knees, headbutts, elbows, etc) which direct maximum force against your adversary's weakest areas. There are no better manuals of study than these listed below. (yes they are old school, but definitely not outdated! The links to the books below are in pdf format)
"Get Tough" by William E Fairbairn. Fairbairn was a British soldier, and police officer who was for most of his early career stationed in the former British territory of Shanghai, where he was forced into kill-or-be-killed street fight on a regular basis. His relatively short book encompasses all of the basic, easy to learn and apply gross-motor self defense skills - which are still the best to this day.
Few GURPS players are shooters; for them, the most accessible sources to see tactical shooting are films and TV. While much of this medium is larger-than-life even when that isn't immediately apparent, there are some examples that are reasonably realistic. The following selection is useful for the visualization of how relevant styles, advantages, perks, skills, techniques, and guns look in action. The descriptions may contain spoilers!
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