Suffrajitsu
Suffrajitsu is a term used to describe the application of martial arts or self-defence techniques by members of the Women's Social and Political Union during 1913/14. The term derives from a portmanteau of suffragette and jiu-jitsu and was first coined by an anonymous English journalist during March 1914.
Edith Garrud demonstrating jujutsu techniques on a volunteer dressed as a police constable | |
| Focus | Self-defence |
|---|---|
| Hardness | Full contact |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Famous practitioners | Edith Margaret Garrud |
| Ancestor arts | Jujitsu, Judo |
During the Edwardian Period, jujutsu was promoted as a way to foster women's self defence, autonomy and health, initially in the United Kingdom and then elsewhere in the Western World.
In contemporary usage, "suffrajitsu" describes the suffragettes' techniques of visible 'self-defence, sabotage and subterfuge' against the police and other aggressors, whilst promoting the benefits of jujitsu as a 'free activity' and a form of self-defense for dealing with both domestic violence in the home, and public attacks to women.