A humourous and enlightening demonstration of Self-Defence with a Bicycle, animating the lessons of Marcus Tindal’s eccentric 1901 Pearson’s Magazine article. The demo took place at the recent Dreynevent historical European martial arts workshops in Vienna.
From the Dundee Evening Telegraph of 10 January, 1910:
Paris is no stranger scenes of violence in the streets, but the struggle which took place on Saturday night with Apaches surpasses in ferocity anything which has happened for a long time. The bill for the adventure was one policeman killed and three wounded.
Shortly after seven a sinister individual, of the true Apache type, sitting in a small wine shop the Rue Aubry-le-Boucher, boasted aloud that he was going to kill a policeman as soon as possible. Warned of this, two plain-clothes policemen came up and found the Apache, whose name was Liabeuf, just leaving the wineshop.
They immediately clapped hands on him, but at once jumped back with shrieks of pain. Under his sleeves Liabeuf, it seems, was armed with bands of leather studded with long needle-pointed nails, and these had penetrated deeply into the hands of the policemen.
Profiting from their pain and astonishment, Liabeuf then whipped out a long, sharp shoemaker’s knife, and as quick as lightning stabbed one policeman, named Deray, eight times in the chest, then immediately turned to the other policeman and stabbed him twice in the neck.
Half a dozen other policemen came running up and a terrible struggle followed, but owing to the studded bands round Liabeuf’s arms it was impossible to hold him, and he continually stabbed at random.
Liabeuf then took refuge in the entrance of small hotel, and, abandoning the knife, drew a revolver. At the first shots, Deray, who was first stabbed, and in spite of great loss of blood, had gallantly joined again in the struggle, fell with two bullets in the stomach.
Another policeman’s life was saved by his belt buckle, which stopped the third revolver ball.
A bloodthirsty struggle in the narrow, ill-lighted passage was only ended by six or eight policemen, all of whom showed the greatest gallantry, hurling themselves in a heap on Liabeuf. One policeman, then, drawing his sabre, transfixed him through the ribs, but without killing him.
It was with the greatest difficulty that reinforcements of police afterwards kept the enraged crowd of inhabitants from trampling on the inanimate body of Liabeuf.
Policeman Deray died in hospital from his ten wounds after the gold police medal had been pinned on his breast by Monsieur Lepine, just before the final operation. The other wounded are going on well.
Liabeuf turns out to be a vagabond shoemaker, who was recently sentenced three months for exploiting women in Paris. For this he had sworn to be revenged on the police as soon possible. The leather nail-studded bands were made with all the shoemaker’s skill, and had only just been finished.
Postscript: during his trial, Jean Liabeuf claimed that he had not intended to kill Deray, but was rather seeking revenge against the gendarmes Maugras and Vors, who had falsely arrested him for procuring. He said that he had conceived of his unique “porcupine quill” armour during his three months of imprisonment on that charge.
Despite the support of two socialist newspapers – La Guerre Sociale and The Radical – Liabeuf was executed by guillotine on the morning of Friday, July 1, 1910. A large and hostile crowd of spectators had gathered to protest the execution; the police were hissed at and three shots rang out, one wounding a police inspector in the throat. The police then charged the crowd with drawn sabres, and they were dispersed.
From The Sporting Life – 29 October, 1898
Anything absolutely new with regard what no one will deny is an ancient and honourable pastime (we refer to the noble art) must of necessity be received with curiosity, and, to say the least of it, pleasure.
The noble art of self-defence stands where it did in the long ago, and beyond superiority and inferiority on the part of its professors, remains exactly the same, no better, no worse- as illustrated by Jackson, Figg, Broughton, and Cribb down to Mace, Sayers, Heenan, Travers, Wormald, and the rest of England’s greatest pugilists. It has been left to Mr. Barton-Wright to demonstrate some original ideas, which he illustrated on Wednesday evening St. James’s Hall.
