Author Archives: BartitsuSociety

Jujitsuffragette!

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 4th July 2014 A member of the secret suffragette Bodyguard society takes down a London bobby in this illustration from the book Bodyguards!: From Gladiators to the Secret Service. Written by Ed Butts, illustrated by … Continue reading

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Antagonisticathlon in France

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 10th July 2014 Members of the French School of Bartitsu undertake an Antagonisticathlon obstacle course.

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Inside the “Hilltop Dojo” of W.E. Steers (1909)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 10th July 2014 These excerpts from the article “The Dwelling-House of an Apostle of Health” (“The House Beautiful”, Sept. 1909) offer a further glimpse inside the extraordinary dojo constructed in W.E. Steers’ Hilltop … Continue reading

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“Ancient Swordplay: the Revival of Elizabethan Fencing in Victorian London”

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 18th July 2014 During the final decades of the 19th century, a cabal of fencers and historians led by Captain Alfred Hutton and his colleague, the writer Egerton Castle, undertook a systematic study and practical … Continue reading

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Glima vs. Three Footpads

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 21st July 2014 Icelandic wrestler and showman Johannes Josephsson, who exhibited the art of glima wrestling in North American and European music halls during the early 20th century, demonstrates self-defence against not one, … Continue reading

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“Self Defense Without Weapons” (1917)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 21st July 2014 A very Bartitsuvian blend of savate, cane defence, jiujitsu, wrestling and boxing is demonstrated in this 1917 newspaper illustration from the Omaha Bee.

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“Jujitsu For Ladies” (1905)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 23rd July 2014 Originally published in the Lady’s Realm magazine, Annesley Kenealy’s article offers considerable insight into the women’s jujitsu classes offered by former Bartitsu Club instructor Sadakazu Uyenishi. IF Desdemona had … Continue reading

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“How a Little Man May Thrash a Big One” (1895)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 26th July 2014 Some simple self defence tricks from the San Francisco Morning Call of February 10, 1895.

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Barton-Wright Demonstrates Jiujitsu (October 1898)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 23rd August 2014 A Morning Post report on one of Bartitsu founder E.W. Barton-Wright’s earliest jiujitsu demonstrations, which took place at St. James’s Hall in London on October 26, 1898. The journalist … Continue reading

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“Exercise With the Double-Handed Sword” (1894)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 25th August 2014 A very rare colour version of artist Percy Macquoid’s Exercise With The Double-Handed Sword, part of his Types of Old Swordsmanship series for The Graphic newspaper, dating to 1894. The swordsmen who posed for these … Continue reading

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