Category Archives: Edwardiana

The “Great Anglo-Japanese Tournament” at the Adelphi Theatre in Liverpool

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on November 6th, 2018 The “last hurrah” of the Bartitsu Club as a corporate entity was the ambitious and largely successful “Great Anglo-Japanese Tournament” tour during early-mid 1902.   We’ve previously detailed these provincial Bartitsu … Continue reading →

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The “Dwarf of Blood” on Bartitsu (June-October, 1900)

The following accounts were written for the Sporting Times by a journalist styling himself as “The Dwarf of Blood”.  Many Sporting Times columnists used similarly colourful pseudonyms – “The Pitcher”, “The Shifter”, “The Master”, et al. The author of these articles was … Continue reading →

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Velo-Boxe (“Bike-Boxing”) Cartoons by Marius Rossillon

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 10th January 2019 The French painter and cartoonist Marius Rossillon (1867-1946), under the pseudonym “O’Galop”, invents a bizarre new hybrid combat sport in this 1895 sketch series, which originally appeared in Le Rire. … Continue reading →

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Keeping a Safe Distance in Victorian London

The mid-19th century moral panic over garroting gangs (urban street muggers) reached its absurdist conclusion in this Punch Magazine cartoon, suggesting the invention of a reinforced hoop skirt frame to keep garroters at a safe distance. Sadly, while scholars agree … Continue reading →

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The 1910 French Craze for “Secret Weapon” Walking Sticks

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 5th July 2017 By 1910, the mystique of the Parisian “apache” street gangsters had fully piqued the curiosity of the bourgeoisie via works of tabloid journalism and popular fiction. Middle- and upper-class … Continue reading →

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Yukio Tani at the Royal Albert Hall (1904)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 17th January 2019 This sketch series by Percy F.S. Spence records moments from former Bartitsu Club instructor Yukio Tani’s matches at the Royal Albert Hall on July 2, 1904.  The sketches were originally published … Continue reading →

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Fun and Games at the London Bath Club

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 7th December 2012 The famous Bath Club features significantly in the history of Bartitsu.  Founded at #34 Dover Street in 1894, the Club was named for its large indoor swimming pool, which was a … Continue reading →

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“A Jujitsuous Hint” (Punch Magazine, 1905)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 18th July 2011

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More “Fighting Gentlemen” from the Pencil of Christoph Roos

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 26th June 2011 Another series of Bartitsu-flavoured action sketches by the German artist Christoph Roos. You can see more at his website.

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“The Sword-Lance: a Suggestion” (1903)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 13th June 2011 Captain F.C. Laing was a soldier serving in India with the 12th Bengal Infantry (Kelat-I-Ghilzai Regiment), who in 1902 had spent an intensive several months training at E.W. Barton-Wright’s … Continue reading →

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