Category Archives: Jiujitsu

“I Charged Like a Bull” – Australian Writer/Composer Kenneth Duffield Recalls Wrestling with Yukio Tani

During early-mid 1902 the Bartitsu Club instructors embarked on a largely successful exhibition tour that was to prove to be their “last hurrah” as a collective unit. Their venues included the Oxford Town Hall, Cambridge University, the Shoreditch Army Camp, … Continue reading

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“At Them, Girls!” How the Amazon Defence Corps Trained to Take on Nazi Invaders

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 17th June 2017 During the fraught summer of 1940, the people of England were bracing themselves for a seemingly inevitable invasion by the German army.  While politicians dithered over whether women should … Continue reading

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Percy Longhurst Takes On Yukio Tani (September 11, 1901)

Despite considerable popular interest in the jiujitsu exhibitions of Yukio Tani and Sadakazu Uyenishi during 1901, many critics declared that they would withhold their judgement until they’d seen the Japanese style in earnest action against a European champion or two. … Continue reading

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Bartitsu at Home: Tommy Joe Moore Teaches Pugilism and Atemi-Waza

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Yukio Tani in 1920

Former Bartitsu Club instructor Yuki Tani is shown executing a collar choke against wrestler Jack Madden in this photo from the Sunday Pictorial of January 4, 1920. Tani won the contest in a time of 14 minutes and 4 seconds.

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W. Bruce Sutherland Teaches Jiujitsu in WW1-era Edinburgh

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 3rd January 2017 Along with Percy Longhurst and William and Edith Garrud, W. Bruce Sutherland was one of the most prominent members of the “second generation” of British self-defence experts. A Scotsman, … 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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Mitsuyo Maeda in England (1907-08)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 17th October 2017 Of the select group of Japanese judoka and jiujitsuka who pioneered their martial arts in the West at the turn of the 20th century, Mitsuyo Maeda is almost certainly the most … Continue reading

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A “New Art of Self Defence” in Ballarat, Australia (1902-09)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 12th May 2017 Aside from the curious demonstrations of “baritzu” by Australian soldiers circa 1906, E.W. Barton-Wright’s martial art may have inspired at least one other Aussie enthusiast during the early 20th century – although the … Continue reading

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“Wrestling or Ju-jitsu?” (E. B. Osborn, T.P.’s Weekly, 1914)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 24th August 2011 WRESTLING OR JU-JITSU? On the whole, catch-as-catch-can wrestling is not a sport to be recommended to amateur athletes. It is true that a knowledge of the chief holds and … Continue reading

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