Jujitsu is translated as "the gentle fighting art." Despite its definition as "the gentle fighting art," Jujitsu should not be considered as an ineffective or passive art of defensive posturing.

Historically as Jujitsu developed, it has been considered to be an essentially empty handed adjunct to Japanese Samurai sword fighting. Jujitsu involves the interplay of chokes, locks, blocks, strikes and throws.

During the war years of the 1940s, Jujitsu became an important part of the hand to hand combat training practices for both the Allied and Axis forces. Of course, Jujitsu and related martial arts were an integral part of training for the armed forces of Imperial Japan.

As an example of the utilization of Jujitsu in combat training courses and exercises, "Lightning Ju-Jitsu" (originally published in 1943) highlighted Jujitsu and other martial arts techniques. Similar training programs were introduced in the United Kingdom during the same time period.

Men in the general public in North America and in unoccupied Europe also became more interested in the martial arts in the 1940s, during the Second World War. During this time there was a real sense that foreign invaders could end up marching down the streets of free nations. (Indeed, such a fate did befall many countries around the world.) Therefore, these men believed there was a real need to learn hand to hand, close combat techniques, including the martial arts and Jujitsu.

Jujitsu even made its way into pulp fiction of the 1940s, including the still famous "Avengers" series. Perhaps as a portent of things to come in future years, the practitioner of the art of Jujitsu in the Avengers series was an otherwise mild mannered woman named Nellie Gray. Nellie Gray was described as being "a beautiful, delicate-looking young woman who is actually an expert at jujutsu and other martial arts. Her archaeologist father was killed by criminals for a treasure he had found." Perhaps through Nellie Gray and her practice of Jujitsu, the first female fictional character was created who could and did defeat male antagonists.

Perhaps in part due to the Avengers character, women began to take a look at and be drawn to the martial arts in the 1940s. Women who were left behind to tend to the home fires during World War II became concerned about protecting the homeland. Thus, a great number of women found themselves drawn towards learning more about self defense and the martial arts, including Jujitsu.

After the end of World War II in the mid-1940s, the international interest in the martial arts and Jujitsu did not fade. In fact, through the second half of the 20th century and on into the 21st century, a growing number of men and women the world over flocked to learning and training in Jujitsu and the other martial arts. Many of these people studied Jujitsu not only for self defense but to better both their physical and spiritual well being.

Jake Ross is a world renowned author, researcher, and student of the martial arts, Western hand to hand combat, and military fighting skills of the 19th to 21st Centuries. More of his writings are available at www.combatclassics.com