Author Archives: BartitsuSociety

“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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“Self Defence for Women” by Nohata Showa (1914) Now Translated and Re-Published

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on June 3rd, 2017 Although Emily Diana Watts’ Fine Art of Jujutsu was first published in 1906, Self Defense for Women (1914) may well have been the first booklet written by a female author to specifically deal with jujutsu … Continue reading

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“Girl of Whom Footpads Should Beware” (Daily Mirror, January 22, 1914)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on November 20, 2017 Hetty Beard, the young lady demonstrating umbrella self-defence above, may have been among Pierre and Marguerite Vigny’s students. The Vignys themselves, however, had long departed England for their native Switzerland … Continue reading

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Congratulations to the Winners of the Bartitsu Sparring Video Competition!

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 7th February 2017 The Bartitsu Sparring Video Competition was initiated in November of 2016. The object was to encourage experimentation with a set of sparring guidelines inspired by the styles practiced at the original Bartitsu Club … Continue reading

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Comments from the Winners of the Bartitsu Sparring Video Contest

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 8th February 2017 From Peter Smallridge of the Waterloo Sparring Group: “I was immediately excited by the prospect of the contest. I’ve been training (and sometimes teaching) at the Basingstoke Bartitsu Irregulars … Continue reading

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“Assault-at-Arms at the Bartitsu School” (1901)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 7th February 2017 An advertisement in the Sporting Times, promoting one of the assault-at-arms exhibitions staged at the Bartitsu Club in Shaftesbury Avenue.

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“Attacked by Hooligans”: a Self-Defence Skit with Pierre Vigny and Miss Sanderson

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 5th February 2017 The Friday, 16 October 1903 edition of The Sporting Life included this short description of a self-defence skit performed by Pierre Vigny and “Miss Sanderson”, who was, in her private … Continue reading

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