Category Archives: Jiujitsu

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

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'”

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

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Antique English jujutsu gi discovered

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

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

Bartitsu Instructional Videos via the Redgate Bartitsu Club

The Redgate Bartitsu Club has produced a useful series of instructional videos on the basics of Bartitsu as a holistic fighting style, progressing through the ranges of stick fighting, (kick)boxing and fundamental jujutsu/standing grappling. Some samples from each of the … Continue reading

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Jujutsu vs. Boxing (1909)

In this photograph, from a January 1909 full-page advertisement for the Golden Square School of Jujutsu in Modern Man magazine, William Garrud (standing) and Sadakazu Uyenishi demonstrate a kugi-nuki (“pincers”) takedown against a boxer’s left-lead punch. Edward Barton-Wright’s introduction of … Continue reading

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Light Unarmed Bartitsu Sparring from the Cateran Society

Although E.W. Barton-Wright recorded details of the stick fighting and jujutsu aspects of Bartitsu in his Pearson’s Magazine articles, it took many years of painstaking research and educated guesswork to piece together the Bartitsu Club’s take on (kick)boxing. This video … Continue reading

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Early 20th Century French Self Defence Manuals Translated by M.P. Lynch

A heads-up that a number of rare French antagonistics manuals, most dating from the period immediately following the brief Bartitsu Club era, are now available in English translation via Amazon, courtesy of M.P. Lynch. All the translations are available for … Continue reading

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The Soft Art: Ju-Jitsu (The Sketch, March 22 1905)

Edwardian journalists, handicapped by the lack of standardised spelling of Japanese words in English, did the best they could via phonetics. “Tarro Myaki’s” name is properly rendered at Taro Miyake, and he was prominent among the second wave of Japanese … Continue reading

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“Charley Smiler” Suffrajitsu Footage Added to “No Man Shall Protect Us” Documentary

The “Suffrajitsu” scene from the recently rediscovered 1911 movie Charley Smiler Takes Up Ju-jitsu has been edited into the 2018 documentary No Man Shall Protect Us, which illuminates the role of the secret society of martial arts-trained female bodyguards who … Continue reading

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