WHAT is this "Unarmed Combat" of which we hear so much? It is not ju-jitsu. It is rather a scientific development of public house brawling. It is not a sport or a pastime. It is a means of attack and defence, but there are no rules of conduct. It is a mixture of all-in wrestling, ju-jitsu, boxing, with every kind of dirty trick thrown in.

Britain has produced quite a number of first-class all-in wrestlers, but, in spite of this, we seem, in bulk, to be incapable of letting ourselves go in the way in which we should for the successful accomplishment of unarmed combat. Learners tackle the work sheepishly. They are diffident about putting beef into their work. They are afraid of hurting and of being hurt. But it is impossible to learn to hand out rough stuff without taking it.

I am not keen about the name "unarmed combat". I say that a man is far from being "unarmed" if he is wearing boots and has his arms free. And if he is further armed by being in possession of a steel helmet at the time of attack he has just as much chance as the other man.

Naturally if a man is armed with revolver, rifle or other form of firearm, he will shoot rather than come to close quarters, unless, of course, silence is of great importance. Even if he is not able to shoot but is armed with bayonet or knife he will attempt to use those in preference to coming to blows with his adversary. Unarmed combat includes means of dealing with the armed opponent, but at the same time it is largely concerned with the clashing of unarmed individuals.

In spite of the great value of firearms there are times when a man is left without them, or without ammunition, times when he is unable to use firearms. It is then that close combat is invaluable.

In practising close combat it is imperative that instructor and pupils rid their minds of any idea that they may have that they are learning some form or other of self-defence. Attack is the first principle of close combat.

A boxing axiom is that "attack is the best form of defence" and this is equally true of close combat. Remember that the man who is continually attacking is setting his opponent a problem, that he knows what he is trying to do and that the defender does not. The initiative, therefore, is with the attacker all the time, and if one has a sound knowledge of close combat it pays to get on top by carrying the attack to the opponent.

Attack, to be reasonably certain of success, must be unexpected, and in warfare it will be the unexpected attack that will be used more often than not, as in the case of attacking an enemy from the rear. But even from the front it will be the unexpected move that will reap the quickest reward. The frontal attack is less likely to meet with success as the opponent can see something of what is being attempted, but this does not mean that attacks from the rear are more important, for one rarely gets an opportunity of making an attack from the back without being partially discovered at least.

Frankly, there are few positions in which one cannot use a boot, and a kick, even from a woman's light shoe, can be most disconcerting, particularly as it is possible to reach many vulnerable and even embarrassing points with the foot. Everyone has at some time or another experienced the disconcerting and painful result of a kick on a shinbone, or of knocking a shinbone against a low obstacle, a chair or such-like article. It is breathtaking, paralysing for the moment, sufficiently numbing to suspend action for a space that can see the tables turned if it is sustained In a fight.

Do not despise the boot. Elevate the boot to the position of number one in your close combat armoury. Try out every possible position in which an opponent can get you, then see just how easy it is for you to kick your way free. Practise in plimsolls. Otherwise someone will end up as a hospital case. But do not be afraid to take hard knocks with the rubber shoes in the interest of widening your knowledge of cause and effect.

Kicking on the run, that is, whilst approaching an opponent, is, however, a mug's game. It is fairly easy to side-step a kick delivered in this way and a practised close combat performer may quickly gain the upper hand on an adversary foolish enough to telegraph his intention of delivering a long swinging kick.

Kicking is most useful at close quarters. And there it is all a question of who can get in the first kick, for the first kick more often than not can be the last. If tackled from the front or rear in a waist-hold, below or over the arms, or round the chest or shoulders, it is a simple matter to kick with the toe or the heel of the boot. No one, no matter how tough he may be, can retain a hold after a hefty kick on the shinbone. And for several seconds after being kicked he is likely to be in such agony that a quick-thinking opponent should be able to take full advantage of the position.

The quick-actioned individual can often take advantage of an opponent's kick delivered in the open by meeting the shin of the oncoming leg with the underside of the arch of his boot. And if the attacker has put his full weight into the delivery it is more than likely that he will be in the unhappy position of having broken his own leg. You should worry! To take this kick on the sole of the boot it is necessary to turn the toe of the receiving foot inwards so that the blow is taken crossways on the instep.

There are instances, but not many, where it is possible to take advantage of a long swinging kick by seizing the ankle and up-ending the opponent or, alternatively, bringing the opponent down on his face by means of an upward lift of the ankle together with a turning twist of the ankle. This, however, is more acrobatic than effective.

A practical knowledge of boxing is a great asset in close combat. The boxer is a quick thinker, quick mover. And he knows where, how and when to deliver a punch with effect. Just because close combat is a roughhouse game does not mean that a clean form of attack will prove to be ineffective. It may be unexpected because of the roughhouse nature of the fight. And a clip on the chin still is a clip on the chin whether delivered in the ring or in guerrilla warfare.

For this reason I consider elementary training in boxing an essential part of the training of close combat, training in the art of footwork, balance, the delivery of the straight blow, short and long hooks, and the upper-cut. And in considering these blows as weapons of attack it must be remembered that they need not be delivered fairly according to the rules of the ring, that a low blow will prove more effective than one above the belt. Learn, too, to hit with the knuckle part of the fist, not in the interests of accepted principles, but in order to land a more effective blow and one which will do less damage than the unskilled blow would to your own hands.

