Watts: Fine Art of Jujutsu
Book
Review
Mrs Roger Watts; The Fine Art of Jujutsu (1906) William
Heinemann
Review by Peter Clarke (2016)
The book is the first English book to emphasise women's self
defence. Its author, Emily Diana Watts (1867-1968), would
have been one of the very first teachers of judo in the Western
World.
The book is very well produced on the photographs by G W Beldam
very well done for the time
The book can be read online at scribd.com -
https://www.scribd.com/doc/58511517/The-Fine-Art-of-Jujutsu-Mrs-Emily-Watts-1906
The publication of this book by a woman has to be placed in the
political context of its time. Legislative reform in Great
Britain in 1884 did not extend suffrage (the right to vote) to
British women. Activist women who challenged this gender
based inequality were labelled "suffragettes" by the British
press. Further, there was considerable vulnerability for
women in simply using the streets and public transport in the
cities around this time.
This was just at a time when jujutsu and judo were
becoming known in Great Britain. This aspect of its
popularity is discussed in the earlier book review ofNorman: Fighting Man of
Japan. Watts began her training in 1903 with
Sadakazu Uyenishi and his associate, Akitaro Ono. By 1906 she
was teaching in Knightsbridge which also coincided with the
publication of the book. Uyenishi was also uke for some
techniques in the book.
It details for the first time in English a number of the kodokan
judo techniques despite its title of jujutsu. This is a
matter that was also mentioned in the earlier book review of
Norman: Fighting Man of Japan - the conflation of jujutsu and
judo. Although the title of the book and the reference
throughout is always to "jujutsu", it concerns, and is completely
about, Kodokan judo. It is not just this book; it is just
very common through this early period.
A self defence capability and a philosophy of the how the
smaller can overcome the larger made jujutsu an attractive
proposition to link it to the suffragette movement.
Apparently, following a demonstration to campaigners, the magazine
Health and Strength coined the term "jujutsusuffrette" in
1909. Some clue to the politics may be found in the fact that
the book is dedicated to "her Grace the Duchess of Bedford".
At that time the Duchess was Dame Mary Russell. She was an
English aviator and ornithologist. Further, she was a member
of the Women's Tax Resistance League, a group established in 1909
and a member of the Women's Social and Political Union. The
former organization used tax resistance to protest for women's
suffrage. The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was
established in 1903 and was the leading militant organisation
campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom.
Edith Margaret Garrud was a member of the WSPU. Edith
married William Garrud in 1893. In 1899, the Garruds were
introduced to the art of jujutsu by Edward William Barton-Wright,
the first jujutsu teacher in Europe and the founder of the martial
art of Bartitsu. They were training at Uyenishi's dojo in
Soho in around 1904/5 and I assume with Watts. Edith Garrud
was later responsible for training the bodyguards for the
suffragettes. So the timing of the book and the gender
politics make it an interesting publication from that point of
view.
It is also a very well presented book on judo, superior to
similar books of the era. The preface to the book is written
by Sir Lauder Brunton, a Scottish physician. He writes of the
mind-body connection and the merits of jujutsu as an exercise
compared to other activities. I have not been able to find
any connection he may have had to jujutsu.
The book has its humourous aspects. There is the
consistent reference to "Ladori Kata" for "Randori no Kata".
Wrestling was not the order of the day … apparently … and we can
discern the meaning of the book title when Watts says at
p.107 -
"The branch of jujutsu which is devoted to wrestling on the
ground is what I would term the gross art of Jujutsu as opposed to
the fine art, and as such has no place here; besides, although it
may be very useful for men, it cannot, or rather, should not appeal
to women, for anything more rough and ungraceful it is hard to
imagine."
When looking at what the randori exercise was all about, the
rules for "loose play" are set out on pages 143-4.
A book deserving of some attention.