Author Archives: BartitsuSociety

“Fiendish Science”: a Pearson’s Magazine Editor Recalls His First Encounter with E.W. Barton-Wright

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 31st January 2018 When E.W. Barton-Wright returned to England in 1898, after a three-year sojourn in Japan, he lost little time in starting to promote the then-almost totally unknown martial art of … Continue reading

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Dr. Emelyne Godfrey Reviews “Her Own Hero: The Origins of the Women’s Self Defense Movement”

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 29th January 2018 Dr. Emelyne Godfrey has reviewed Wendy Rouse’s history of the women’s self-defence movement in the USA for the academic journal Martial Arts Studies.  Dr. Godfrey’s review is available as a free, downloadable PDF via … Continue reading

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Re: Public Screenings of “Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes”

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 23rd January 2018 Just a reminder that the 2011 documentary Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes cannot legally be screened at venues such as public libraries, nor at events such as steampunk … Continue reading

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“The Eight Olympians”

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 15th January 2018 By 1907 the art of jiujitsu was becoming thoroughly integrated into English popular culture. It had been written into plays and novels and was the subject of greeting cards, … Continue reading

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More from the Santiago Stickfighters

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 12th January 2018 Andres Morales (in the fencing mask with white trim) demonstrates the Vigny style in action against an opponent using a more generic style in this recent sparring match: In … Continue reading

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Gentlemanly Fisticuffs in Seattle

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 11th January 2018 An academic exhibition of the manly art of pugilism from a 19th century history event in Seattle. Note the use of the milling guard with elbow covers rolling into … Continue reading

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“Women and Self-Protection” (1922)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 6th December 2017 This article from the Pall Mall Gazette of March 17, 1922 offers self-defence advice according to the system of Professor Padian, who is described as “the Master at Arms … Continue reading

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Bartitsu Avec L’Ost du Griffon Noir

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 2nd October 2017 Members of l’Ost du Griffon Noir historical martial arts club in Toulouse, France pose in quasi-Edwardian garb after a recent Bartitsu seminar.  The club has been offering periodic Bartitsu training sessions … Continue reading

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The Aerial Wrestling Girls (1905)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 9th June 2017 By 1905 the novelty of mixed-style wrestling matches was beginning to wear thin for London music hall audiences, so some creative developments were deemed to be in order. Thus, the … Continue reading

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“Queensberry Justice”

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 3rd June 2017 Over the past ten years or so, the martial arts of Bartitsu and (especially) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “baritsu” have been incorporated into numerous Sherlock Holmes pastiche stories. Frequently, Holmes’ … Continue reading

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