Author Archives: BartitsuSociety

The Mysteries of the Embok Kwai (1900-1902)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 4th March 2017 “… he was initiated into the Order of the Embok Kwai, the sole purpose of which is to teach, perpetuate and protect the secrets of jiu-jitsu.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer, 1st … Continue reading

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The Gentlemanly Art of Bartitsu

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 20th October 2009 In 2008 the popular Art of Manliness website featured an extensive article on Bartitsu. An expanded version of that article appears in the new Art of Manliness book, available from Amazon.com. Generation X … Continue reading

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The Eccentric Evolution of Boxing Armour

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 14th June 2010 The first patented suit of boxing armour was registered with the US Patent Office in 1895. Joseph Donovan’s invention offered protection to the most vulnerable parts of the boxer’s … Continue reading

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The E.W. Barton-Wright Memorial Project

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site Saturday, 23rd August 2008 E.W. Barton-Wright, the founder of Bartitsu, died in 1951 at the age of ninety and was buried in what the late martial arts historian Richard Bowen described as a “pauper’s … Continue reading

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The Case of the Imaginary Sensei

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 29th May 2010 Eager would-be students of jiujitsu in early Edwardian England had limited options to learn the mysterious Japanese art of self defence. During the period 1899-1902 they might have trained … Continue reading

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The Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 8th November 2010 Located in the town of Belfast, New York, the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame is situated in the training barns in which William Muldoon trained the great John L. Sullivan for his epic 75-round World … Continue reading

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Terence Hill Wields a Mean Cane

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 13th May 2018 Readers of a certain vintage may fondly recall the Terence Hill/Bud Spencer buddy comedies of the 1970s, which were best known for their paper-thin plots and gleefully inventive fight … Continue reading

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Suffrajitsu Issue #2: Inside the Bartitsu Club

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 25th February 2015 On a rainy London evening, Persephone Wright spars with her Uncle Edward in the Bartitsu Club … but later: Shocking events propel the Amazons into a daring rescue mission … Continue reading

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Suffragettes and Jiu-Jitsu (1910)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 9th September 2011 From the Wanganui Chronicle, 9 August 1910, Page 5. No longer is the annoying male interjector to disturb the tranquility of the peaceful Suffragette at her meetings (says the London … Continue reading

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Speculations on Bartitsu (Kick)Boxing

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 30th July 2010 Update: since the following article was written, the Bartitsu Society has come across this 1901 interview with E.W. Barton-Wright that offers some more information on his conception of “Bartitsu kickboxing”. E.W. Barton-Wright … Continue reading

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