Category Archives: Antagonistics

“Bad News for Honest Burglars” (Dundee Evening Telegraph, January 2 1922)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 3rd March 2016 Very occasional references have been made, considerably after the fact, to the idea that Bartitsu founder E.W. Barton-Wright may have continued to teach self-defence into the 1920s. According to … Continue reading

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The Life’s Work of Percy Longhurst

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 5th March 2016 Percy William Longhurst (1874-1959) was a lifelong wrestling and antagonistics enthusiast, a prolific writer and a significant figure in the history of Bartitsu. Unfortunately, comparatively little is known of … Continue reading

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Staging the Streets: The Theatricality of Science in Fin-de-Siecle Martial Arts

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 27th May 2016 By Peter Katz, Pacific Union College “A Fight Which Was None of Your Own Making”: Martial Arts and the Theater of ScienceAs they near the conclusion of their 1890 … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Antagonistics, Canonical Bartitsu, E. W. Barton-Wright, Edwardiana, Hooliganism, Jiujitsu, Vigny stick fighting | Comments Off on Staging the Streets: The Theatricality of Science in Fin-de-Siecle Martial Arts

“Defence Not Defiance” (St James’s Gazette – Monday, 02 June, 1902)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 20th September 2016 It’s very likely that this anonymous journalist simply intended to pass along the old truism of fencing geometry that movement along a straight line is faster than movement along the edge of … Continue reading

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“Self-Defence as a Fine Art” (London Daily News, 29 October, 1902)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 11th October 2016 Last night, his School Arms at 18, Berners-street, Professor Pierre Vigny gave a striking exhibition of the possibilities self-defence afforded by a simple walking-stick. In these days, when the … Continue reading

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“Engaging Toughs” – The Bartitsu Sparring Video Competition

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 1st November 2016 … by engaging toughs I trained myself until I was satisfied in practical application. –  E.W. Barton-Wright, 1950 Announcing the first international Bartitsu sparring video competition, for prizes of up … Continue reading

Posted in Antagonistics, Boxing, Canonical Bartitsu, Editorial, Instruction, Jiujitsu, Savate, Sparring, Video, Vigny stick fighting | Comments Off on “Engaging Toughs” – The Bartitsu Sparring Video Competition

Bartitsu Gift Ideas

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 17th December 2016 The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume 1: History and the Canonical Syllabus (2005) and The Bartitsu Compendium Volume II: Antagonistics (2008) Compiled by members of the Bartitsu Society, volumes 1 and 2 of the … Continue reading

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“La Defense dans la Rue” in English

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 27th December 2016 La Defense dans la Rue, Jean Joseph Renaud’s classic work on self defence is now available in English translation from Lulu.com. During 1905-6 Renaud (1873-1953) became one of the first … Continue reading

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John Steed’s Gentlemanly Art of Umbrella Fighting

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 28th December 2016 The recent blockbuster successes of the Kingsman movie and of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows have firmly re-established umbrellas as the signature weapons of gentlemen-adventurers.  This article pays tribute to the trope-setter, debonair … Continue reading

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“The Gentle Methods of the Berlin Police: Manners of ‘Moving On’” (1910)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 17th January 2017 During early 1910, after the success of the Berlin police in quelling a labour dispute that had escalated into a riot, several British newspapers published feature articles on the … Continue reading

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