When considering the far-reaching influence of martial arts on culturally important historical events, some notable examples come to mind. One such example is the Boxer Rebellion of 1899 to 1901 when Chinese peasants fought against foreign control using martial arts. English forces referred to the fighting arts as Chinese boxing. However, one lesser-known example may be when martial arts were adopted by the British suffragette movement, mainly thanks to one woman, Edith Garrud.
The Suffragette Movement
When discussion of the suffragette movement is brought up, very specific imagery of women wearing sashes, enormous hats, and long dresses springs to mind. However, one part that does not seem to get discussed enough is the real physical threat most of these suffragettes faced. Whether it was beatings from police officers, being force-fed liquid by anti-women’s liberation supporters during starvation protests, or being harassed by transient male bystanders, there was always an air of threat when it came to the early days of advocating for equal rights for women.
Something had to be done.
Edith Garrud
Edith Garrud was by no stretch of the imagination a tall woman. At just 4ft 11in in height, she was seemingly no match for the Metropolitan Police force, who at that point had to be at least 5ft 10in as a police academy requirement. However, Garrud had learned a great equalizer: martial arts, more specifically jiu-jitsu.
According to an article by the Guardian, Garrud was one of the western world’s first female martial arts instructors, and it is widely believed that she must have learned jiu-jitsu in the late 19th century. William Garrud, Edith’s husband, had a martial arts school in London’s Golden Square, a business they co-owned. William was scheduled to attend a Women’s Social and Political Union, or WSPU, (aka the suffragettes), conference to discuss self-defence techniques. However, Edith went in his place when he fell ill.
The conference was huge success. This marked her prolific involvement of working directly with top leaders in the suffragette movement, not the least of whom was Emmeline Pankhurst, the founder of the Women’s Social and Political Union.
Fighting back
According to the BBC News Magazine, Garrud started teaching the women of the WSPU to fight back. Like her husband, she was well versed in the ancient Japanese martial art of jiu-jitsu. The main advantage of jiu-jitsu is learning how to redirect a much larger enemy’s force against them, targeting their pressure points. Garrud began training many eager young women to serve as the guard detail for the most important suffragette leaders, including Emmeline Pankhurst.
Conclusion
With the skills supplied by Garrud, the suffragettes were able to navigate protests more safely. Newspapers began running cartoons depicting the women as strong Amazons, with the police portrayed in a bewildered and frightened way. Though it did not mean that the suffragettes got out of all police encounters unscathed. Tony Wolf, a martial arts teacher and author of an Edith Garrud book for teenage girls, says, “But the grim reality is that they were heavily outnumbered by the police and were often injured”. Nonetheless, it’s a fascinating chapter for both martial arts and women’s history.
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