Introduction One of my on-going projects is a co-authored study of Wing Chun's history (and social meaning) within the German martial arts ...MenuSkiptocontentOpenSearchHowJiu-JitsuBecameaTraditionalGermanMartial Art  IntroductionOneofmyon-goingprojectsisaco-authoredstudyofWingChun’shistory(andsocialmeaning)withintheGermanmartialartscommunity. Iwilladmitthatinthecrushofcompetingpapersandpresentationsthistopic,whilefascinating,hasslippedtothebackburner. Still,Ibelievethatitisacriticalissuetoconsiderfromanumberofperspectives.Onewouldbehardpressedtothinkofanynation(andIincludeHongKonginthisstatement)whereWingChunhasprovedtobemorepopularthanGermany. Ihaveneverconductedascientificstudyonthetopic,butIsuspectthatthereareprobablymorepractitionersofthearttherethaninanyothersinglecountry. TraditionalChinesesystemshavegenerallydonewellinGermany. TaijiquanandHungGarbothhaveanimpressivefollowing. Infact,allsortsofmartialartsgenerateagreatdealofenthusiasm. WhilemoststudiesoftheglobalizationoftheAsianfightingsystemsfocusonthepost-WWIINorthAmericanmarket(andgetcaughtupinfactorsthatwereuniquetothesocialhistoryofthisregion),itismyhopethatadetailedstudyofmorerecenteventsinEuropewillhelpustobroadenourtheoreticalunderstandingoftheglobalspreadofthesecommunities.Still,findingthetimetopursuethevariousprojectsthatIhavelinedupcanbeachallenge. Thereareonlysomanyhoursintheday,andfewerstillifyouplanonspendingsomeoftheminthegymandthetraininghall. ButIrecentlycameacrosssomethingthatmaynudgethisprojecttowardsthefrontofmyresearchagenda. “LondonSeesThrillofJapaneseSports.”AJudomatchbetweenaBritishandGermancompetitors.Takenfromavintagenewsreel.1932. MakingJiu-JitsuGermanSarahPanzer,whorecentlyfinishedherPhDinHistoryattheUniversityofChicago,authoredachapterinJ.M.Chaoetal.’seditedvolumeTransnationalEncountersbetweenGermanyandJapan(Palgrave,2016). IdecidedtoskimthecollectionontheoddchancethatitmighthavesomediscussionoftheearlyhistoryoftheAsianmartialartsinEurope,anditdidnotdisappoint. Readerswillwanttoc