Category Archives: Biography

Jean Lafond, the Magician of Boxe Française

Posted on March 5, 2024 by BartitsuSociety

Thanks to Jean-Pierre LeLoup for this guest-post as a tribute to his late teacher, which has been lightly edited – with the author’s permission – for clarity. At 26, Rue d’Enghien, in Paris, a plaque indicates that here is practiced: … Continue reading →

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“Titan of the Thames: The Life of Lord Desborough”

Posted on February 12, 2024 by BartitsuSociety

Recommended reading is this brand-new biography of William Grenfell, Lord Desborough, whose many athletic and public service accomplishments included some intriguing associations with Bartitsu. Grenfell was the Master of Ceremonies at Edward Barton-Wright’s famous Bartitsu exhibition at the London Bath … Continue reading →

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“The Attila Gym, Volume One”

Posted on February 1, 2024 by BartitsuSociety

Author David Naimowicz’s book The Attila Gym Volume 1: Reconstructing the Original Method of Professor Louis Attila is currently available via Amazon: This volume is the author’s best attempt to assemble the light and heavy system, its principles, mechanics, repetitions … 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 →

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Dr. Emelyne Godfrey Reviews The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume III

Posted on December 31, 2022 by BartitsuSociety

Boasting over 600 pages, the long-awaited third edition of the Bartitsu Compendium is a real treat, being an exploration of Bartitsu yesterday and today, ideal for both new students of martial arts as well as the general reader. This anthology … 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

“Vigny’s la Canne, Boxing and the Olympics”

Posted on July 11, 2022 by BartitsuSociety

Our old colleague Maxime Chouinard has published some original research – a rarity, at present – on Pierre Vigny and his arts of self-defence. The article Vigny’s la Canne, Boxing and the Olympics does sterling service by offering an alternative … Continue reading →

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An Update on the Bartitsu Compendium, Volume III

Posted on September 17, 2021 by BartitsuSociety

As announced in January, work has begun on the production of the third volume of the Bartitsu Compendium, a series that began with the publication of Volume 1 in 2005 and continued with Volume II in 2008. After that the … Continue reading →

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E.W. Barton-Wright’s Workplace in Kobe, Japan

Posted on February 21, 2021 by BartitsuSociety

Edward Barton-Wright’s jujutsu training took place at the Shinden Fudo Ryu dojo of sensei Terajima Kuniichiro between roughly 1895-1898. That dojo was located in the town of Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture, on Honshu Island. Barton-Wright later noted that he’d taken … Continue reading →

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1904 Sketch of Yukio Tani

Posted on January 28, 2021 by BartitsuSociety

Former Bartitsu Club jiujitsu instructor Yukio Tani as sketched by a Weekly Dispatch artist during June of 1904, just prior to Tani competing in a wrestling tournament at London’s Albert Hall. Tani was busy during this period, regularly taking on … Continue reading →

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