Self-Defense
Roy Rogers, Karl Farr, Cliff Freeland, Bob, Pat Brady, Lloyd Perryman and Tim Spencer.
(The Calin Coburn Collections ©2004)
Bob Nolan was the first to admit that he was a singer, not a stuntman. Although most of the dangerous stunts were performed by stuntmen, he was still required to learn some basic fighting and defense techniques for his roles in film. While Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers look on, judo instructor Cliff Freeland, gives Bob instruction on how to block and disarm a man with a knife. You can see from the instructor's face, that Bob is putting a fair amount of pressure on his arm.
A companion photo shows Bob and the Sons of the Pioneers looking on while Roy gets instruction from the same man - but with a gun instead of a knife.
(The Calin Coburn Collections ©2004)
These photographs were featured in a newspaper or magazine article below, saved in a fan's scrapbook. (We will replace these poor images with better when we get a scan of the page.)
Caption: "Roy Rogers and Sons of Pioneers learn judo (sometimes called ju jitsu) from expert Cliff Freeland who teaches the armed forces. Roy figures it may come in handier than a six-shooter."
Caption: "Nolan's still going strong. This time he's giving teacher the old hip throw which is largely a matter of balance...keeping yours and throwing the other fellow off his. Sounds simple, doesn't it?"
