Bartitsu Documentary Update

  • Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 11th October 2009
Reichenbach Falls in the Swiss Alps, where Holmes fought Moriarty with "baritsu".
Location shooting at the Reichenbach Falls

Further filming for the upcoming Bartitsu documentary took place recently in Switzerland, London and Northumberland. The Swiss shoot was managed by Ran A. Braun and Tony Wolf, while in London Wolf was ably assisted by Lawrence Carmichael.

Tony Wolf at the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Meiringen, Switzerland.
Tony Wolf visits the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Meiringen, Switzerland

Interviews were held in London with Dr. Emelyne Godfrey, and in Northumberland with martial arts historians Harry Cook and Graham Noble.

Additional footage was shot in Shaftesbury Avenue, the location of the original Bartitsu Club; Kingston-on-Thames cemetery, the site of E.W. Barton-Wright’s grave; Leicester Square, outside the Empire Theatre where Barton-Wright held some of his early Bartitsu exhibitions, and other locations.

Tony2
Host Tony Wolf in front of the Shaftesbury Avenue Best Western Hotel, which formerly housed the original Bartitsu Club.
Will Thomas
Mystery novelist and longtime Bartitsu enthusiast Will Thomas during his interview for the upcoming Bartitsu documentary.
Bayonette
Will Thomas demonstrates a “bayonette” thrust with the umbrella for fight director and martial artist Erick Wolfe.

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Bartitsu in the “Sherlock Holmes Handbook”

  • Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 30th October 2009

The Sherlock Holmes Handbook: the Methods and Mysteries of the World’s Greatest Detective is a new book in the “cleverly themed how-to” genre. Taking its inspiration from the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic investigator, the book offers hints and tips on “How to Use Deductive Reasoning”, “How to Master a Dozen Disguises” and, of course, “How to Defend Yourself”.

The latter section includes a quick summary of Bartitsu lore, correctly identifying Holmes’ “baritsu” primarily with Japanese unarmed combat, although not clarifying that Bartitsu actually included boxing, savate, wrestling and stick fighting as well. However, further items in the self defence section refer to Holmes’ abilities as a boxer, fencer and singlestick fighter, and offer very basic instruction in each of these areas.

A great Christmas gift for Holmes/Bartitsu aficionados, and a great companion piece to “The Art of Manliness” (see previous post).

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Jiujitsuffragettes!

  • Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 30th October 2009

Some scenes from the upcoming Bartitsu documentary, scheduled for release in early 2010. These shots are from a re-enactment of a Jiujitsuffragette “Bodyguard” training session circa 1913.

The Jiujitsuffragettes
The Jiujitsuffragettes in full period costume.

Bodyguards swinging Indian clubs, which were used both in exercise training and as weapons of self defence.
Bodyguards swinging Indian clubs, which were used both as exercise training and as weapons of self defence.

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Pierre Vigny at 60

  • Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 1st November 2009
Vigny at 60

This is a very rare photograph of former Bartitsu Club instructor Pierre Vigny, at the age of 60, posing between his friends and fellow physical culture enthusiasts Edouard Jaccard (aged 69, left) and 67 year old Georges Lambert (right).

After his tenure as chief instructor at the Bartitsu Cub in London, Vigny went on to establish his own fencing and self defence academy in the English capital, returning to Geneva a year or two prior to the outbreak of the First World War. Little is known about his later life, but this photograph from an article in “La Tribune de Genève” demonstrates that he was still in good health in 1929.

The article notes that the three senior athletes enjoyed running together in the countryside around Geneva, and that they all had hearty appetites. It goes on to mention that Vigny and Lambert had fought a “Homeric” boxing bout in 1888, Vigny suffering a twisted knee when he slipped during the match. In December of 1919, the article continues, Vigny had survived a potentially fatal tram accident due to the reflexes and constitution developed over a lifetime as a physical culture and self defence enthusiast.

