Category Archives: Jiujitsu

Suffrajitsu in “De Rare Jacob” (1910)

Posted on March 3, 2026 by BartitsuSociety

A satirical response to the suffrajitsu phenomenon in this cartoon from the Dutch journal De rare Jacob (1910). The caption translates as “The suffragettes haven’t been at all shy about using their feet for jiu-jitsu—rather like how the ‘weaker,’ more … Continue reading →

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“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 Bartitsu Club of London” (L’Éducation physique : revue sportive illustrée, October 1, 1902)

Posted on February 4, 2026 by BartitsuSociety

Here follows a translation of this short 1902 article; notably, the Bartitsu School of Arms had actually closed by the time this piece was first published. Jacketed Wrestling The Bartitsu Club of London is directed by M. Pierre Vigny, who … Continue reading →

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“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 →

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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”

“The British Jujitsu Society and the influence of Kodokan Judo on early jujutsu in the UK”

Posted on January 9, 2024 by BartitsuSociety

Volume 13 of the Martial Arts Studies journal offers this well-researched piece on the history of the still little-known British Ju-jitsu Society. Along with the London Budokwai, the BJJS fostered the continued study of Japanese martial arts in England during … Continue reading →

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“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'”

Antique English jujutsu gi discovered

Posted on March 21, 2023 by BartitsuSociety

Thanks to David Brough for passing along these images of an extremely rare antique English jujutsu gi, which was discovered inside a suitcase in an English antiques shop. The suitcase also contained a 4th-edition copy of the Text-Book of Ju-Jitsu, … Continue reading →

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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