... of this wartime interest in women’s self-defense were far less permanent and much more nuanced. © 2025 by the Pacific Coast Branch, American Historical Association 2025 women self-defense martial arts judo jiu-jitsu World War II In 1943, in the midst of World War II, newspaper writer Genevia...

... to symbolize these debates. As a physical example of the yellow peril, Japanese martial arts posed a threat to western martial arts of boxing and wrestling. The efficiency and effectiveness of Japanese jiu-jitsu, as introduced to Americans in the early twentieth century, challenged preconceived notions...