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Bartitsu Training in Russia

Bartitsu Club Russia

“Bartitsu Club Russia” is a new initiative to promote the study of both canonical and neo-Bartitsu. Based in St. Petersburg, B.C.R. is a collaboration between:

Mishenev Sergey Victorovich (President of the Sergey Mishenev Art of Fencing School)
Chernova Galina Nikolaevna (Vice-President of the Sergey Mishenev Art of Fencing School, fencing teacher)
Ran Arthur Braun (Stage Director & Fight Choreographer)
Nikolai Prokopiev (School Director and Bartitsu Club Administrator)

The first event on the B.C.R. calendar was a Bartitsu seminar hosted by the Mishenev Fencing School, which is one of the leading HEMA (historical European martial arts) and stage combat academies in Russia. The seminar was led by Ran Braun and attracted an enthusiastic group of 14 participants, who were introduced to Bartitsu unarmed combat and stick fighting techniques.

A feature article on Bartitsu has been published in the Kalashnikov Magazine and plans are underway to arrange further Bartitsu seminars in Russia.

Russian article 1
Russian article 2
Russian article 3

Click on the images to see larger versions (in Russian, of course!)

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Edwardian Antagonistics at SWASH 2010

  • Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 14th November 2009
  • Advance notice of SWASH 2010, the flagship conference event of the British Federation for Historical Swordplay. The 2010 conference will take place on February 20 and 21 and will be held at the magnificent Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, UK. The programme includes a significant emphasis upon the “antagonistics” (martial arts and combat sports) of the Edwardian period, as well as classes in the swordsmanship of the Medieval, Renaissance and Regency eras.

The Saturday schedule includes a lecture by Bethan Jenkins entitled Apaches, garrotters and roughs, oh my! – Ruffianism panics and their relation to historical defensive arts.

This will be followed by A caution to the gentleman about town – a demonstration of various dastardly night attacks, in which Dr. Milo Thurston, Ian MacIntyre and James Marwood will present various techniques of robbery attributed to the Apaches (Parisian gangsters), based upon the writing of French self defence author Emile Andre.

Muggers in London colour

This presentation will followed by A brief introduction to Edwardian antagonistics – cane, savate, pugilism and ju-jitsu presented by Dr. Milo Thurston, Ian MacIntyre and James Marwood.

On Sunday Mark Donnelly will present a lecture entitled Kernoozers and Antiquarian Antagonistics being an informative discourse regarding Hutton, Castle, Burton, Allanson-Winn, Barton-Wright and the Victorian foundations of contemporary researches.

Surely a conclave not to be missed!

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“Bartitsu: the Martial Art for the Steampunk Set”

  • Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 1st December 2009

Freelance journalist and martial artist Nick Mamatas has produced a tongue-in-cheek article on Bartitsu for issue #39 of Clarkesworld Magazine.

As well as historical research, Mamatas attended a Bartitsu class hosted by the Botta Secreta Productions historical fencing school in San Francisco, who have adopted the apt motto, “the recreation of Bartitsu is its re-creation”.

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Allen Reed to Speak on Bartitsu

  • Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 9th December 2009

Allen Reed of the Gallowglass Academy will be presenting a talk on Bartitsu at the Victorian-style Centuries and Sleuths book store in Forest Park, IL at 2.00 p.m. on Sunday January 17, 2010. Sounds like a great afternoon’s retreat from the Chicago snow …

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Bartitsu to feature in “Martial Arts Illustrated”

  • Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 10th December 2009

Martial Arts Illustrated magazine, based in the UK but also available internationally, is to run an editorial feature on Bartitsu in its February 2010 edition, on sale 14th January.

The article, written by Nick Collins, will cover the history and the expected revival of interest in Bartitsu in light of the upcoming action-oriented Sherlock Holmes movie.

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“First Point of Attack”: The Action of Sherlock Holmes

  • Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 11th December 2009

A sneak preview of the action in the eagerly-awaited Sherlock Holmes movie, courtesy of Slashfilm.com:

SH fight
Holmes employs his walking stick to fend off a desperate foe.

“It does make considerable difference to me having someone with me on whom I can thoroughly rely.”

In the film, as in the books, both Holmes and Watson know their way around a fight and their skills are frequently tested. Holmes is a skilled martial artist; this propensity links him with both the star and director of “Sherlock Holmes,” as Downey and Ritchie have practiced martial arts for years, and worked together to create Holmes’s distinct fighting style. “Doyle called it Baritsu in the novels, which is tied to a 19th-century hybrid of jujitsu that is actually called Bartitsu, created by Edward William Barton-Wright,” Downey explains. “Jujitsu is Guy’s chosen martial art. Mine is Wing Chun Kung Fu. So, we developed our own combination of martial arts styles for the movie.”

