A hapless would-be mugger got the beating of his life when he tried to prey on a female jujitsu expert.

Footage of the painful battering shows the young woman chasing the mugger and pulling him to the ground as he tries to flee.

Within seconds she is raining down punches and kicks, caught on CCTV in the western Mexican city of Guadalajara, the capital of the state of Jalisco, on Thursday, 8th September, with the images only surfacing this week after making the rounds on social media.

A man who is understood to have been a passerby lends her a hand. And while he pins the crook’s arms, his intended victim continues to punch and kick him at will.

The footage ends with the assailant apparently being detained by the woman, the unnamed man and others, although it is unclear what happened next and if the police are investigating.

Jujitsu, which means “gentle art” in Japanese, is a martial art that focuses on holds, paralysing blows and throws to subdue opponents.

It evolved out of the Japanese warrior – ‘bushi’, or Samurai – class in the 17th century as a fighting style designed to complement the warrior’s swordmanship.