William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes were two British military officers who developed a modern martial art prior to World War II. This martial art style was designed to be effective in hand-to-hand combat, and was a combination of various martial arts that had been taught throughout the years. Fairbairn and Sykes believed that traditional martial arts styles lacked effectiveness in close quarters combat, which is why they sought to create a more practical method of self-defense.
Fairbairn and Sykes’ modern martial art was designed to be simple, yet effective. It focused on techniques such as joint locks, throws, chokes, strangles, strikes and pressure points. These techniques were designed to give the user an advantage over their opponent in any physical confrontation.
Moreover, Fairbairn and Sykes also incorporated elements from other fighting styles such as judo and jujutsu.
In addition to martial arts techniques, Fairbairn and Sykes also developed a modernized system of self-defense using firearms. This system was based on their observations of how criminals used guns during World War II. They developed tactics for how to handle firearms in close quarters combat, including how to disarm an opponent and how to counterattack when outgunned.
The modern martial art developed by Fairbairn and Sykes has been adopted by numerous law enforcement agencies around the world as well as by military units. It has also been adopted by some civilian self-defense schools due its effectiveness in close quarters combat scenarios.
Conclusion:
It is clear that William E. Sykes developed a highly effective modern martial art prior to World War II that is still practiced today by law enforcement agencies around the world. Their style combined various traditional martial arts with elements of firearms defense tactics to create an easily learned yet powerful system of self-defense that is still taught today.