As efficient as he is at neutralizing an enemy in the course of his work, Holmes is also known to blow off steam in a boxing ring at a working class pub called the Punch Bowl. Here, in front a raucous crowd, Holmes takes on a massive boxer named McMurdo, played by David Garrick, in a brutal bare-knuckle fight which showcases the detective’s prowess and physical strength.

“The bare-knuckle boxing ring is the only place where Holmes doesn’t think,” says Downey. “But even there he does think; he thinks about how to win the fight, but doesn’t think about all of these ongoing concerns of life. Interpersonal relations don’t enter into it. It’s just you and your opponent.”

“The Punch Bowl is where Holmes goes to hone his skill, to make mistakes, and test out techniques against very powerful opponents,” comments fight consultant Eric Oram, who for years has trained with Downey in Wing Chun Kung Fu and helped prepare the actor for the fight sequences. “He starts by using the least amount of force in the first half of the fight. It’s only after his opponent crosses the line that he wants to teach him a lesson.”

More out of necessity than choice, Watson too knows his way around a street fight, though he is more of a brawler compared to the fluid combat style of Holmes. “Watson is used to the up-close-and-personal fight-for-your-life stuff,” Downey attests. “He has a much more accessible but no less effective style than Holmes. As a matter of fact, there are often times when Holmes over thinks in order to come up with the best deduction, where Watson will just strike with any tool that’s handy.”

“Watson is a war veteran and used to thinking on his feet,” says stunt coordinator Franklin Henson. “He can throw a wild punch in reaction, and, like a street fighter, he’ll use whatever it takes–his head, knees or elbows–to bring an opponent down.”

Law relished participating in the fight sequences. “When you’re in the hands of someone like Guy, who shoots with such a unique eye, you know you’re not shooting a standard fight scene,” says the actor. “He’s always looking for a new way to reveal the story behind the fight, and he knows exactly what he wants. So it’s good fun.”

Director of photography Philippe Rousselot utilized lighting and camera to make the textures palpable and the fights a truly physical experience. “Guy wants the film to feel to the viewer as if you’re there,” Rousselot states. “A good example is the Punch Bowl fight. It was crucial to bring in every detail, from a miniscule drop of sweat to the effect of each blow on the opponent’s body to the sea of movement and tussling in the crowd.”

Ritchie also used these sequences to deconstruct Holmes’s thinking over the course of a fight. He and Rousselot accomplished this moment-by-moment technique using a high-speed digital camera called the Phantom, which creates an ultra-slow motion effect. “The Phantom takes one second of filming and strings it out over 40 or 50 seconds,” says the director. “The camera takes in a great deal of information in a very short period of time, which is the perfect lens through which to illustrate how Holmes’s mind operates. He is able to condense an enormous amount of information into a fraction of a second.”

For a key action sequence–on a multi-story set representing the half-constructed Tower Bridge–Ritchie rehearsed extensively with the actors, along with Oram and Henson, as well as fight coordinator Richard R. Ryan. “We worked very closely with quite a big stunt team,” notes co-producer Steve Clark-Hall. “They knew Robert’s capabilities, which are considerable, and were able to play to his strengths. Pulling off this degree of high intensity action in these stunt sequences was quite a team effort.”

Ritchie sought a strategic blend of rehearsal and spontaneity to ensure the chaos of fighting was reflected in the sequences. “I made the creative decision to make the film gritty, so I didn’t want things to be too choreographed,” he says. “We discussed everything, but we also made sure to leave room for improvisation. I didn’t want it to look too perfect.”

This sensibility appealed to Rachel McAdams, who had extensive stunt work in the Tower Bridge sequence. “Guy liked to keep things messy and keep the truth within this fantastical world,” she notes. “There’s always the temptation to get too refined when dealing with this period, but Guy made sure it was also rough and tumble and modernized. Doing this movie with Guy taught me to be really quick on my feet and precise, yet always open and flexible.”

Of course, humor was an important ingredient in the action and found its way into all the action scenes. “There needed to be moments of levity and other moments of gravity,” Ritchie offers. “So the funny bits got funnier and the darker bits got darker as we went along.”

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