Coco Khan picks Edith Garrud, the jujitsu fighting suffragette
Great Lives
BBC
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 19 May 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Writer and podcaster Coco Khan nominates the little-known but formidable Edith Garrud, a woman who turned Edwardian expectations on their head. A pioneer of ‘Suffrajitsu’, she taught women Japanese martial arts so they could defend themselves from arrest. Joining Coco is Dr Naomi Paxton, who brings Edith Garrud to life as a woman who promoted her cause through public performance.
The programme was produced by Hannah Hufford.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.3 | On BBC Sounds, there are podcasts to help you look after your body and your mind. |
| 0:12.7 | From increasing your immunity to feeling more confident. |
| 0:16.6 | Or tips on how to focus. |
| 0:18.5 | Sorry, what will you say? |
| 0:19.7 | If it matters to you, it matters to us. |
| 0:22.6 | Feel good inside of them. |
| 0:24.3 | With what's up docs. |
| 0:25.9 | And complex with Kimberly Wilson. |
| 0:27.9 | Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:31.6 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:35.9 | Picture this. |
| 0:37.2 | A woman in full Edwardian dress, full skirt, corset, overcoat, hat. |
| 0:42.3 | She's tiny, just four foot eleven inches. |
| 0:45.9 | In front of her, towers a policeman ready to attack. |
| 0:50.3 | In one swift move, she grabs his wrist, throws him over her shoulder, and pins him to the ground. |
| 0:56.6 | This diminutive yet formidable woman is demonstrating something they called suffrajitsu. |
| 1:03.9 | And what is that? And why was she doing it? |
| 1:06.8 | Let's ask my guest, Coco Khan, who's a writer, a journalist, a host of the political podcast Pod Save the UK. |
| 1:15.0 | Coco, who is your rather remarkable choice of great life and why? |
| 1:19.9 | It is Edith Garrett, a woman who, I must say, I have not learned much about because there is not that much available online, but every single |
| 1:30.2 | nugget is beautiful. |
... |
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