Looking through the archives from when the late Harry Baldock was the Master Chief instructor of the facility amongst the copious boxes and piles of pictures and information I came across this picture from 1934. It depicts what we know as kill wrestling, where palm heel strikes, low kicks, knees and others as they were called back then foul skills were included in the unarmed arsenal of such practices.
Harry and I early 1980s Baldock Institute
Derived from ancient Greek and Roman close quarters combat training these skills were brutally simple to develop mental and physical toughness in training and increase winning chances under contests.
Ancient competitive codes with their origins deriving from ancient European battlefield kill or die systems have over the centuries been foundations of some of the oldest of combat sports.
Training in close quarters combat in ancient times included armed combat and deadly unarmed gladiator close quarters battling.
Below is a picture given to me by my mentor the now late Col Rex Applegate that he referred to as the original close combat where there were no rules and anything went, the dirtier and deadlier the better.
Col Rex Applegate WWII
Col Applegate was dedicated to brutally effective over kill military battlefield skills that provided even the underdog the best likelihood of defeating formidable foes.
He would describe techniques that were based on traditional styles when being promoted as for military close combat as the flowing robe brigade.
He was a true practical realist with a life times dedication to his trade-craft including in a Chief instructor role for elite covert operators in WWII.
While boxing wrestling and pankration were considered heavy codes of combat sports they were far removed from the violent and terminal gladiator close quarters contests where the outcomes were deadly. The Todd Group Close combat and military self-defence training and the Combat Sports School are kept separate on two different floors of the HQ facility and have a Master-Chief Instructor and Head Coach respectively responsible for the conducting of training.
Pankration wrestling and boxing were the combat sports codes contested at the ancient Olympics and have a long history in such formalised competition.
Now skipping forward considerably to pre-World War I through to post World War II, military close combat chief instructors connected with the tradecraft of European military armed and unarmed combat had at minimum general knowledge of the history and lineage of ancient European battlefield tactics and skills as well as ancient combat sports codes.
Harry Baldock our founder and former World War II army unarmed combat chief instructor was knowledgeable in not only military close combat but also ancient combat sports.
He produced many national and international wrestling champions at the Baldock institute.
Post-World War II Harry and other allied military Master-Chief instructors of military self-defence and close combat had an unwritten undertaking not to teach CQB/CQC to civilians as such practices were used to defeat enemy fighting arts styles in the great wars and were deemed too deadly.
Harry instructed Jiu Jitsu for civilians and self-defence based on his military self-defence at the Baldock institute.
Jiu Jitsu Baldock Institute wrestling Baldock Institute
Fortunately my passion and career path being military close combat and military self-defence with the changing of the times in relation to increases in urban violence, Harry saw fit to train me in his military armed and unarmed combat and military self-defence programmes.
The origins of the styles and techniques of many recent times military close combat instructors are more based on primarily eastern traditional martial arts and fighting arts and not so much on European military battlefield close combat.
At the Baldock Institute Harry kept different training systems and codes completely separate and only trained certain skill sets to specific members in relation to their roles requirements and capabilities just as we do today.
Catch wrestling was a hybridised style of Olympic wrestling that included wrestling and submission type techniques and our version that we call kill wrestling also included striking, kicking and kneeing. There were many pro-wrestlers that prepared for their town hall bouts at the Baldock institute at the height of big time wrestling popularity. While Harry knew professional wrestling included showmanship and he also knew from wrestling some of the champions of the sport that they were strong tough big lumps of men that were very capable and possessed high level wrestling prowess. I was fortunate in the late 1970s to get to train with Tiger Taylor at a small satellite facility of mine away from the Baldock Institute for rough and tumble training. Tiger was from the UK and was a handy wrestler and boxer as well as a professional wrestler and professional wrestling referee back then.
The late Ken “Tiger” Taylor
As part of Harry’s military unarmed combat toughenor training from his WWII army unarmed combat package, he taught me what was known as kill wrestling.
Kill wrestling was a combination of pugilism wrestling, submission wrestling combined with foul dirty tricks brigade unarmed combat skills that would never be permitted in combat sports competition.
The skills had to have commonality with battlefield close quarter’s combat primary skills.
Harry had devised many variants for unarmed combat toughener training as well as variations of catch wrestling for combat sports training including retention of a medicine ball while under assault.
These variations not only included the retaining of the medicine ball but also protecting oneself and achieving objectives that ranged from decking the enemy party through to escape and evasion or making it to a safety zone. Interestingly Harry Col Applegate and Charlie Nelson all had skills that provided changes in tack from clinching or restraining to skills to eliminate or incapacitate the enemy based on the same systems skills, and also for neutralisation of the escalation of violence.
They all provided maintained control or disengagement with striking, kneeing, stamp kicking and a range of foul unarmed skills or armed skills.
Wrestling was the major combat sport at the Baldock Institute for decades and in the early 1970s, Harry told me that he believed wrestling would come back in my lifetime to be a major part of training for other combat sports.
Wrestling globally has always been a combat sport with millions of registered wrestlers and with the UFC has proven its worth with some of the top champions being top wrestlers.
