its paid sponsors, whose products you need!
“Stay ‘unreasonable.’ If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.”
Dan Webre
The Martialist does not
constitute legal advice. It is for ENTERTAINMENT
PURPOSES ONLY.
Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.
Bill Underwood’s Defendo
Special Forces Unarmed
Combat System, Reborn in Toronto
By Robbie Cressman
For
decades, the name Bill Underwood seemed to disappear.
The 5 foot tall, slightly chubby, balding creator of Combato and
Defendo passed away just north of Toronto in a nursing home at 90 years
of age on 8 February, 1986. What
many forget is that well into his mid 80s he was still traveling around the
world giving demonstrations and instruction to the elite in the genius of the
hand-to-hand combat system that he created.
It was nothing for him at that age to topple 610, thundering
paratroopers, subdue well-known mountain man celebrities like Lou
Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk) on national television, or quietly
slip away to hush-hush locations to give training to well established
security teams, law enforcement personnel, and intelligence agents.
Lou Ferrigno (left),
presumably prior to toppling.
Bill
Underwood walked the red carpet after a short film was made on him
entitled Dont Mess With Bill,
which was nominated for an Oscar at the 53rd
Academy Awards. Until the day
of his passing he had a blank cheque in his pocket and a challenge left unmet.
The former trainer of secret agents had openly offered this cheque over
many decades to anyone who could escape one of his holds if he put it on them. MANY
tried, yet none succeeded.
Underwood makes a point.
Underwood applying a little
pressure.
Since
February of 1986 Defendo lay quiet
until now.
Mike Mandel, [whom I believe to be] the only known original
instructor/trainer left in Underwoods Defendo, approximately a year and a
half ago began to impart all of his knowledge and experience to longtime
friend Robbie Cressman. The
months since then have been a rocket ride.
Mandel and Cressman are currently being featured in the July edition of
Martial Arts Illustrated, are days
away from the opening of The Toronto
School of Defendo, and will shortly be featured in a variety of other
publications and television shows. The
duo are preparing for a demonstration and instruction tour in the U.K. slated
for November 2003 with well known U.K. martial artist Clive Elliott.
Mike Mandel (left) and Robbie Cressman.
The
Martialist recently had the chance to discuss Defendo with Robbie Cressman,
Vice-President and Staff Instructor of Defendo
International.
Robbie,
for those who are not familiar with Bill Underwood, can you explain a little
about his background — how he developed his system and came to be involved
with Special Forces?
Sure,
my pleasure. As a boy in
Liverpool, England, beginning in 1907, Bill Underwood was exposed to some
basic Jiu-Jitsu principles while he worked as a cue boy at the local
Vaudeville Theatre. Jiu-Jitsu
masters Yukio Tani and Tara Maki were touring that particular circuit at the
time and they developed a brief relationship with him.
Young Bill, (who had no previous martial arts experience) was
fascinated by their grappling skills and quickly picked-up some basic principles. From there he developed his own system, which became very
different from standard Japanese Jiu-jitsu.
Bill
developed his system, which he called Combato, through WWI and used it
numerous times to escape from life and death situations.
Bill was actually captured and brought behind enemy lines during the
first German gas attack at Ypres in 1915.
Combato was his ticket to a short stay and a number of German
soldiers died during his exit.
In
WWII, North American Allied forces didnt have an answer to the Japanese
wartime Judo that the boys were facing in the Pacific.
Underwood stepped up and taught Combato to Canadian, American, and
British units of every sort and color.
A Canadian citizen at the time, Bill was well received in the USA and
his first post there was with American Rangers.
Soon after, he was commissioned by the Pentagon for classified work
with intelligence groups such as the F.B.I.
Underwoods
connection with the Pentagon was undoubtedly the introduction to one of his
most interesting credentials. His
home base being in Toronto, he was commissioned to give unarmed combat
instruction at Allied Secret Training School #103, otherwise known as
Camp-X. How long he was
there is not known, but it was probably for only short periods of time, giving
crash courses in Combato. The
fact that Underwood was living only an hour from the Camp and was already
involved in classified and Special Forces training makes it a pretty simple
picture.
(For
those interested in learning more about the Camp I highly suggest that you
visit Lynn Philip Hodgsons website,
www.camp-x.com. He is
the modern day authority on the subject and is now about to release his 4th
book. Lynn has done incredible
work on the subject.)
In
1945 Underwood changed the name of his system to “Defendo.” At that
time Bill was getting bombarded with requests to train law enforcement groups
etc… He decided to do a little
remodeling and removed the techniques that caused intentional permanent injury
or death to focus more on restraint and compliance.
Defendo was born! From
1945 to 1986 Bill taught Defendo all over the world.
In North America he was very well-known in the 60s and 70s and
became a bit of a media darling in the 80s while appearing multiple
times on many well known television shows like Johnny Carson.
How
would you describe Defendo as combative system?
Essentially,
Bill Underwood developed his techniques as a close quarter fighting system for
the battlefield and then, as mentioned, modified it for more general
self-protection. It is a
Jiu-Jitsu style grappling system but retains a combative feel through
the inclusion of military type strikes, pressure point applications etc…
The
core of the system is the Defendo Triad, which is 5 grips, 4 leverages,
and 12 pressure points. What sets
Defendo apart from many systems is that its a very well-packaged,
well-rounded system that teaches very effective, simple techniques that get
the job done
immediately.
