Category Archives: Biography

An Update on the Bartitsu Compendium, Volume III

As announced in January, work has begun on the production of the third volume of the Bartitsu Compendium, a series that began with the publication of Volume 1 in 2005 and continued with Volume II in 2008. After that the … Continue reading

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E.W. Barton-Wright’s Workplace in Kobe, Japan

Edward Barton-Wright’s jujutsu training took place at the Shinden Fudo Ryu dojo of sensei Terajima Kuniichiro between roughly 1895-1898. That dojo was located in the town of Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture, on Honshu Island. Barton-Wright later noted that he’d taken … Continue reading

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1904 Sketch of Yukio Tani

Former Bartitsu Club jiujitsu instructor Yukio Tani as sketched by a Weekly Dispatch artist during June of 1904, just prior to Tani competing in a wrestling tournament at London’s Albert Hall. Tani was busy during this period, regularly taking on … Continue reading

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Bartitsu mini-documentary

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 20th September 2008 A new 6.5 minute mini-documentary on the history and mixed fortunes of Bartitsu, from E.W. Barton-Wright’s training in Japan in the late 1800s to the modern Bartitsu revival.

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E.W. Barton-Wright’s birthday

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 9th November 2008 November 8th marks the 148th anniversary of the birth of E.W. Barton-Wright, the founder of Bartitsu.  He was born in Bangalore, India in the year 1860, the son of … Continue reading

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Members of the Original Bartitsu Club

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 26th April 2009 Although E.W. Barton-Wright’s martial arts school was only open for a few years, it attracted some notable members and students. Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon was a keen fencer who also … Continue reading

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Edith Garrud: the Suffragette who knew Jujutsu

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 15th August 2009 Announcing the publication of a new book for teenage readers, or indeed for any reader interested in the true story of Edith Garrud, who taught jujutsu to the secret Bodyguard … Continue reading

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Pierre Vigny at 60

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 1st November 2009 This is a very rare photograph of former Bartitsu Club instructor Pierre Vigny, at the age of 60, posing between his friends and fellow physical culture enthusiasts Edouard Jaccard … Continue reading

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The Redoubtable Baron Desborough (July 17, 1909)

William Henry Grenfell, the 1st Baron Desborough, poses with a statuette of himself as a fencer in this Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News photo. The effigy was presented by Captain Alfred Hutton during early July of 1909, on behalf of … Continue reading

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The E.W. Barton-Wright Memorial Project

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site Saturday, 23rd August 2008 E.W. Barton-Wright, the founder of Bartitsu, died in 1951 at the age of ninety and was buried in what the late martial arts historian Richard Bowen described as a “pauper’s … Continue reading

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