- Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 10th May 2011
Instructor Tony Wolf will be teaching two intermediate/advanced level Bartitsu sessions at the Western Martial Arts Weekend conference in Racine, Wisconsin, USA. The conference runs between September 15-18.
The WMAW is the premiere event of its type in the USA, attracting hundreds of participants for an intensive four day series of Western martial arts classes, lectures and seminars. It is held at the beautiful DeKoven Center, a 19th century university campus that has been converted into a conference and retreat center.
The Bartitsu sessions include:
Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes
Instructor: Tony Wolf
Class Category: Close Quarters Combat
Class Length: 3 hrs
Experience Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Intensity Level: Moderate
Pre-Requisites: None
Required Equipment: A sturdy crook-handled walking stick or 36 inch dowel with any edges smoothed away; fencing mask or similar face/head protection.
In the year 1899, Edward William Barton-Wright founded Bartitsu as a process of cross-training between walking stick fighting, boxing, savate and jiujitsu. It was the first example of an eclectic self-defence system blending Asian and European combat styles, intended to beat hooligans and street gangsters at their own game.
Barton-Wright defined the principles of Bartitsu as:
(1) to disturb the equilibrium of your assailant; (2) to surprise him before he has time to regain his balance and use his strength; (3) if necessary to subject the joints of any part of his body … to strains which they are anatomically and mechanically unable to resist.
He also noted that:
“It is quite unnecessary to try and get your opponent in any particular position, as the system embraces every possible eventuality, and your defence and counter attack must be entirely based upon the tactics of your opponent.”
Drawing from a selection of classical Bartitsu unarmed and walking-stick fighting set-plays, we will take up the challenge implied by Barton-Wright’s precepts of adaptability and improvisation, thereby continuing the “mixed martial arts” experiment that he began in late Victorian London.
“Belabour him as you see fit”: Bartitsu combat improvisation
Instructor: Tony Wolf
Class Category: Close Quarters Combat
Class Length: 1 hr 30 min
Experience Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Intensity Level: Moderate to High
Pre-Requisites: Familiarity with the cane and unarmed sub-systems of Bartitsu.
Required Equipment: A sturdy crook-handled walking stick or 36 inch dowel with any edges smoothed away; fencing mask or similar face/head protection.
This class is a development of the material introduced in the “Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes” intensive, dealing more specifically with the process of combining the various sub-systems of Bartitsu. We will practice spontaneity drills designed to “twist” the canonical self defense sequences as a bridge between pre-arranged set-plays and free bouting.