Defendo
is not a martial art. Its not
about physical fitness, competition or sparring.
Its about the shutting down of physical conflict immediately. The system is
not based on physical strength or athletic ability (although that always
helps) so anyone can learn it. We
have one student right now who is 70 years old!
Defendo
has an excellent component of finger compliance techniques so we regularly see
smaller people taking down others twice their size and strength.
Defendo was also designed to be learned very quickly.
It is a fantastic option for those who wish to learn self-defense or
reality based fighting and yet dont have 4 or 5 years to earn a black belt.
At the same time, Defendo offers many highly effective twists and
tricks for seasoned martial artists.
If
Underwood taught Allied Forces in WWII, did he have any relationship with
Fairbairn, Sykes, or Applegate?
There
is no known record of Fairbairn and Underwood meeting.
However, under the cloak of secret operations during those days, who
knows for sure? The fact is that while Fairbairn and Sykes were instructing
in Europe, Underwood was doing the same here in North America.
They were contemporaries. I
think it is likely that Applegate and Underwood met because of the American
connection, but again, with both of them having left us, we will probably
never know.
A
comparison between Fairbairn and Underwood is an interesting subject.
Without question, Fairbairn was the most celebrated of the two.
They developed their systems moving in opposite directions
Fairbairn started with Defendu while he worked for the SMP and
then moved to Close Quarter Combat after 1940.
Underwood, as described earlier, went about things in the reverse.
Fairbairn did not predate Underwood. In regards to the creating of
their own individual systems. Underwood was developing Combato from 1907
onward, while Fairbairn was studying other Eastern systems at that time and
didnt coin Defendu until 1926.
You’ve
said you believe Mike Mandel to be “the only known original
instructor/trainer left in Underwoods Defendo.” How did
your organization come to “inherit” Defendo?
The
reason that Defendo, in its pure form, as Bill Underwood originally taught it,
is with us today is completely due to Mike Mandel.
I
have had a great deal to do with the research, preservation, and establishment
of where we are now, but Defendo would not be with us today if not for
Mikes incredible memory of the system.
He learned the system in the early 70s and then taught for Bill at his
school in Toronto, certifying students who traveled from all over the world.
For
whatever reason, Defendo essentially disappeared — yet this had absolutely
nothing to do with its effectiveness or practicality as a system.
Defendos rich history and credentials attest to that.
Underwood was simply a terrible self-promoter.
The vast majority of those who studied and taught the system are older
now and not in action. There are
many who remember Bill. I get e-mails
every week from former students, soldiers, police officers etc
who have
come across us and are thrilled that someone is teaching Defendo and
preserving Bills legacy.
The
fact that we have been blessed with the opportunity is incredible.
After a solid year of research on the subject I have only come across
one other individual who is actually teaching [what I consider to be]
Defendo as part of his system professionally.
Mike Griffin of www.progymtraining.com
includes Defendo components with the law enforcement (Use of Force) and
mixed martial arts instruction he gives.
He was a student of Bill’s in the late 70s, early 80s. Mike is a great guy. I
encourage you to visit his website.
Through
all of the above we have essentially inherited the system and we do have a
very direct lineage through Mike Mandel and the fact that he was a paid
trainer for Bill Underwood. We
also now own and operate under Bills original company name, Defendo
International. Essentially,
we are Bill Underwoods Defendo almost 20 years later.
Is
your organization affiliated in some way with Bill Wolfes Modern
Defendo?
No,
not at all, actually…
…We
have no issue with the Wolfe brothers (I have heard some good things about
their Vancouver Battleschool) or any other group for that matter.
Its important to us that people understand that our main objective
is to preserve the work of Bill Underwood.
Defendo was always Bill
Underwood and thats how we want him remembered.
Can
you give us an idea of what else is on your plate and how you plan to bring
Bill Underwood’s Defendo back to the public eye in the coming months?
We
are extremely busy. The Toronto
School of Defendo opens this month. We are also being featured by Martial Arts Illustrated in the July edition.
Regular Defendo classes have already been in progress north of Toronto
in the Barrie area. We will
shortly be featured in “Eye
Spy Magazine, the worlds top magazine on special operations and
intelligence groups. We have a
long list of demonstrations and professional instruction sessions ahead of us
as well as features in other publications and even some future television
appearances. We have already been
to the Camp-X Museum and The
Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, which is directly connected
to the Canadian Armed Forces. We
will be in the U.K. in November. We
have a professional training video shoot scheduled for mid-July.
This list goes on
Aside
from training directly under us in the Toronto area, we will be offering a
distance learning program. Students
will be able to study the techniques by video and come to Toronto to be
certified in the system. There
will shortly also be a program for those who wish to learn the system and open
their own school in association with us in their community. Anyone interested should contact:
Robbie
Cressman
Defendo International Ltd.
In Canada: (866) 817-3076
Outside Canada: (705) 456-4333
www.defendo.ca
We
appreciate your time, Robbie, and wish you and Mike Mandel the best of luck in
your endeavors.
Thank
you! We appreciate the
opportunity.
Would like to know if Mr. Cressman teaches the civilian market, and if so how can I make contact?