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2 China, in 1900, the Japanese repeatedly proved their ability to outmarch our troops by fifty per cent.—and this despite the fact that our American soldiers ranked second in point of endurance.

What enabled the little men from Dai Nippon to outstrip so easily the big, sturdy fellows of the American regiments? Even newly appointed graduates of West Point—where the physical training is so superb—marvelled enviously at the endurance of the little brown men.

The Japanese call their system of physical training jiu-jitsu. Literally interpreted, this means "muscle-breaking." The term is not wholly an apt one, as the reader will discover farther on.

From the earliest periods of antiquity that are recorded, even in the legendary "history" of Japan, there existed a minor class of nobles who corresponded very closely with the knights of feudal Europe. These men, who were known as the samurai, were the fighting men of the Empire. Each of the samurai carried two swords—his most precious possessions.