Category Archives: Savate

Jean Lafond, the Magician of Boxe Française

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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“Match de boxe: professeurs de l’École de Joinville (Leon Beaulieu’s flipbook)” – G. Méliès (c.1897 )

Recently reanimated for the first time in over 120 years, this 10-second clip of a boxe Francaise sparring exhibition between two instructors at the Joinville military school is believed to be all that remains of a lost documentary film by … Continue reading

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Light Unarmed Sparring

Some more light, speculative Bartitsu-style unarmed sparring from the Highland Broadsword Society. Note the savate inflections and the moment of standing grappling. Milling the fists and destructive elbow blocks are characteristic of the “secret style of boxing” believed to have … Continue reading

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Announcing The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume III

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

“Bartitsu: the Gentleman’s Martial Art”

Martial artist Niimi Satoshi offers an idiosyncratic interpretation of both armed and unarmed (neo-)Bartitsu in the first section of this video by Budo Channel Japan.

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More Unarmed Bartitsu Sparring

Another set of light, technical sparring bouts courtesy of the Cateran Society.

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Light Unarmed Bartitsu Sparring from the Cateran Society

Although E.W. Barton-Wright recorded details of the stick fighting and jujutsu aspects of Bartitsu in his Pearson’s Magazine articles, it took many years of painstaking research and educated guesswork to piece together the Bartitsu Club’s take on (kick)boxing. This video … Continue reading

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Early 20th Century French Self Defence Manuals Translated by M.P. Lynch

A heads-up that a number of rare French antagonistics manuals, most dating from the period immediately following the brief Bartitsu Club era, are now available in English translation via Amazon, courtesy of M.P. Lynch. All the translations are available for … Continue reading

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“Moving Pictures” of Savate and la Canne

If Bartitsu Club instructor Pierre Vigny had seen this film footage, he’d probably have shaken his head at much of it. At the turn of the 20th century, Vigny was among a minority of savate instructors advocating for a reformation … Continue reading

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Jiu-Jitsu Against the French Method (L’Auto-Velo, October 20, 1905)

The following short article is representative of the nationalistic arguments favoured by the French media prior to the much-anticipated jiujitsu vs. savate contest between Re-Nie (Ernest Regnier) and Georges Dubois. The correspondent’s comments on Bartitsu are interesting in that while … Continue reading

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