Retro Judo: James Bond

With the exception of one film, You Only Live Twice, the martial art of choice for 007 in over 20 films is combat Judo. The martial arts form allows Bond to take on much larger opponents, and use their weight against them in personal combat. In From Russia with Love Bond was able to take on a well armed assassin, and turn the tables thanks to his Judo training. For a spy dealing with an ever changing battlefield, pre-world war II Judo is the perfect choice, because it allowed him to be flexible, and different techniques can be seen scattered throughout the films. This form of Judo is nothing if not practical and for a spy operating alone in the field there are no second chances. Bond was able to quickly defeat enemies and move on with the mission.

Nobody is exactly sure who Bond was based off of, but it is believed he was a combination of several colorful characters Fleming knew. Fleming helped setup the structure for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which would later become the CIA. During this time he was exposed to the many commando units who were using Judo as part of their unarmed combat training. Fleming would command his own unit of raiders and made sure to include Judo as apart of their training.

Though fictional Bond's martial art of choice is still taught to intelligence operatives and remains the best choice some 50 years later. Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) the United Kingdom's Special Forces branch still use many of the commando tactics learned in WWII today. WWII combatives which include Judo have stood the test of time on screen, and on the battlefields of the world. Fleming and his peers didn't have the luxury of looking good on a mission. They needed what worked against the Nazis and the Imperial Japanese, and Judo was the choice of the founders of modern espionage.