- Originally published on the Bartitsu-org site on Tuesday, 2nd March 2010
Instructor Chris Amendola will be offering a Bartitsu class at the upcoming Western Martial Arts Coalition Gathering in Houston, Texas between March 19-21.
BARTITSU: THE NEW ART OF DEFENCE IN 1898
A blend of the “Antagonistics” of Europe (Boxing, Savate and Walking Stick Fighting) with the JiuJitsu of Japan, Edward William Barton-Wright’s Bartitsu was a surprisingly modern approach to personal protection created in 1898. For today’s mainstream martial artist, the idea of being functional at all ranges and cross-training in different systems may seem like “old news”. However, these ideas are old – much older than commonly thought today and Barton Wright’s system provides great insight into just how old.
In this section we will explore the rudiments of unarmed striking from period Boxing (and possibly Savate) and basic techniques of JiuJitsu from the Bartitsu Club (1899-1902), with an eye towards integrating these systems based on underlying mechanical concepts of movement/body-mechanics. “Translations” of these techniques will also be presented for use with the walking-stick or cane. The emphasis in this section will be on Bartitsu as a personal protection system, as opposed to other sportive/recreational applications.
Equipment: Mask, 36″ training dowel, cane, or walking-stick.