Mr Barton-Wright describes his new art of self-defence as founded upon the principle of throwing unnatural strain upon any one of the joints of the body, arms, legs etc., which anatomically and mechanically it is absolutely impossible to resist. It matters not how strong your opponent may be considered, viz., disturbing his equilibrium, at the time completely overpowering and paralysing his efforts.
In addition. Mr. Barton-Wright’s programme embraced an easy method of extricating oneself from the clutches of an adversary when attacked from behind suddenly and unawares, and in a most dangerous position, in any and every case the claimant to this new art of self defence contends that, notwithstanding the most formidable disadvantages, any and every opponent can be easily and effectually overcome.
On Wednesday evening the demonstrator illustrated all these methods, and showed their salutary effects to an attendance, if not numerous, then decidedly select, many ladies being present.
We may mention that Mr. Barton-Wright argues that boxing only a part of self defence, and that defence implies any means whereby a man is able successfully to meet an opponent. It was essentially a fashionable drawing room entertainment, and received unanimous approval.
At the outset (nine o’clock) Mr. Barton-Wright announced that, owing to disappointment, several of his artists had failed to put in an appearance. W. Clarke and Izar wrestled a five minutes’ bout in the Graeco-Roman style as the commencement to the proceedings. Tom Burrow, the famous club swinger, officiated as referee.
Catch-as-catch-can style came next, between A. Muller and E. P. Gruhn. The latter gained first and second falls and Muller the third. Donald Dinnie, the far-famed Scotch athlete, was here introduced.
Swiss trousers wrestling by F. Scherzdegger and Jean Schwickley. This provoked roars of laughter. Schwickley (anglicised) won the first fall, Scherzdegger the second. A “dog fall”; one of the men, shaking his head, described it as a “notting,” and they rested. Finally Scherzdegger won.
Mr. E. W. Barton-Wright now made a welcome appearance, attired in University costume, with Mr. Chipchase (middle-weight Cumberland and Westmoreland amateur champion). Mr. Heffmann introduced Mr. Barton Wright.
Japanese Wrestling. —The illustrator divested himself of boots and socks. His illustrations were:
Tests of the art of falling, fall on back without shock, stomach throw on Mr. Chipchase.
Neck hold with throttle, throwing a man sideways, receiving an attack in Cumberland and Westmoreland style, holds when resisting a throw, demonstrating a lever weight, different ways of tripping, falls in marvellously intricate positions, cross-buttocks lowering the centre of gravity, different ways of throwing man and holding him down, and a thief’s throw.
There was then a bout with Mr. Chipchase – and finally Mr. Barton-Wright concluded amidst a hearty and well-deserved round of cheers.
Announcing the Ken Pfrenger Memorial Pugilism Symposium, a historical pugilism workshop to be held on Saturday June 17 and Sunday June 18, 2017 in Arlington Heights, IL., USA.
Ken Pfrenger was a well known researcher, interpreter and instructor in historical pugilism, amongst other martial arts. He taught at ISMAC, CombatCon, Gallowglass Academy, the Recreational Violence Weekend(s) and at his own school in north-eastern Ohio.
Ken passed away unexpectedly last year, leaving his wife to raise his young son. A portion of each registration from this event will go to help out his wife. A silent auction is also planned that will include a gift certificate for a full scholarship to the 2018 Pugilism Symposium and numerous other items. All proceeds from the auction will go to Ken’s wife.
Instructors for the symposium include Martin “Oz” Austwick (UK), Kirk Lawson (USA), Allen Reed (USA) and Tim Ruzicki (USA).
Classes currently scheduled include:
Col. Monstery’s Boxing for Self Defense
Principles of Power Generation
Frowned Upon – Perfectly Legal Dirty Tricks
Counter Attacking in Single Time
Using your Elbows in Pugilism
For all classes CLOSED face martial arts head gear, MMA gloves and mouth guard are required. Men should also wear groin protection.
Participants must be 18 years of age or older to take part in the Symposium.
Registration until May 1, 2017 is $200 for both Saturday and Sunday or $125 for either Saturday OR Sunday. After May 1st, registration goes to $300 for both days or $175 for either Saturday OR Sunday.
