The National Student gets a Jiu Jitsu lesson to celebrate the release of Suffragette
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Edwardian ladies campaigning for the vote: not likely to appear as two things that fit naturally together.
However, if you’re thinking that the world of South American martial arts is a world away from the buttoned up Britain of 100+ years ago, well, it’s time we gave you a brief history lesson.
After years (a lot of years) of peaceful campaigning for the right to vote and being humoured in a more than mildly condescending way by the British government (Lloyd George, we’re looking at you…), it became clear in the early years of the 1900s that female enfranchisement campaigners weren’t getting anywhere with their polite letters and discussions over afternoon tea. The campaign for suffrage was looking, well, a bit Victorian.
But Victorian Britain, with its separate spheres for men and women and strict codes of morality, was dead in the ground and women, understandably, were getting more than a little bit sick of being ignored by the male lawmakers.
It was lack of involvement in making the law and lack of any real discussion over enfranchisement that led to an increased campaign of suffragette militancy. This militancy also came about after a surge in violence from the police. Suffragettes, understandably unhappy about being beaten up in the streets during apparently peaceful protests, urgently needed a way to defend themselves.
(Bear with us on the history lesson, because we’re nearly there.)
So, how did the suffragettes end up in the very unlikely position of learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
It’s all down to a pioneering lady named Edith,who was amongst the first female professional martial arts instructors in the Western world.
Edith Margaret Garrud (1872–1971) was introduced to martial arts after she and her husband William (a “physical culture instructor”, who specialised in boxing, wrestling, and, erm… gymnastics) met the first Jiu Jitsu teacher in Europe, Edward Barton-Wright, in 1899.
Edith’s lessons with Edward led her to learn Jiu Jitsu from Japanese instructor Sadakazu Uyenishi, star in a short film — the very Edwardian-titled “Ju-jutsu down the footpaths” — and, in 1908, take over women and children’s classes at Uyenishi’s Soho school when he returned to his native Japan.
In the same year Edith turned her attention to the suffrage movement, teaching suffragettes the basics of the art so that they could defend themselves against an increasingly violent police force.
As a result, she’s now remembered for having trained the Bodyguard Unit of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Jiu Jutsu self-defence techniques.
Suffragettes and Jiu Jitsu masters have one very similar shared trait, after all: they’re both bloody feisty.
Here’s Edith’s commemorative plaque, in Islington, North London:
You might notice that Edith lived to the age of 99, which is a good bit of PR for the Jiu Jitsu industry in itself.
The story of Edith, and in turn this little known part of suffragette history, is coming to light ahead of the much-discussed British film Suffragette, which stars some of Britain’s top actresses — think Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham-Carter, Romola Garai, Anne-Marie Duff and Meryl Streep — and is released in the UK on 12th October.
It is in anticipation of Suffragette that I have found myself delving into the wild of London’s East End early on a Wednesday morning, and getting spectacularly lost whilst searching for the gym-within-a-railway-arch in which my Jiu Jitsu lesson will be taking place.
Jiu Jitsu is a martial art but also a self defence system that focuses on grappling and ground manoeuvres. The art promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger person by using technique body weight and applying joint locks and chokes to the opponent — so if you’re a suffragette getting beaten up by a massive police officer Jiu Jitsu skills are a pretty nifty thing to have in your repertoire.
So, back to our East End railway arch. Our instructor for today is former army lady Nikki Sahota, a personal trainer and athlete who has a particular interest in the seemingly incongruous martial arts skills behind the suffrage movement.
“It’s a little known fact that the suffragettes were trained in Jiu Jitsu and learnt self-defence to protect themselves from the violence that they withstood from the police and men during their campaigning,” says Nikki. “It was led by an incredible lady called Edith Garrud, who taught the suffragettes some very kick ass moves!”
She adds: “I find the importance of women being able to defend themselves as important now as it was as the women fought for the right to vote over 100 years ago.”
We couldn’t agree more. Check out some of the moves we learned below (complete with frankly excellent pictorial evidence), and then read on to find out more information about Edith, the suffragette movement, and the art of Jiu Jitsu itself.
Moves we learned…
The Wrist Sweep/ Arm Lock — Suffragettes used these to freeze police from hitting them with batons
Hip Toss — Suffragettes used these to release themselves from the grip of those stronger than them
Hip Toss — Suffragettes used these to release themselves from the grip of those stronger than them
(NB — I am definitely not doing this correctly in the second image… although I did get better once the camera had gone away…)
Choke Hold — Suffragettes used these to allow them to free themselves from a tight grip
If this pictorial demonstration isn’t quite enough, you can see more Jiu Jitsu technique steps here.
Further reading:
KO Muaythai is one of the leading gyms in London. They teach and train in muay thai, thai boxing, kickboxing and MMA.
Suffragette has its premiere at the BFI London Film Festival opening night gala on Wednesday 7th October, and is released in UK cinemas on 12th October.
Read our review of Suffragette here.
Originally published at https://www.thenationalstudent.com.
