Category Archives: Biography

“Dr. Latson’s Method of Self Defense” (New York City, 1906) and the “God-Man” scandal of 1911

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 12th April 2013 Bartitsu founder E.W. Barton-Wright once expressed the wish to export his “New Art of Self Defence” to the United States, and several of his articles for London magazines were subsequently re-published … Continue reading

Posted in Antagonistics, Biography, Mysteries | Comments Off on “Dr. Latson’s Method of Self Defense” (New York City, 1906) and the “God-Man” scandal of 1911

E.W. Barton-Wright vs. the Georgia Magnet (1895-1899)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 15th April 2013  Comparatively little is known about the period that Bartitsu founder E.W. Barton-Wright spent living in Kobe, Japan. Arriving during mid-1895, he spent the next several years supervising an antimony smelting operation for E.H. … Continue reading

Posted in Biography, E. W. Barton-Wright, Edwardiana, Exhibitions | Comments Off on E.W. Barton-Wright vs. the Georgia Magnet (1895-1899)

“Six Inches of Steel”: Bowie Knife Fighting Instruction by Louis Juan Ohnimus (1890)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 26th April 2013 Thanks to Maxime Chouinard for locating and forwarding this fascinating, unique technical account of close-combat instruction with the famous Bowie knife.  The article transcribed here was originally published in … Continue reading

Posted in Antagonistics, Biography | Comments Off on “Six Inches of Steel”: Bowie Knife Fighting Instruction by Louis Juan Ohnimus (1890)

“Policewoman Uses Jiu-jitsu on Mashers” (Chicago American, 1923)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 23rd August 2013 One of the most famous and colourful “characters” of Chicago during the roaring ’20s was Detective Alice B. Clement, whose sharp wits, snappy dress sense and enthusiastic use of … Continue reading

Posted in Biography, Jiujitsu | Comments Off on “Policewoman Uses Jiu-jitsu on Mashers” (Chicago American, 1923)

“Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes” Documentary

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 9th September 2013 Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes is the first and only feature documentary on Bartitsu, the “gentlemanly art of self defence”. At the end of the Victorian era, … Continue reading

Posted in Biography, Canonical Bartitsu, Documentary, E. W. Barton-Wright, Reviews, Sherlock Holmes, Video | Comments Off on “Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes” Documentary

Flossie Le Mar, the “World’s Famous Ju-Jitsu Girl” (1913)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 17th October 2013 Florence “Flossie” Le Mar was a pioneering advocate of jujitsu as feminist self defence. Flossie and her husband, professional wrestler and showman Joe Gardiner, toured vaudeville theatres throughout New Zealand … Continue reading

Posted in Biography, Edwardiana, Jiujitsu, Reviews, Suffrajitsu | Comments Off on Flossie Le Mar, the “World’s Famous Ju-Jitsu Girl” (1913)

Captain Laing on Adapting Bartitsu Stick Fighting for Army Swordsmanship

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 20th March 2014 Frederick Charles Laing was born in India on December 5th of 1865, the son of Major Frederick Ernest Laing and Lucy Augusta Laing. The young Frederick attended an English … Continue reading

Posted in Antagonistics, Bartitsu School of Arms, Biography, Canonical Bartitsu, Fencing, Vigny stick fighting | Comments Off on Captain Laing on Adapting Bartitsu Stick Fighting for Army Swordsmanship

The Missing Link Between Vigny and Lang Finally Revealed!

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 2nd December 2017 Indian Police Superintendant Herbert Gordon Lang’s book The “Walking Stick” Method of Self-Defence (1923) is one of the seminal documents of the modern Vigny/Bartitsu stick fighting revival.  Lang credited Pierre Vigny – … Continue reading

Posted in Biography, Mysteries, Vigny stick fighting | Comments Off on The Missing Link Between Vigny and Lang Finally Revealed!

Solved – the Mystery of “Miss Sanderson’s” First Name

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 4th November 2015 Although “Miss Sanderson’s” system of umbrella and parasol self-defence was quite famous in its day, the lady herself has remained elusive. For many years we have known little of … Continue reading

Posted in Biography, Mysteries, Vigny stick fighting | Comments Off on Solved – the Mystery of “Miss Sanderson’s” First Name

Armand Cherpillod in 1905

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 16th June 2014 A promotional postcard featuring Bartitsu Club wrestling and physical culture instructor Armand Cherpillod, shown posing in typical early 20th century jujitsu garb. According to his 1929 biography, Cherpillod was invited … Continue reading

Posted in Biography, Jiujitsu, Wrestling | Comments Off on Armand Cherpillod in 1905