Just this last week one of our combat sports school wrestlers Kasib Murdoch trained by our head wrestling coach Caleb Steven in freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling won a world amateur MMA featherweight title and watching his fights it was clearly apparent that his wrestling played a major part in his success.
Kasib Murdoch 2023 IMMAF World Feather Weight Champion
While the evolution of our military self- defence and close quarters combat derived from ancient Greek and Roman battlefield skills, being an evolving tradecraft it has changed with time to ensure the practices provide the modern combatant with the most current and proven primary capabilities to neutralise current enemy threats.
There are a lot of combat sports fighters including champions that have become interested in the European unarmed combat and combat sports codes of times gone by that contact us about these brutal and tough codes.
Just like in times gone by our current primary elite CQC training includes toughener and sickener phases of training to develop mental toughness situational awareness and physical inoculation against the effects of close contact to enhance mental and physical toughness required for close quarters actions on.
The evolution of battle proven skills and the primary most current tradecraft training practices tactics and skills that come from training at a designated mil close combat facility under military qualified Master-Instructors is of major importance to those that have come up through the ranks proving themselves on training courses of instruction and under grueling testing as well as serious enthusiasts seeking such training.
Some of the most effective means of victory over defeat that were utilised in the colosseums by gladiators and on ancient battlefields have stood the test of time and are still primary practices today on military elite armed and unarmed combat courses of instruction.
In these PC woke modern-day times where raising your voice with aggression, shaking your first or even pointing a finger and/or the use of profanities is considered unacceptable, this is certainly not the way of those that won’t accept being bullied and who are prepared to take actions necessary to protect themselves to ensure they do their best not to be a victim of violence. Practical realists understand the importance of controlled aggression and doing everything they can not to become a victim of violent assaulters. The military warriors of ancient times that lived by the sword and fought hand to hand by foul deadly battle proven dirty tricks brigade military self-defence and close combat means and competitors in ancient heavy combat sports codes contests all knew that winning was the primary objective and is what matters more than anything else.
They trained the military combatant way to ensured they were best armed with knowledge and capabilities.
Those that think objecting or saying stop in a loud voice to assaulters already wanting to do them bodily harm under urban violence actions on are deluded if they think criminal violent assaulters will cease hostilities. The misinformed and unprepared will find out the truth of the matter as to what happens when society breaks down and they are not best prepared.
Looking back through the archives is an interesting undertaking with volumes of content featuring some very hard tough fighters and military combatants from yesteryear.
Combat milling is very different to boxing milling and pugil poles training or on foot jousting as it was also called in times gone by are still training and contact inoculation practices at the Todd Group schools of instruction.
Intake induction under pugil contact
There are some major differences between the combat sports techniques and the CQC skills with the usages and objectives being different as well as the probable outcomes.
Contesting under combat sports rules and the control of referees requires techniques that are within the rules and regulations of the specific code of combat sports where as CQB/CQC/MSD skills are for enemy incapacitation or elimination without rules or officials.
Some differences include with CQC skills compared to combat sports skills, stamp kicks with boots over barefoot competitive kicks or sweeping techniques and all strikes are primarily palm heel or gouging over clenched fist bare knuckles striking.
Counter clinching or grappling is by foul dirty tricks brigade targeting of delicate humans senses or life support systems by armed or unarmed military battle field trade-craft tactics and kills.
There are set bags of tricks/tools and conditions of practice for specific levels of exponents/proponents in combat milling for both armed and unarmed combat milling that are learnt in training and detailed in the pre-actions on training briefs for safety and to ensure all combatants have similar best combative chances.
The old school best proven means of objective achievement and the most current proven primary practices based on same systems means and methods of threat neutralisation that share commonality and are cohesive in employment are the foundations of our skills sets at the Todd Group schools of instruction where the most current primary skills are developed in-house fit for purpose role and duty.
Combatants and competitors alike thrive on not only being instructed in the primary skills that have stood the test of time along with the most current and proven primary skills but also getting their training hands on from the skills development HQ source. These teachings are not only fit for purpose but also are best options suited to the individual combatant for battlefield close combat or urban self-defence and similarly for the combat sports competitor in relation to their physical and mental makeups for winning in their specific combat sports code.
The combination of European military close combat and combat sports training provision have both been conducted out of the Baldock institute now the Todd Group for the past 96 years and provide members with both close combat/self-defence and combat sports training.
To have a real understanding of both the European military close combat trade-craft and the combat sports codes one must have been involved with training in both and this is something that only the Todd Group can provide in NZ.
They complement each other and instructors and coaches work together where needed to give both the combative and competitive increased tools and capabilities.
So many interested enthusiasts of ancient combat sports and European military CQC/MSD have shown interest in pre Queensberry rules no holds barred codes and ancient origins military armed and unarmed combat connections. This file is to give a brief outline from our over nine decades of full time commitment to our trade-craft and combat sports involvement.
The evolution from the ancient battle fields and colosseums to the modern combat sports codes contests has truly been a proving ground and means of identifying what works best for combat sports in competition and for military close combat and military self-defence on the battlefields and under urban actions on.