A block of rooms at the Double Tree Hotel is being held until May 17, 2017.
A shuttle can be arrranged from O’Hare Airport by calling the hotel once you are at the airport.
To make reservations for the symposium and/or to reserve a room at the hotel, please go to the Gallowglass Academy Ken Pfrenger Memorial Pugilism Symposium site.
Rowland George Allanson-Winn, the 5th Baron Headley, was a man of diverse interests and an interesting man. Born in London in 1855, he went on to study mathematics at Cambridge University and law at the Middle Temple before settling on a career in civil engineering, supervising numerous roadwork and land reclamation projects in Ireland and then in India.
While at Cambridge, Allanson-Winn took up the sport of boxing, which he pursued with great enthusiasm and significant skill, winning both the school’s heavyweight and middleweight championships. His voluminous 1899 treatise on the history and technique of pugilism, simply titled Boxing, is today regarded as a classic work. Indeed, Allanson-Winn was devoted to almost all the “antagonistic arts” available to a young man in late-Victorian England, as is evidenced by his co-authorship, with C. Phillipps-Wolley, of the also-classic Broadsword and Singlestick: with Chapters on Quarter-Staff, Bayonet, Cudgel, Shillalah, Walking-Stick, Umbrella, and Other Weapons of Self-Defense (1890).
The following excerpt from that book – which offers some notably sound advice on self defence in general – deals with the use of the umbrella as a defensive implement.
In 1913, Rowland Allanson-Winn converted from Catholicism to the religion of Islam, adopting the spiritual name of Shaikh Saifurrahman Rehmatullah El-Farooq. Upon his death in 1935, he was eulogised by his friends at the Woking Muslim Mission:
To say that he was popular would be belittling his character. He was charming, gentle, kind, lovable — a loving son, a loving father, a loving husband and a loving but, above all, a sincere friend. His was an extremely charitable nature, and God had gifted him with virtues of the highest order.
As a weapon of modern warfare this implement has not been given a fair place. It has, indeed, too often been spoken of with contempt and disdain, but there is no doubt that, even in the hands of a strong and angry old woman, a gamp of solid proportions may be the cause of much damage to an adversary. Has not an umbrella, opened suddenly and with a good flourish, stopped the deadly onslaught of the infuriated bull, and caused the monarch of the fields to turn tail? Has it not, when similarly brought into action, been the means of stopping a runaway horse, whose mad career might otherwise have caused many broken legs and arms?
If, then, there are these uses beyond those which the dampness of our insular climate forces upon us, it may be well to inquire how they can be brought to bear when a man, who is an expert swordsman, or one who has given attention to his fencing lessons, is attacked without anything in his hands save the homely umbrella.
It is, of course, an extremely risky operation prodding a fellow-creature in the eye with the point of an umbrella; and I once knew a man who, being attacked by many roughs, and in danger of losing his life through their brutality, in a despairing effort made a desperate thrust at the face of one of his assailants. The point entered the eye and the brain, and the man fell stone dead at his feet. I would therefore only advocate the thrusting when extreme danger threatens—as a dernier resort, in fact, and when it is a case of who shall be killed, you or your assailant.
There are two methods of using the umbrella, viz. holding it like a fencing foil— and for this reason umbrellas should always be chosen with strong straight handles—for long thrusts when at a distance, or grasping it firmly with both hands, as one grasps the military rifle when at bayonet exercise.
In the latter case one has a splendid weapon for use against several assailants at close quarters. Both the arms should be bent and held close to the body, which should be made to work freely from the hips, so as to put plenty of weight into the short sharp prods with which you can alternately visit your opponents’ faces and ribs.
