NOT QUEENSBERRY RULES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19759, 9 April 1926, Page 10

NOT QUEENSBERRY RULES.

JAPANESE RINGMEN. In Japan a boxer chooses his second with as much care as an English pugilist bestows upon the selection of an opponent (writes D. Compton-James in the Daily Mail). Ring experience and towelflapping ability are not necessary; the Japanese second is required to be expert in one thing only—the restoration of lite. Boxing, as practised in England, is practically unknown in Japan. Jiu-jitsu is the national art of self-defence, and although concerned mainly with paralysing holds and tricky throws the system also includes a section devoted to the science of punching. , . _ The Japanese uses his fist as a last recort when all other methods have failed. He has discovered that the smaller the striking surface the greater the effect on his opponent, and he clenches his fist so that the second knuckle of the s®£Oim finger projects beyond the others, mth that tiny surface he can do more damage than an English heavy-weight whose fist is enclosed in an Boz glove. The English boxer is limited in his choice of vulnerable spots because he may not hit below the belt. The Japanese has no such “quixotic scruples. He would see nothing one* -.-ageous in aiming a paralysing b’ow at th» instep of his opponent’s foot while botix were writhing on the floor. When one considers that the opponent may be employing a leg-breaking hold a foul blow does not seem such an enormity. In addition to his researches in me science of delivering blows tbe Japanese has also delved deeply into the mysteries o human anatomy. He knows the exact of the body and can plant a blow in any position of al -hi 'mportmt nerve-centres of Hiesc q ol: with preen ion. Hie effect op such a blow is peculiar in the extreme. The receiver is “knocked out” to such an extent that unless restorative methods are immediately applied death will ensue. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Japanese boxer chooses bis second with great care. If the latter were not an expert in “kuatsu,” the restoration of hfe. his principal might be killed in the course of a contest. In actual practice, although the second is frequently called upon to make use of his skill, fatal results are extremely rare.