Category Archives: Biography

“The New Art of Self Defence: How Bartitsu Reimagined ‘Antagonistics’ in Edwardian England”

Posted on February 16, 2026 by BartitsuSociety

Now available from Amazon, this new book is a revised, updated and significantly expanded version of the “Bartitsu Story” section of The Bartitsu Compendium, Vol. III (2022). As the third volume of the Compendium was a bookshelf-busting 629 large-format pages, … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Antagonistics, Biography, Boxing, Canonical Bartitsu, E. W. Barton-Wright, Edwardiana, Exhibitions, Fencing, Hooliganism, Jiujitsu, Physical Culture, Pop-culture, Savate, Vigny stick fighting, Wrestling | Comments Off on “The New Art of Self Defence: How Bartitsu Reimagined ‘Antagonistics’ in Edwardian England”

“The Repair Shop” restores Yukio Tani’s portrait

Posted on February 21, 2025 by BartitsuSociety

This episode of the BBC’s Repair Shop series features the painstaking restoration of a 1930s oil portrait of former Bartitsu Club instructor Yukio Tani, which had hung for many years on the wall of the venerable London Budokwai martial arts … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Documentary, Interviews, Jiujitsu, Video | Comments Off on “The Repair Shop” restores Yukio Tani’s portrait

Yuki Tani watches catch-as-catch-can wrestling in 1926

Posted on February 21, 2025 by BartitsuSociety

A few seconds of footage of former Bartitsu Club instructor Yukio Tani watching a catch-as-catch-can wrestling championship in Finsbury Park, Middlesex. Tani would have been around 49 years old at the time this film was shot; about a decade later … Continue reading →

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“The Suffragette That Knew Jiu Jitsu”

Posted on November 22, 2024 by BartitsuSociety

A fairly well-researched presentation on Edith Garrud’s role in the jujutsu training of the WSPU Bodyguard unit, contextualised with some background on Barton-Wright’s Bartitsu.

Posted in Biography, Canonical Bartitsu, Documentary, E. W. Barton-Wright, Jiujitsu, Suffrajitsu, Video | Comments Off on “The Suffragette That Knew Jiu Jitsu”

Jean Lafond, the Magician of Boxe Française

Posted on March 5, 2024 by BartitsuSociety

Thanks to Jean-Pierre LeLoup for this guest-post as a tribute to his late teacher, which has been lightly edited – with the author’s permission – for clarity. At 26, Rue d’Enghien, in Paris, a plaque indicates that here is practiced: … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, In Memoriam, Savate | Comments Off on Jean Lafond, the Magician of Boxe Française

“Titan of the Thames: The Life of Lord Desborough”

Posted on February 12, 2024 by BartitsuSociety

Recommended reading is this brand-new biography of William Grenfell, Lord Desborough, whose many athletic and public service accomplishments included some intriguing associations with Bartitsu. Grenfell was the Master of Ceremonies at Edward Barton-Wright’s famous Bartitsu exhibition at the London Bath … Continue reading →

Posted in Bartitsu School of Arms, Biography, Edwardiana | Comments Off on “Titan of the Thames: The Life of Lord Desborough”

“The Attila Gym, Volume One”

Posted on February 1, 2024 by BartitsuSociety

Author David Naimowicz’s book The Attila Gym Volume 1: Reconstructing the Original Method of Professor Louis Attila is currently available via Amazon: This volume is the author’s best attempt to assemble the light and heavy system, its principles, mechanics, repetitions … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Edwardiana, Instruction, Physical Culture | Comments Off on “The Attila Gym, Volume One”

“Mrs. Pankhurst’s Bodyguard: On the Trail of ‘Kitty’ Marshall and the Met Police ‘Cats'”

Posted on April 25, 2023 by BartitsuSociety

Self-defence historian Emelyne Godfrey’s long-awaited new book is now available from Barnes and Noble and other booksellers. Some of the most extraordinary narratives of the radical women’s suffrage movement are those of the Bodyguard – a secret society of martial … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Antagonistics, Biography, Edwardiana, Jiujitsu, Suffrajitsu | Comments Off on “Mrs. Pankhurst’s Bodyguard: On the Trail of ‘Kitty’ Marshall and the Met Police ‘Cats'”

Dr. Emelyne Godfrey Reviews The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume III

Posted on December 31, 2022 by BartitsuSociety

Boasting over 600 pages, the long-awaited third edition of the Bartitsu Compendium is a real treat, being an exploration of Bartitsu yesterday and today, ideal for both new students of martial arts as well as the general reader. This anthology … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Antagonistics, Biography, Canonical Bartitsu, E. W. Barton-Wright, Pop-culture | Comments Off on Dr. Emelyne Godfrey Reviews The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume III

Announcing The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume III

Posted on December 7, 2022 by BartitsuSociety

Published 120 years after the Bartitsu School of Arms in London closed its doors for the last time and marking the 20th anniversary of the modern Bartitsu revival movement, the Bartitsu Compendium, Volume III is now available from Amazon. Over … Continue reading →

Posted in Antagonistics, Baritsu, Bartitsu School of Arms, Biography, Boxing, Canonical Bartitsu, E. W. Barton-Wright, Editorial, Edwardiana, Fencing, Fiction, Hooliganism, Humour, In Memoriam, Instruction, Interviews, Jiujitsu, Mysteries, Physical Culture, Pop-culture, Reviews, Savate, Seminars, Sherlock Holmes, Sparring, Suffrajitsu, Vigny stick fighting, Wrestling | Comments Off on Announcing The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume III