The History of Fighting

"Do not look upon this world with fear and loathing. Bravely face whatever the gods offer."

~ Morihei Ueshiba ~

Found on funnyjunk.com

A section of the Skull Tower

The Skull Tower (Ćele Kula), in Niš, Serbia was built in 1809 by Turkish general Hurshi Pasha during the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire (1804-1813). The rebels were defeated but rather than run away or give themselves up, their commander Stevan Sinđelić fired a shot into a gunpowder keg in a fully stocked gun powder room, which not only finished the rebels off but also took a number of Turkish soldiers out as well.


A section of the Skull Tower

Turkish commander Hurshid Pasha was furious and believed he needed to teach the Serbian Nation a lesson. The bodies of the dead soldiers were mutilated and decapitated, then the skin was peeled off the heads, stuffed with straw and sent to Turkey. Meanwhile, the skulls were used as blocks for a tower built right outside the city, which was to serve as a horrific reminder to other Serbs of the fate that would befall those that rebelled against the Ottoman Empire.


Illustration of Skull Tower (1868)

The 15 foot high, 13 foot wide tower was made up of 952 skulls with the skull of Stevan Sinđelić placed at the top. Soon after it was biult, the Serbs would again rebel and in 1830 the Ottomans were driven from the country. Many of the skulls were removed from the walls by family members wanting to give their loved ones a proper burial and today there are 58 skulls remaining in the tower. In 1892 a chapel was built around Skull Tower by Serbian authorities in a bid to preserve the monument which had become a symbol of the bravery of those that fought for the country’s independence.

Source: atlasobscura.com

This 1931 jujitsu demonstration in Germany aimed to show how a well-trained unarmed woman could defend herself against a would-be attacker. In this scenario, a rope tied across the road has caused her to stop her car and she is set upon by a man with a knife. She controls the knife hand and engages the assailant by grabbing his throat before taking him to the floor with a throw.

Sources:
Pinterest, Martialarts.unltd

This lithograph plate from 1888 by Albert Racinet (1825-1893) shows Japanese samurai warriors
with various different types of armour and weaponry.

Source: Wikipedia

"Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation."

~ Ann Voskamp ~

Rare footage of Bruce Lee practicing some combos on the bag.

Found on giphy.com

A photograph of unidentified German girls boxing in shallow waters, taken by Bernard Kobel in the 1950s.

Source: etsy.com

Top – Two young German boys play at being soldiers c.1914
Bottom – Three new recruits for the German War Machine c.1917

Source: greatwar.nl

Muhammad Ali looking dejected after losing his final fight to Trevor Berbick in 1981.

Source: dailymail.co.uk