Author Archives: BartitsuSociety

“The Game of Bartitsu” (Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 12 October, 1901)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 18th December 2016 In the game of Bartitsu, or Japanese self-defence, the other person tempts you to engage him, and then by apt manipulation deftly twists and twirls you to your mother … Continue reading →

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“Making the ‘Knock-Out’ Safe” (The Sketch, September 18, 1907)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 20th December 2016 In 1907 this unusual ring design – equipped with nets reminiscent of the safety equipment used in circus acts – was tested as a way to reduce the danger … Continue reading →

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“Schools Where Men Are Taught to Defend Themselves Against the Attacks of Steet Rowdies” (Illustrated London News/The Chicago Inter-Ocean/New York Tribune, August-September 1903)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 22nd December 2016 The following composite article features a number of little-known techniques from the Vigny method of walking stick self defence, which was a major aspect of E.W. Barton-Wright’s Bartitsu system. … Continue reading →

Posted in Instruction, Vigny stick fighting | Comments Off on “Schools Where Men Are Taught to Defend Themselves Against the Attacks of Steet Rowdies” (Illustrated London News/The Chicago Inter-Ocean/New York Tribune, August-September 1903)

Happy Holidays

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 25th December 2016

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“La Defense dans la Rue” in English

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 27th December 2016 La Defense dans la Rue, Jean Joseph Renaud’s classic work on self defence is now available in English translation from Lulu.com. During 1905-6 Renaud (1873-1953) became one of the first … Continue reading →

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John Steed’s Gentlemanly Art of Umbrella Fighting

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 28th December 2016 The recent blockbuster successes of the Kingsman movie and of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows have firmly re-established umbrellas as the signature weapons of gentlemen-adventurers.  This article pays tribute to the trope-setter, debonair … Continue reading →

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Captain Hutton Demonstrates Pierre Vigny’s Walking Stick Defence (London Daily Telegraph, Nov. 20, 1901)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 30th December 2016 Captain Alfred Hutton was a member of the Bartitsu Club committee and also taught fencing at the Club.  E.W. Barton-Wright encouraged his instructors to learn from each other and Hutton … Continue reading →

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“The Victorian Gentleman’s Self-Defence Guide”

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 9th January 2017 This amusing take on Bartitsu is available as a wall poster from this site.

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“The Gentle Methods of the Berlin Police: Manners of ‘Moving On’” (1910)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 17th January 2017 During early 1910, after the success of the Berlin police in quelling a labour dispute that had escalated into a riot, several British newspapers published feature articles on the … Continue reading →

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“The Bold Suffragette” (1910)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 18th January 2017 This caricature of suffragette jujitsu trainer Edith Garrud, and accompanying poem titled “The Bold Suffragette”, first appeared in the Wednesday, 13 July 1910 edition of The Sketch.

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