It's late at night and you're out on the town
in London, visiting the city on a european vacation. You've spent all day taking in the sights
and now you're thinking you'll head to a real authentic pub for a good old pint. But as you turn the corner on a narrow alley,
a weird fog surrounds you, and then dissipates just as quickly as it formed. When you can see again though you realize
that something is very, very strange- for one, the modern street lighting is gone, and
in its place are oil lamps that barely light up the dingy cobbled street you're now standing
on. Panicking, you hurry along the narrow alley,
desperately looking for something familiar, but then you reach a dead end. Hearing a noise at the mouth of the alley
behind you, you see a tall figure step out of the shadows, tophat on his head and dark
cloak around his body. You can barely see a sinister smile and the
flash of what looks like a surgical scalpel, and then it hits you- you've stumbled into
1888's London, England, and the figure standing before you is one of the most notorious serial
killers in all history. Hello and welcome to another episode of The
Infographics Show- today we're asking, what if you came face to face with Jack the Ripper? Jack the Ripper terrorized London in 1888,
where he was blamed for the murders of at least five women, though many people theorize
that he actually killed many more. Of the five killings that were attributed
to dear Jack though, all five took place within a mile of each other, directly inside or near
the Whitechapel district of London's East End, a notorious den of insidious deeds and
men and women of ill repute. What made the killings unique though is the
obvious anatomical expertise displayed by the killer, who often removed organs such
as the kidneys or the uterus, and it was thought that Jack held an specially deep hatred for
women. Taunting the police who searched desperately
for him, Jack was suspected of having sent several letters to the police, though of those
received only one, entitled simply From Hell, is thought to have been authentic. Jack was never caught, and many people believe
that he would go on to commit other murders- albeit none with his trademark anatomical
expertise in full display. Others believe that Jack's rampage against
five East London prostitutes was a one time thing, as true serial killers typically continue
to kill and their ego demands that they be recognized for their crimes. Thus it's believed that if Jack was indeed
responsible for many other murders blamed on him, then they too would have born his
hallmark removal of organs or displays of medical expertise. Whatever the truth is, only the five Whitechapel
murders have ever been officially linked to Jack, and his identity remains a secret to
this day. So you're stuck in 1888, and face to face
with the deadly butcher of Whitechapel- what are you going to do? Well first, you should probably snap a picture
on your cell phone, which we're assuming you had on you when you accidentally time traveled
because, of course you did. Most people today won't even shower without
their phone, so do the world a favor and before you become mincemeat go ahead and snap a murder
selfie with Jack so we can put the mystery of his identity to rest at last. Unfortunately though, for today's scenario
we're going to be taking that cell phone away and imagine that you're just an average East
London'er from 1888. You've spent all day working at the dung farm
or... whatever peasants did back then, and you're out looking to blow some steam off
with a nice pint when boom, you're Jack's next victim. Despite popular images of English gentlemen
being foppish ballywhos that spent all day drinking tea with their pinkies pointed out,
the truth is that during the Victoria era there was a rather robust movement amongst
those who called themselves 'gentlemen' for being physically fit. A 19th century manual on gentlemanly conduct
states that, “A gentleman should be able to defend himself from ruffians, if attacked,
and also to defend women from their insults.” Dunbar's Complete Handbook of Etiquette, written
in 1884, goes on to state that, “It is a matter of the first importance for the young
aspirant that he attend to the training and deportment of his body, as well as that of
his mind... The body should be properly “set” by gymnastics,
fencing, dancing, drill, or other physical exercises.” Surprisingly many Victorian era men, or at
least those who were not of the working poor, would place a strong emphasis on physical
training, to include learning to box, fence, wrestle, Jiu-Jitsu, French savate- or kick-boxing,
and our favorite: cane defense and parasol defense. That's right, victorian era gentlemen learned
to defend themselves with a cane or parasol, because a man is no man if he does not have
a distinguished cane and parasol ready at all times to fend off rain and ruffians alike
from the woman on his arm. Known as Bartitsu, this uniquely British fighting
style was developed by Edward Barton-Wright, a british civil engineer who was one of the
first Europeans to learn and teach Japanese martial arts. Combining his lessons in jujutsu, karate,
and other asian martial arts, Barton created Bartitsu, centered around the use of a walking
stick or parasol to fend off ruffians. The technique became so popular that it even
made its way to America, where it was valued as a self defense technique to protect oneself
from punches, knives, and even guns. So face to face with Jack the Ripper, you'd
better hope that you're not a stinking peasant and have had at least a middle-class upbringing
and exposure to some of Victorian England's unique self-defense styles. Seeing as none of Jack's victims showed any
damage from large weapons or guns, we're guessing that Jack and whatever he's armed with would
be pretty short work for you if you're proficient in the gentlemanly art of Bartitsu- which
by the way, totally needs to make a comeback because walking canes and parasols are pretty
bad ass. But say you are in fact a dirt-farming peasant,
and live a life far beneath the luxuries enjoyed by the upper crusts of society. You've had to grow up on the streets, fend
for yourself, and make ends meet any way you can. Lucky for you, the rebellious colonies across
the sea have an answer- American rough-and-tumble fighting. This technique is far less an actual martial
art discipline, and more a naturally developed street fighting style that is exactly what
it sounds like: rough-and-tumble. With a focus on cheap shots, low blows, eye
gouges and fish-hooking, this is a technique of all out survival, and something that requires
little more than brutish strength and an eye for striking at your opponent's most vulnerable
areas. The eyes for example are wonderfully vulnerable,
and a good eye gouging can temporarily blind an opponent- let's see Jack cut you up with
his surgical expertise when he's seeing stars, or nothing at all because you gouged one of
his eyes out. Blows to the ears are also particularly effective,
with a pressure center located directly one inch or so behind the ear that if struck has
the power to instantly K.O. an opponent- that is a secret that has been passed on to America's
modern military. But you have more than feet and hands, and
rough-and-tumble fighting encourages the use of all of your assets to induce maximum pain. Your teeth are good for chewing, and the jaw
muscles that power them are some of the strongest in your body- a good bite may not be the most
sanitary thing in the world, but biting sensitive areas such as the groin, nose, ears (just
ask Mike Tyson), or even hands can be crippling for an opponent. Your elbows are also wonderful striking surfaces,
and often much preferred to strike with over a closed fist- specially since most people,
even professional boxers, simply don't know how to punch properly without breaking a finger
or two. Just remember, the only rule here is survival,
so claw, scratch and bite your way to victory any way you can. Running into a face to face encounter with
Jack the Ripper is going to be a perilous affair, but like any survival situation in
the end it's more about state of mind than physical or fighting prowess. An amateur who is able to get a handle on
their fear can overcome even a trained opponent with pure savagery, while a well-trained professional
can fall to pieces if nerves or fear gets to them. So get a grip on your fear, accept the fact
that you're likely to experience some physical pain in the ensuing fight, and set your mind
to causing far more damage than you receive. Or, just run away. Every professional martial arts instructor
will always recommend that you run whenever possible. Sure, maybe you'll bust out a few Jackie Chan
moves and look like a regular Billy Bad Ass in front of your buddies, but maybe also you'll
end up dead on the ground with Jack cutting out your kidneys. If you run, you greatly reduce the possibility
of the latter. So just go ahead and run away, but not before
you snap a selfie with Jack so we can finally put the mystery of his identity to rest. What would you do if you came across Jack
the Ripper? Let us know in the comments! Also, make sure you check our other video,
why Jack The Ripper was never found! And as always if you enjoyed this video don't
forget to Like, Share, and Subscribe. See you next time!