If you have the handle in your right hand, and the left hand grasps the silk (or alpaca), not more than a foot from the point, it will be found most effective to use the forward and upward strokes with the point for the faces, and the backthrusts with the handle for the bodies. Whatever you do, let your strokes be made very quickly and forcibly, for when it comes to such close work as this, your danger lies in being altogether overpowered, thrown down, and possibly kicked to death; and, as I have before hinted, when there is a choice of evils, choose the lesser, and don’t be the least squeamish about hurting those who will not hesitate to make a football of your devoted head should it unfortunately be laid low.
Then, again, there is no better weapon for guarding a heavy blow aimed at you with a thick bludgeon than an umbrella, which, with its wire ribs and soft covering, is almost unbreakable, when all its ribs are held tightly with both hands; it is also, for the same reason, when thus grasped with both hands, an excellent defence against the attack of a large powerful dog, which may spring at your throat; but, in this case, remember to get one of your legs well behind the other so as to bring most of the weight of your body on the foremost leg, and, if you are lucky, you may have the satisfaction of throwing the animal on his back.
Thrusting, prodding, and guarding, then, may be called the strong points of the gamp; it is no use for hitting purposes, and invariably tumbles to pieces, comes undone, and gets into a demoralized condition when one tries to make it fulfil all the conditions of the unclothed walking-stick. Besides which, the handles are never made strong enough for hitting, and the hittee is protected by the folds of silk.
Hitting, then, is the weak point of the gamp. Try to remember this when you feel inclined to administer a castigation to man or beast, and bear in mind that a comic scene may ensue, when, hot and angry, you stand with your best umbrella broken and half open, with the silk torn and the ribs sticking out in all directions.
Sometimes umbrellas have been made even more effective weapons by what is called a spring dagger, which consists of a short, strong knife or dirk let into the handle, and is readily brought into play by a sudden jerk, or by touching a spring. This may be all very well for travellers in the out-of-the-way regions of Spain, Sicily, or Italy, but I don’t like these dangerous accessories for English use, as they may be unfortunately liable to abuse by excitable persons.
From the New Orleans Times-Democrat of Sunday, December 30, 1900:
“Baritsu”, as the comparatively new form of self-defense is called, would appear, says the London Free Lance, to be acquiring popularity. Already the base school in the Shaftesbury Avenue is crowded and a branch establishment is to be opened.
This, after all, is not to be wondered at. Pugilism savors of brutality, in spite of all that has been said and is urged to the contrary. The rapier is an antiquated weapon; the singlestick is of no practical use; foils find favor only on the continent. The walking stick, on the other hand, we have always with us, and in these days and nights of hooligans we never know at which moment we may not be called upon to use it either in self-defense or in the defense of others.
Baritsu is, practically, the art of self-defense with the walking stick. At the school in Shaftesbury Avenue all the most telling strokes that it is possible to make with an ordinary walking stick are explained, illustrated and taught, and the pupil is shown how to best tackle the man – say, a street rough – “who comes at you anyhow with a stick. ”
Personally, I am of the opinion that every young fellow ought to learn Baritsu, for it appears to be the one the mode of self-defense liable to prove of practical use to any man and at any moment, even to the man who lives, moves and has his being only in this prosaic city of London.
From the Hastings and St Leonards Observer of 15 April, 1905:
The local Companies of Engineers are to congratulated on affording the Hastings public their first experience the wonderful Japanese style of wrestling, Ju-ji-tsu. It was at the smoking concert held by them at the Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday that Prof. Uyenishi, the world’s champion, and instructor the Army Headquarters’ Gymnastic Staff, Aldershot, gave a most interesting exposition of the art. There was, naturally, a large attendance, including the Mayor (Councillor Eaton), who presided. Captain Holman (commanding officer), Mrs. Holman, Councillor Bones, Major F. G. Langham, Captain E. H. Langham, Lieut. Davenport Jones, Mr. Culhane, Mr. Allford, Mr. Deck, etc.
The Professor is small, but thickly set. For wrestling purposes he dresses in a sort of coat, open in front, reaching the thighs and enclosed in a leathern belt. His legs and feet are bare. At the start he gave an interesting display of the various throws and locks, with the aid of one his pupils. The locks were little technical, though the energy with which the victim banged the floor each time to show he had enough showed they were genuine. The great thing is to break your man’s arm if does not cry “Cave.”
