March 3
This article is part of the Legacy Feldenkrais Books Archive.
INTRO
Hadaka-Jime: Practical Unarmed Combat is one of Moshe Feldenkrais’s most historically important early works. Written during World War II, the book presents a practical training system designed to teach effective self-defense in the shortest possible time.
Rather than teaching a large number of techniques, Feldenkrais developed a simple and highly efficient approach built around mastering one fundamental movement and applying it in many different situations. Through repetition and variation, students develop coordination, confidence, and the ability to respond effectively under pressure.
Beyond its martial arts instruction, the book also reveals Feldenkrais’s early thinking about learning, coordination, and awareness. These principles would later become foundational ideas in the Feldenkrais Method®.
This page provides an overview of the book along with an excerpt illustrating Feldenkrais’s practical approach to training and human movement.
BOOK DETAILS
Title: Hadaka-Jime: Practical Unarmed Combat
Author: Moshe Feldenkrais
Original Publication: 1942
Modern Edition: 2009
Publisher: Genesis II Publishing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 99
Photos: 104
Language: English
Subjects: martial arts, judo, self-defense training, movement learning, Feldenkrais Method®, military training.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Hadaka-Jime: Practical Unarmed Combat presents a compact self-defense training program based on a single judo technique known as Hadaka-Jime, often translated as the “naked choke.” Feldenkrais developed this program during World War II as an emergency training method for soldiers who needed effective skills quickly.
Instead of memorizing many techniques, students learn one essential movement and then practice applying it in a wide variety of situations. Each lesson expands the student's understanding of timing, balance, and positioning while reinforcing the same core principle.
This method allows skill to develop quickly and reliably, even under stressful conditions. The training emphasizes coordination, efficiency, and adaptability rather than force.
Readers familiar with the Feldenkrais Method® will recognize early expressions of Feldenkrais’s lifelong interest in how human beings learn movement. The book offers a fascinating glimpse into the origins of ideas that would later shape his work in somatic education.
KEY IDEAS IN THE BOOK
• Effective training can be built around a single fundamental movement.
• Repetition combined with variation deepens learning.
• Coordination and timing are more important than strength.
• Simplicity improves reliability under stress.
• Awareness and organization of movement increase effectiveness.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword to the 2009 Edition — Moti Nativ
Preface to the 1942 Edition — Moshe Feldenkrais
Introduction — Concepts of the Practical Unarmed Combat Training
Warning — Safety Advice
First Lesson — The Core Technique, Basic Application
Second Lesson — The Core Technique, Completions
Third Lesson — Silent Attack from the Rear
Fourth Lesson — Defense Against Knife Stab to the Neck
Fifth Lesson — Defense Against Knife Stab to Abdomen
Sixth Lesson — Timing and Alternate Attacks
Seventh Lesson — Defense Against Bayonet Attack from the Rear
Eighth Lesson — Alternative Movements Against Rear Bayonet Attack
Ninth Lesson — Defense Against Bayonet Attack from the Front
Tenth Lesson — Variations on Hadaka-Jime
Afterword — Moti Nativ
Appendix — Additional Photos
Notes
Acknowledgments
Resources
EXCERPT
From the Introduction by Moshe Feldenkrais
When considering means of defense against an armed opponent, it is natural to think of Ju-Jitsu, as it is the traditional method dealing with such situations. Anyone who has attempted to learn this art soon discovers that considerable time is required before the techniques can be applied effectively.
In an emergency, however, such long preparation is impossible. A method is therefore required that allows a person to acquire useful skill in a relatively short time.
The course presented in this book is based on a single fundamental movement. By repeating and applying this movement in many different situations, the student gradually develops the coordination and confidence necessary to respond effectively.
CLOSING REFLECTION
Hadaka-Jime: Practical Unarmed Combat stands at the intersection of martial arts training and the early development of Moshe Feldenkrais’s ideas about learning and movement.
Within this compact training manual lie the seeds of concepts that would later evolve into the Feldenkrais Method®. For readers interested in the origins of Feldenkrais’s work, the book offers a unique glimpse into the practical roots of his thinking.
Tags
Moshe Feldenkrais, Moti Nativ
