Author Archives: BartitsuSociety

W. Bruce Sutherland Teaches Jiujitsu in WW1-era Edinburgh

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 3rd January 2017 Along with Percy Longhurst and William and Edith Garrud, W. Bruce Sutherland was one of the most prominent members of the “second generation” of British self-defence experts. A Scotsman, … Continue reading

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A Letter by Pierre Vigny Sheds New Light on an Old Feud

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 17th August 2018 A newly-discovered letter written by Pierre Vigny illuminates both the style of savate he taught at the Bartitsu Club and his feud with Parisian savateur Charles Charlemont.  Although Vigny … Continue reading

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By Hook or By Crook: A New Weapon for the Millwall Dock Police (1903-05)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 30th October 2017 During the first decade of the 20th century, the Millwall Dock area of London’s East End was a notoriously attractive target for all manner of plunderers, who found easy entrance and … Continue reading

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“The Quarter-Staff Then and Now” (1934)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 14th March 2019 The “last hurrah” of the venerable English tradition of quarterstaff fighting took place on the gladiatorial stages of the early 18th century, when professional roughhousers such as James Figg “took on … Continue reading

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“Bartitsu vs. Boxing” (July 1901 – May 1902)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 11th October 2018 Mid-late 1901 was undoubtedly the heyday of the Bartitsu School of Arms, not least because it was during that period that the School’s champions were put to their greatest … Continue reading

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The 1910 French Craze for “Secret Weapon” Walking Sticks

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 5th July 2017 By 1910, the mystique of the Parisian “apache” street gangsters had fully piqued the curiosity of the bourgeoisie via works of tabloid journalism and popular fiction. Middle- and upper-class … Continue reading

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Yukio Tani at the Royal Albert Hall (1904)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 17th January 2019 This sketch series by Percy F.S. Spence records moments from former Bartitsu Club instructor Yukio Tani’s matches at the Royal Albert Hall on July 2, 1904.  The sketches were originally published … Continue reading

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Did E.W. Barton-Wright Actually Teach at the Bartitsu Club?

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 20th December 2018 After some 16 years of intensive research, we now know a good deal about the origins and day-to-day workings of the Bartitsu School of Arms, a.k.a. the Bartitsu Club.  One … Continue reading

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“Pelea de Navaja”: a Rare Account of Spanish Knife Fencing from 1848

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 7th May 2018 Bartitsu founder Edward Barton-Wright claimed “the use of the stiletto” among the variety of fighting styles he had studied during his many years as an itinerant mining engineer. Bartitsu … Continue reading

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“Shields for Police Constables” (Edinburgh Evening News, 15 September 1882)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 6th May 2018 Like the shepherd’s crook-type weapon introduced to the London police circa 1904, the police shields described in the article represent an interesting local solution to a local problem. Very similar … Continue reading

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