The throws were simpler. The pupil trod on Uyenishi’s foot and threw him over his shoulder. Then, putting his foot in the Professor’s stomach, he fell backwards, and hurled him oyer his head. Then he kicked the man’s right knee and overbalanced him that way. Again, after an attack round Uyenishi’s waist, that gentleman issued a confused mass of arms and legs over his pupil’s shoulder. Every time Uyenishi fell down beautifully, with a nice sound plump.
Then out came P.C. Craske in somewhat similar garb, his 6ft. 2in. towering over the Professor’s 5ft. 3in. In the bout Craske was wary and tried to keep Uyenishi at a distance, while his opponent stood lackadaisically looking at him till saw an opening, and then acted sharply. After a failure or two he did the stomach trick, but Craske cleverly got up again without Uyenishi effecting his lock, somewhat to the latter’s surprise. The next time, however, was fatal, for about two minutes from the start Uyeniehi got him down the same way again and had him helpless round the neck and arms.
The second bout was a little shorter. Uyenishi gave Craske a fall which would have been final in the catch-as-catch-can, but the policeman got up again, and after Craske had seemed to push himself over, Uyenishi put his leg over his chest, pulled his arm out—and Craske kicked. Afterwards the Jap remarked on the Hastinger’s quickness for a big man.
To show his wriggling powers Uyenishi then lay down, on his back, with four men, two on each side, pressing pole down across his neck. Uyenishi lay still for a few moments, kicked his legs up, twisted over, and wriggled out in a second.
The last item in this most interesting performance was a bout with his pupil to show what Ju-ji-tsu is like between two men who know the code.
After the exceedingly interesting display of Ju-ji-tsu at the Engineers’ smoker at the Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday, an Observer representative found his way to the back of the stage to have chat with Prof. Uyenishi of Osaka, Japan, the world’s champion in his own particular style. He was busy dressing to catch the 9.30 train to town, and was surrounded by small crowd of people, but by snatches the Press man managed to get what he wanted.
Prof. Uyenishi, like all the Japanese, is only a small man. He stands 5ft., 2ins., and weighs 9st. 7 1bs., yet has defeated all opponents, and challenges all comers, and has thrown out a special challenge to the Russian Hackenschmidt to defeat him ten times in an hour. The Catch-as-catch-can-man, unfortunately, cannot take it on.
No one could mistake the Professor for anything but a Japanese. Of course, he dresses European-wise, but with his coal black, close cropped hair, dark skin, thick moustache, and black eyes peering through spectacles, is a physical type of his race. He is also a type of the race in his courtesy if what one hears of the excellence of Eastern manners is correct. He speaks English, not perfectly, but well, with an interesting clipped-off pronunciation. In the intervals of exhibiting different styles of “holds” on everyone near him, the Professor told our representative that he had been in England 3 1/2 years, first on the stage.
Then he was seized with an ambition to have his system introduced to the Army and Navy, so he left the stage and devoted his time to teaching. In this respect he had a great success on Monday evening, for while was performing at Sandhurst, a man came up, and wrestled, not with him, but with a pupil, who had had only five months’ training. After had been defeated several times the man said he was Sergeant Dacombe, the strongest man in the two Forces, and had been specially sent to see what Ju-ji-tsu could do against superior strength.
The Professor is instructor the Gymnastic Staff at the Headquarters Gymnasium, Aldershot. Professor Uyenishi expressed admiration for our English styles of wrestling, but said they had no self-defence, which was the great thing in his method. They had styles like ours in Japan. Ju-ji-tsu, as everyone knows, based on thorough knowledge of anatomy, and of the weak spots in the human body.
