Category Archives: Mysteries

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

“A Hove Gymnasium: Mr. Percy S. Rolt’s Successful System” (Brighton Gazette, September 21, 1912)

Posted on February 8, 2021 by BartitsuSociety

In December of 2017 we were pleased to publish an article confirming former Bartitsu Club member Percy Rolt as the “missing link” between the Bartitsu Club and Indian Police Superintendant Herbert Gordon Lang’s 1923 book “The ‘Walking Stick’ Method of … Continue reading →

Posted in Antagonistics, Bartitsu School of Arms, Boxing, Canonical Bartitsu, Editorial, Fencing, Jiujitsu, Mysteries, Physical Culture, Savate, Vigny stick fighting | Comments Off on “A Hove Gymnasium: Mr. Percy S. Rolt’s Successful System” (Brighton Gazette, September 21, 1912)

The Mystery of the “Japanised Englishman”

Posted on December 29, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 13th August 2010 Pieter M.C. Toepoel was, in a sense, the E.W. Barton-Wright of the Netherlands. A boxing and physical culture teacher and something of a free-thinker, attracted to novelties, Toepoel was … Continue reading →

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The Mysteries of the Embok Kwai (1900-1902)

Posted on December 29, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 4th March 2017 “… he was initiated into the Order of the Embok Kwai, the sole purpose of which is to teach, perpetuate and protect the secrets of jiu-jitsu.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer, 1st … Continue reading →

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The Case of the Imaginary Sensei

Posted on December 29, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 29th May 2010 Eager would-be students of jiujitsu in early Edwardian England had limited options to learn the mysterious Japanese art of self defence. During the period 1899-1902 they might have trained … Continue reading →

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“Dr. Latson’s Method of Self Defense” (New York City, 1906) and the “God-Man” scandal of 1911

Posted on December 26, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 12th April 2013 Bartitsu founder E.W. Barton-Wright once expressed the wish to export his “New Art of Self Defence” to the United States, and several of his articles for London magazines were subsequently re-published … Continue reading →

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A 1960s Survival (or Revival?) of Bartitsu Stickfighting

Posted on December 24, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 27th July 2015 We’re pleased to present this short interview with author Nigel Gordon, who reports that he studied Bartitsu stick fighting as a young teenager in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, UK during the early … Continue reading →

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The Missing Link Between Vigny and Lang Finally Revealed!

Posted on December 24, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Indian Police Superintendant Herbert Gordon Lang’s book The “Walking Stick” Method of Self-Defence (1923) is one of the seminal documents of the modern Vigny/Bartitsu stick fighting revival.  Lang credited Pierre Vigny – albeit via a misspelling – and offered a few more hints … Continue reading →

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Solved – the Mystery of “Miss Sanderson’s” First Name

Posted on December 24, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 4th November 2015 Although “Miss Sanderson’s” system of umbrella and parasol self-defence was quite famous in its day, the lady herself has remained elusive. For many years we have known little of … Continue reading →

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“Are You In Danger?” – a Curious Article on Umbrella Self-Defence (1900)

Posted on December 24, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 12th November 2015 The following short article on umbrella self defence was originally published in the Dundee Evening Post on April 3, 1900. It’s diverting to speculate on the identity of the anonymous inventor … Continue reading →

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