Howell Officer Brings His Passion to the Pages of His Book

In his more than two decades with the Cpl. Fred Bauer has served honorably not only at the local level but also at the county level as the leader of the Monmouth Monmouth County Tactical Team (MOCERT).

Now Bauer can add author to his list of accomplishments as he has penned a book called "American Awrology." For those unfamiliar, the Awrology is the study of all-out hand-to-hand fighting. The work is not only a history of the topic, but also a manual of what is involved in learning the skills that have been taught over many years.

Bauer said Awrology traces its roots back to World War II and the book aims to keep those lessons alive. "We want to preserve the fighting heritage of World War II," he said. As a member of a group known as the Gung-Ho Chuan Association (GHCA) Bauer said he learned directly from the group's founder Robert Kasper, before being named his successor. 

Over the years he said his group has not only trained members of the United State Marines Corps in the techniques, but also law enforcement, other military groups and overseas entities as well. "Today everyone is wrapped up in TV and martial arts and Bruce Lee," he said. "That's why we want to continue this kind of heritage. In a violent attack on the streets, this is the kind of thing that works."

The first book on the topic was written in 1943 by Gordon Perrigard and was a combination of Samurai Jiu-Jitsu and human anatomy according to Bauer. His book, he said is a continuation of that study. "A lot of the content was deemed too violent and banned," he added of a society that had just moved on from the long lasting impact of the second-world-war. 

Bauer said taking the base from Perrigard and the continuing efforts of Kasper, he was had a solid start on completing the book. "The book is to get people who are interested in this topic have them become aware of who Dr. Perrigard was," he said. "It's an introductory book. It's more like a research project on how you can train the body to move in a violent encounter."

Since being introduced to Awrology, Bauer said he has used the techniques to not only teach people in law enforcement, in the military and law enforcement about its uses, but has also given civilian lessons as well. That includes a women's self defense class the PBA has offered as well as training sessions at local hospitals for their security staff.

He said those classes have been some of his most rewarding experiences. "The majority of the women they're timid and by the end of the class you can see that you built up their confidence," he said. "They leave with a sense of empowerment and it doesn't matter who you are. If you find something new that will work for you, that's what we're looking for."

Carrying on the long tradition of Awrology, Bauer said he is committed to the lessons he learned and passing them on. "I want to make sure that the right people get it," he said. "You don't want to train somebody who's going to hurt our family member or somebody we knows family member."

His interest in Awrology developed 16 years ago as part of his own training regiment. Having studied different forms of martial arts as well as wrestling, he said he wanted something else to apply to his training. "I felt what I was being taught wouldn't work out on the street," he said. "I was looking for something that I felt would work and obviously I found it with this organization."

Since he became involved, Bauer said he has seen how it can help people in the field whether it is on the streets in this country or overseas. "We have law enforcement being assaulted. It might not be here but we do have that take place. I wanted something to rely and know that if something was to happen I'd be able to handle myself or take care of myself."

For Bauer, Awrology has gone from being something to try as a training method to something so much more than that. "It's a passion," he said. "I want to keep it alive. I want to honor the men that taught it and the direct lineage that we have and I want to keep that alive."

More information on the book can be found here.