Page:Japanese Physical Training (Hancock).djvu/196

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Japanese Physical Training

may be struck with the point of either elbow—with the forearm held horizontally, and is accomplished by a quick swinging motion of the trunk. It may be done so quickly and neatly, after a little practice, that the victim cannot claim that he has been actually assailed. Not much practice is needed to enable the student to locate unerringly the position of the solar plexus as he swings about. If his victim is much taller the jab will land in the abdomen, but even then this sudden attack will prove very effective.

Much has been said already about the prime importance of the possession of the greatest agility if the use of the Japanese tricks of attack and defence are to be made effective. An American traveller, on his first visit to a jiu-jitsu school, would witness some work aimed at the acquirement of agility that would strike him as being grotesque. Yet these seemingly ludicrous feats are performed in all earnestness and are persisted in until the desired results have been obtained.

First of all, the young men are taught to jump on one foot, throwing the other as far