Marquess of Queensberry, 94, whose great-grandfather codified boxing uses judo ... trends now
The Marquess of Queensberry, whose great-grandfather codified boxing, has revealed the moment he used a judo throw to fight off a mugger.
David Douglas, 94, came under attack outside his west London home near Kensington, with the thief trying to steal the pensioner's wallet.
Standing at just 5ft 4ins, David Queensberry - as he calls himself - appeared to be an easy target for the yob, who stood at more than 6ft and was far younger.
But what his assailant didn't know was that Queensberry - a retired ceramics professor - served in the Royal Horse Guards and is a trained practitioner of judo.
And it was his skill in the Japanese martial art which came to his rescue - not the pugilistic prowess of his relative the 9th marquess, who codified the rules of boxing.
The Marquess of Queensberry David Douglas, 94, came under attack outside his west London home near Kensington, with the thief trying to steal the pensioner's wallet
British aristocratic David Douglas, 12th Marquess of Queensberry, is pictured practising judo with his instructor in 1965
'He was trying to rob me. He was all over me with his hands,' the hip-throwing nonagenarian told The Times.
'I did manage to throw him - a type of judo throw - which sent him backwards.'
Lord Queensberry said his attacker 'stumbled' after he performed a type of leg sweep, commonly used in judo, called an 'Osoto-gari'.
The move, known as a major or large outer reap, sees judo practitioners - or judokas - using one of their legs to sweep the leg of an opponent, while using their arms to pull the upper body backwards, breaking the person's balance.
The peer - who holds a brown belt in the sport, which is one below black - declined to go into further detail about the attack.
However, a press cutting from 1965 revealed how he was trained in judo by Percy Sekine, who managed the British judo team and also taught racing legend Stirling Moss.
The marquess, who had left the army by that point to become a ceramics professor at Kensington's Royal College of Art, trained several days a week at Sekine's dojo in Hammersmith.
Lord Queensberry's relative, John Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, is best known for lending his name to the 'Queensberry Rules' that form the basis of modern boxing.
But the nobleman is also famed for his role in the downfall of famed playwright and actor, Oscar Wilde in the late 19th century.
The marquess, a former ceramics professor at Kensington's Royal College of Art, trained in judo several days a week at a dojo in Hammersmith
In 1895, the writer and wit Oscar Wilde (left) was jailed for gross indecency after a legal battle with the 9th marquess, whose son Lord Alfred Douglas (right), nicknamed 'Bosie', was Wilde's lover
Wilde was jailed for gross indecency in 1895 after a legal battle with the 9th marquess, whose son Lord Alfred Douglas, nicknamed 'Bosie', was Wilde's lover.
The case went to court after Wilde unsuccessfully sued the marquess for writing that he was a 'sodomite'.
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