Then again, acquiring the technique of a feint will prove invaluable. The feint is the art of misleading an opponent by causing him to think that you intend to deliver a punch in one particular spot in such a way that he will shift his guard accordingly, thus laying himself open to a blow in the quarter previously guarded. For instance, the skilled boxer keeps his guard up, protecting his face. A feint to the body is designed to draw his guard away from the face, enabling the attacker to switch from the feint to the body to a blow to the head, and vice-versa, of course.

So much for the closed hand. The open hand, too, can do a considerable amount of damage, whether it is the outer edge of the hand used for the delivery of cutting blows or the fingers for vicious jabs at the eyes and other vulnerable spots.

We have dealt with the boot and the hand. Now for the helmet. Many people have steel helmets as part of their civil defence equipment, so that instruction in this regard should be of value.

Ordinarily the head is a valuable aid in rough house fighting, a downward vicious nod of the head at close quarters being most effective in doing considerable damage to eyes, nose and mouth. But where both fighters are wearing helmets the range of nodding attacks is limited. However, it is possible to lay an opponent's face open with the sharp edge of the helmet and the possibilities in this direction should be explored at length.

For instance, if the attacker has seized you round the waist or arms from the front a quick nod with a securely seated steel helmet should result in his releasing his hold very quickly. The blow would almost certainly fall on the bridge of the nose, something quite painful without a helmet, but most damaging with the helmet. The same applies when the nod is delivered backwards to an opponent seizing hold from the back.

It is possible, too, in tackling an opponent from the front to seize hold of him by his coat or uniform or equipment, pull him in with a vicious jerk and, at the same time, duck the head and thrust the steel helmet with force into Ms face, or to deliver a nodding jab at his face as he is jerked inwards.

Another use to which a steel helmet can be put is that of delivering cutting blows with the helmet in the hands. For instance, if seized from behind over the arms the most obvious thing to do would be to back-heel the attacker and nod the back edge of the steel helmet into his face. If seized around the waist under the arms the same thing could be done, but another alternative is that of whipping the steel helmet off the head and jabbing its unsympathetic edge hard down on the knuckles of the opponent's fingers. It must be remembered in this connection that the fingers will not always be interlaced however, a point which brings out the need for quick reaction to the method of attack.

Now we come to the knee as a weapon capable of dealing out a pack of trouble to any enemy foolish enough or unlucky enough to come up against the enthusiastic close combat merchant. The knee can be used in frontal defence and attack only, but there hardly is a frontal hold in which the knee cannot be brought into use as a counter. A sharp blow between the legs with the knee will disable the strongest man for quite a time and if only the person attacked can keep cool in the emergency and remember the power of an upward thrust of the knee he need have no anxiety about the outcome of a frontal attack.

In truth the vulnerability of an attacker from the front to a counter by the knee should be the strongest deterrent to the skilled close combat exponent, and the very fact that an enemy makes such an approach should be a sure indication that (a) he knows nothing of close combat, (i) he has forgotten this guiding principle and is flustered, (c) or he thinks that his opponent is a duffer at the game.

In getting to close quarters the only really safe way is to jab your knees in between your opponent's knees. Naturally, with your knees on the inside he will not be in a position to bring his knees up into your crotch. But getting into close quarters should be done at lightning speed and solely as a means of putting skilled attack into effect.

Attack must not be delivered in a blind way. I have shown that the fist, hand, foot, knee, and where so equipped, the steel helmet, are the best instruments of the attack. But these cannot be used effectively unless one knows just where to deliver the blows. Let me enumerate the most vulnerable parts of the human body.

The head is one whole vulnerable area, unless the person attacked is protected with a steel helmet. The eyes, ears, immediately below and behind the ears, the nose, the mouth, the chin, the nape of the neck, the windpipe, and the curve where the neck joins the shoulders. These are most delicate parts, easy to attack, easily injured.

Now for the body. Down the back there is the whole length of the spine carrying the vital nerve cord; low down on either side of the lumbar region the delicate kidneys. Back or front of the body there is the fork. In front there is the heart, the floating ribs, the abdomen. Any part of the legs is vulnerable, the inside of the thigh, the knee, shin, ankle and foot particularly.

Punches to the head may be delivered to the chin, the eyes, ears, nose. When held by a waist-hold from in front jab the opponent on the chin with the heel of the hand and stick your fingers in his eyes, or push both thumbs into his eyes, getting added pressure by gripping the sides of his head with the fingers. A sound release is the sudden jabbing of the first or second fingers sharply into the hollow behind each ear. If the attacker is not wearing a steel helmet clap the cupped hands over his ears with full force. The last two releases should not be practised except under supervision and only lightly as they can cause irreparable damage.

The outer edge of the hand can be used for various forms of attack, sharp cutting blows that stun, delivered at the side of the neck, the windpipe, the underside of the nose.

So far as the vulnerable points of the trunk are concerned the most telling form of attack is the blow with the clenched fist, the elbow, and the knee, or, if the adversary is down on the ground, a good solid kick with the toe of the boot, to the side, the back, the abdomen, the crotch.

Blows to the legs may be delivered with the clenched fist in certain circumstances, but mainly with the boot. Kicks in actual fighting should be delivered with full force. Have no mercy on an enemy. Give him all you have got. Make each blow a finishing blow.

Whatever holds you may learn apply them in the simplest form possible. Never take a round-about way. Speed is your advantage. Speed is surprise. And remember that, unless you are tackling an opponent with the object of "bringing 'im back alive", the quicker you finish off an opponent in warfare the better for yourself. Whether in the front line or in guerrilla warfare in defence of your home the best enemy is a dead one.