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Story: Martial arts

Avengers-style self-defence, 1966

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The British television series The Avengers, starring a judo-kicking, catsuit-wearing secret agent named Emma Peel, was hugely popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It inspired a number of New Zealand women to learn similar self-defence moves. This government newsreel from 1966, shot in the style of the programme, shows a class of women learning judo in Wellington.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Pictorial Parade 179. National Film Unit, 1966

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Bronwyn Dalley, Martial arts – Martial arts from the 1970s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/39049/avengers-style-self-defence-1966 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Bronwyn Dalley, published 3 December 2012, updated 27 January 2015.