“My system,” Uyenishi said, “never hardens muscles,” and to give a physical demonstration he bared his arm. There was a sort of bag hanging down from the triceps. Our representative felt it; it was soft as a half-inflated football bladder. One’s fingers appeared to go through and touch the other side, until he hardened it, and then it was like iron. The other muscles were just the same, and when stiffened became as hard as nails. We have never felt any muscle half as soft, and not many as hard. This produces pliability and quickness of action. “My system,” said the wrestler, “is never to put out the strength until the very moment of action,” and this was evident on the stage, when he walked about as lazily as possible till the very moment when he had the man over.
Professor Uyenishi said he has had many fights on the stage at the Tivoli and Empire, including some with the Russian champion, who appeared previous to Hackenschmidt and with Cherpillod, the Swiss champion, for whom he has great respect. Hardly had he said this when he finished dressing, and out came a cigarette case and a cigarette. Surprise was expressed, but the Professor said he smokes, and does not think it bad for his wrestling.
Then, with a handshake all round, and he shakes like a true born Briton, Professor Uyenishi and his pupil went off in hurry to catch the train. Our representative came away fired with desire to try on Sandow some of the tricks he had seen performed. There is a possibility of a Ju-ji-tsu class being started in Hastings.
The following anonymous letter to the editor was originally published in the St. James’s Gazette of March 9th, 1905.
Sir, —Jujitsu seems to be the fashionable graven image of the moment before which the whole athletic world is bowing down. English wrestling is abasing itself before this foreign god nightly at the Lyceum Theatre, where the best of our English wrestlers are being used for dusting scenery and wiping the floor.
Is it, or is it not, a fact, that all the holds and tricks which the Ju-jitsu experts beat our wrestlers, and compel them to hammer the floor in agonised token of defeat, should properly be called “fouls”? English wrestling knows nothing of these tricks; but it is not hard to imagine that English wrestlers could invent a few that would have the same effect on Japanese wrestlers as Ju-jitsu has on English experts.
The Jap gets a twist on the Englishman’s arm of a sort that gives intense pain, and would result in a fracture if the victim did not at once give in. Why not invent an English art of Ju-jitsu which might include such holds as, say, seizing the opponent’s ear in the teeth, or thrusting the fist in his mouth and retaining it there; sitting firmly on the face, or pressing tightly on the wind-pipe with the knee? A little imagination will supply no end of victory-compelling holds.
I don’t know, but a sort of patriotic pride makes me wonder how the Ju-jitsu experts would shine in a wrestling contest according to English rules— all “fouls,” English or foreign, barred.
The turn of the 20th century was something of a boom time for academic and popular interest in unusual fighting styles, exemplified by Bartitsu’s eclectic combination of Japanese and European martial arts and also by the trend towards reviving historical fencing methods. Captain Alfred Hutton taught the arts of rapier and dagger, sword and buckler and two-handed sword fencing at the Bartitsu Club, which he was moved to describe as “the headquarters of ancient swordplay in England”.
This article from The Tatler of 12 July, 1905 glosses the activities of another “ancient swordplay” group that was active during this period:
The Haudegen Fencing Club at Vienna has made itself notable in the fencing world by its revivals of ancient methods of fencing and sword play generally. It has been engaged since 1892 in examining the rules and methods of ancient modes of fighting and in reenacting contests in ancient garbs with as much realism as possible. At their functions, the fights in many cases take place without masks or other protection which would spoil the effect of the historical character of the display. The very nature of the weapons and costumes used at these displays makes the performance exciting and interesting.
The energy which the Haudegen Club shows is not surprising, as the Germanic peoples have always been closely identified with the art of swordplay. Particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries fencing was in very high esteem, being practiced by two famous companies known as the Marxbruder and the Federfechter. The latter company is supposed to have gained its name from a weapon, but this is incorrect as no weapon known as the “feather” has been identified. Both the companies enjoyed special privileges. The members largely faught with the two-handed sword and the “dussak,” a very curious wooden weapon, the shape of which seems to indicate that it was a forerunner of the modern sword. Fortunately the most minute and careful instructions have been left behind by the users of this wooden weapon so that it has not been difficult to reconstruct its use.
