Jack Dempsey, Boxing Legend, Hero…Martial Arts Instructor?

In 1917 nobody thought that Jack Dempsey would win the title, but with a 77 inch reach and his unorthodox stance he would destroy heavy weight champion Jess Willard. In the first round alone he would knock Willard down seven times, and by the third Willard was too badly hurt to continue. Over his professional career he would amass some 60 wins (51 by knockout) and of those 51 knock outs, 26 happened in the first round He only had 7 losses, 8 draws and 5 no decisions over his career. While that was impressive, Dempsey understood that boxing was only a combat sport and real fighting required you to abandon any sense of fair play. He proved time and time again in the ring that he was a great athlete, but in World War II he would show the Navy what real fighting was all about.

Jack Dempsey was born William Harrison Dempsey on June 24th 1895 in Manassa, Colorado the 9th of 11 children. By the age of 16 he was fighting for drinks in local saloons. Before settling down in New York City, he bounced around the country doing everything from digging ditches to cutting timber. He even worked as circus roustabout (workman or laborer). During this time, he still managed to refine his art. In addition to a powerful punch, Dempsey could also move fast enough to dodge an opponent’s blows.

Dempsey treated every fight like a street fighter not a boxer. He didn’t fight dirty, but he knew he had to end things quickly or he would only increase his chances of getting hurt. Dempsey had an outstanding career and would even do a number of exhibition bouts after his retirement, but finest moments would not come in the ring, but wearing a United States military uniform.

In 1917 when Americans were going off to fight World War I Dempsey kept boxing and working in a shipyard. After the war people accused him unfairly of draft dodging despite several attempts to enlist in the army and being told to keep fighting. Even though he was vindicated, it still bothered Dempsey personally. So when World War II rolled around he jumped at the chance to serve. He was first commissioned as a Lieutenant in the New York State Army National Guard, but he resigned and took a commission United States Coast Guard and would advance to the rank of Commander. He was made Director of Physical Education at The Coast Guard’s Manhattan Beach training facility in Brooklyn New York.

Instead of just teaching physical fitness Dempsey taught the new recruits how to fight. He worked with B.J. Cosneck, who was the Coast Guard’s hand-to-hand combat expert and a college wrestling champion. Dempsey and Cosneck would prepare the recruits to fight it out on the battlefield or in a barroom brawl. They would teach recruits self defense techniques from come-alongs to strangles.

During his time with Cosneck, Dempsey would write his first book titled appropriately How to Fight Tough. The book was easy to follow guide that told soldiers and sailors how to fight. It included boxing, wrestling, and jujutsu techniques. B.J. Cosneck would write his own book called American Combat Judo after the war which is also another less known but no less important work in the field of martial arts and close combat.

Training countless sailors would have been enough for Dempsey to silence most critics, but while serving as a morale officer in the Pacific he would achieve heroic status. During the invasion of Okinawa the last Japanese strong hold before Japan Dempsey was serving on the attack transport USS Arthur Middleton as the morale officer which was a non-combat assignment. When Dempsey then age 49 saw men he trained going into combat he insisted he go along and join the fight. For that act he would make himself a Coast Guard hero. After the war he would continue to serve with Coast Guard Reserve until 1952. As a solider and a world class competitor, Dempsey understood the difference between sport combat and real combat, and made sure every man he trained knew it.

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