Category Archives: Wrestling

George Dinnie vs. Yukio Tani (1908)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 27th April 2017 The following dramatic and highly detailed account is taken from the Sheffield Independent of Monday 3rd February, 1908.  It’s particularly interesting as it represents a hard-fought jujitsu-style contest taking place … Continue reading →

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“Fatal Wrestling Bout” (1909)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 25th May 2017 A sad and sobering reminder of the risks inherent in even friendly wrestling, from the Nottingham Evening Post of 22 February, 1909: AMATEUR CHAMPION EXONERATED PROM BLAME. The Westminster’s … Continue reading →

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“Giving In to Get Your Way”

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 27th May 2017 The “sacrifice throw” in which a wrestler drops to the ground, using his own falling weight to throw his opponent, was almost unknown in Europe during the late 19th century. … Continue reading →

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“Weird and somewhat horrible”: the Novelty of Submission Wrestling in 1901 London

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 23rd June 2017 Although E.W. Barton-Wright had been lecturing upon and demonstrating jiujitsu since his return to England from Japan in late 1898, it was not until September of 1901 that London music … Continue reading →

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Johannes Josefsson: Iceland’s Colourful “King of Wrestling”

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 7th August 2017 Due in no small part to the publicity surrounding Bartitsu circa 1899-1902, the first decade of the 20th century saw some substantial popular interest in “exotic” fighting styles.  Japanese … Continue reading →

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“Gentleman Jack” Gallagher Brings Umbrella Fighting to the WWE

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 27th December 2017 Mancunian pro-wrestler “Gentleman Jack” Gallagher is a rising star of World Wrestling Entertainment due to his (mostly) unflappable charisma, technical grappling style and distinctly Bartitsuvian umbrella-fu, as seen in … Continue reading →

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“I’m Teaching the Police to Fight” (1911)

Posted on December 20, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 10th February 2018 The following article describing a Bartitsu-like method of self-defence was first published in Pearson’s Weekly of January 26, 1911. The author’s name is given as Baron Albrecht von Knobelsdorff-Brenkenhoff, … Continue reading →

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Sergeant George Wheeldon’s Police Self-Defence (circa 1905)

Posted on December 20, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 17th April 2018 The City of London police history blog Plodd in the Square Mile offers this short but informative article on Sergeant George Wheeldon, who essentially pioneered the systematic practice of unarmed self-defence within … Continue reading →

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Antagonistics at THEMA 2016

Posted on December 18, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 22nd September 2018 A video memoir of fisticuffs/savate, French wrestling, self-defence and Bartitsu classes at the December, 2016 Toulouse Historical Martial Arts gathering:

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“Glima: Wonders of the Secret Sport of Iceland Which Beats Ju-Jitsu” (1911)

Posted on December 17, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 6th December 2018 This self-defence article by the Icelandic wrestler and showman Johannes Josefsson was published in the Sydney Sun newspaper on June 9th, 1911. Readers familiar with the basics of both jiujitsu and … Continue reading →

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