The second basic drill from Captain F.C. Laing’s 1902 article The “Bartitsu” Method of Self-Defence, illustrated with photographs adapted from E.W. Barton-Wright’s Self-Defence with a Walking Stick (1901). Click here for the first drill of Laing’s “1st Practice” series.
This newly-released sound film from the Fox Movietone Archive shows training drills and bouting by students of Professor Charles Charlemont.
At the turn of the 20th century, Charlemont had been involved in two controversies that have some bearing on Bartitsu history. The first instance dated to October 10th of 1899, when Charlemont had represented la boxe Francaise against English pugilist Jerry Driscoll in a savate vs. boxing contest in Paris. Professor Charlemont won that fight under extremely dubious conditions; his father Joseph had been one of the judges, the referee and timekeeper were widely judged to have been woefully incompetent and Charlemont’s TKO victory was generally held to have been due to an accidental but illegal groin kick.
Co-inciding with E.W. Barton-Wright’s early promotions of Bartitsu in London and occurring shortly after Professor D’armoric’s ill-received savate demonstrations at the Alhambra music hall, the infamy of the Charlemont-Driscoll fight is highly likely to have influenced Barton-Wright’s various disparaging comments regarding “kicking as the French do it”.
In late 1901, Charlemont became involved in a vehement public spat with Barton-Wright over the promotion of Bartitsu Club instructor Pierre Vigny as the “world’s champion” of savate and stick fighting. In a series of tit-for-tat letters published via French and English sporting journals, Charlemont asserted the Vigny held no real claim to those titles, while Barton-Wright vigorously defended the latter and ended up challenging Charlemont to a prize-fight on Vigny’s behalf.
Charlemont refused the challenge to fight, pointing out that he was a professor of savate and not a pugilist – a reference to his cherished status as an amateur, which would have been lost had he consented to fighting for stakes. Barton-Wright then threatened to send Vigny to Paris to “publicly horse-whip” Charlemont – an extraordinarily vehement remark for public correspondence in 1901. Perhaps fortunately, nothing came of the challenge nor the threatened horse-whipping; both Charlemont and Vigny enjoyed long careers in their chosen professions, but there was clearly no great love lost between them.
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 jiujitsuka had quickly proved their art’s value in mixed-styles contests; French savateurs competed with English boxers and the revival of various Elizabethan styles of fencing continued to flourish.
Icelander Johannes Josefsson (1883 – 1968) was an enthusiastic proponent of the glima (“flash”) style of belt-wrestling, which he had learned while working as a stable-boy in the town of Modruvellir. During a stay in Norway Josefsson became involved in youth-work, and he co-founded the Icelandic Youth Association in 1907.
In July of 1908 he arrived in London, intending to represent Iceland in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Olympic Games, where he would also demonstrate glima as an exhibition sport. On the opening day, political tensions arising from Iceland’s move towards independence from Denmark almost led to a physical confrontation between Josefsson’s small team of wrestlers and the Danish Olympic team. The Danish athletes attempted to block the Icelanders from entering the stadium, but fortunately, Olympics organiser (and former Bartitsu Club president) Sir William Desborough intervened and allowed the Icelanders to march in the opening parade.
Competing under the Danish flag, Josefsson was injured during the Graeco-Roman contest and was unable to manage better than 4th place. While several newspapers offered brief reports on his glima display, as an exhibition sport it was overshadowed by the official Olympic events. His experience at the Games did, however, seed an interest in the confluence of showmanship and athletics which would define his career for the next two decades.
During 1908, Josefsson also wrote the first English-language book on glima wrestling. This was an excellent training manual, well-illustrated with numerous photographs.
Between 1909-19 he toured throughout Europe and the USA, taking on all manner of opponents who wanted to try their luck at Icelandic belt-wrestling. He had several famous (possibly “worked”) bouts against Japanese jiujitsu practitioners in the USA and supplemented his wrestling income by performing vaudeville acts, in which he fended off “savage Indians”, dagger-wielding street gangsters and miscellaneous exotic enemies.
While these exhibitions certainly featured elements of the glima style, photographs and reviews of Josefsson’s act strongly suggest that he also exerted some artistic licence in developing spectacular fight choreography that would “sell” to vaudeville audiences. Josefsson also traveled with the Barnum and Bailey circus for a few years; part of that act involved wrestling with a bear.
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In 1927 Johannes Josefsson finally retired from wrestling/showbiz and returned to Iceland, having amassed a substantial fortune of $120,000 US dollars. He invested this in the construction of a luxury hotel in Reykjavik, which he managed successfully until his retirement in 1960.
Here is the third basic drill from Captain F.C. Laing’s 1902 article The “Bartitsu” Method of Self-Defence, illustrated with photographs adapted from E.W. Barton-Wright’s Self-Defence with a Walking Stick (1901). Follow these links to see the first and second drills of Laing’s “1st Practice” series.
Captain Laing remarked that one should continue the “1st Practice” drill “on through all the hits as described already”. In the context of his article, those additional sequences would include:
* Strike to the left side of the body, parry partner’s return strike to the same area, riposte with strike to the top of the head.
* Strike to the “flank” (right side of the body), parry partner’s return strike to the same area, riposet with strike to the top of the head.
* Strike to outside (left side) of lead leg, evade partner’s return strike to the same area by either 1) drawing the lead foot back to the rear foot, 2) passing the lead foot back about 12 inches behind the rear foot (i.e., switching from the front guard to the rear guard) or 3) simply retreating both feet about 12 inches, then riposting with strike to the top of the head.
* Strike to inside (right side) of lead leg, evade partner’s return strike to the same area by either 1) drawing the lead foot back to the rear foot, 2) passing the lead foot back about 12 inches behind the rear foot (i.e., switching from the front guard to the rear guard) or 3) simply retreating both feet about 12 inches, then riposting with strike to the top of the head.
Laing’s “2nd Practice” drill is identical to the “1st Practice” series except that it requires the practitioners to maintain a greater measure (fighting distance), so that every attack is made on a lunge and every defence is made on a recovery.
A hitherto unexpected development of the Entente Cordiale is the increasing interest that being taken by Englishmen and Englishwomen in the French school of fencing established in London. So great, indeed, has this interest now become that it was possible last evening, with the support of the French Embassy on the one hand and many prominent Englishmen on the other, to give at Steinway Hall what was described as a fencing tournament the Entente Cordiale.
Lord Desborough and Lord Howard de Walden figured amongst the patrons of the tournament, which had as its president Lieut.-Col. Huguet, the military at the French Embassy, Mr. Egerton Castle, acting as director, and Major H. Best as Master of the Ceremonies.
Foil, sword, sabre, and walking-stick, all in turn were used, M. Niox, the president Le Contre de Quatre, meeting Mr. Louis Hole, winner of the second prize at the amateur championship of England; Mr. A. Corble, of the Magrini School Arms, finding a skilled opponent in Mr. Evans James, amateur champion at sabre; and Mme. Vigny, who has challenged the lady fencers of the world, having a brilliant bout with foils wifh Professor Cronier, of the Sword Club.
It was all very neat and clever, and not the least appreciated part of the programme was a remarkable demonstration, given by Professor Vigny, of the art of defending oneself with a walking-stick. Taking a cane by the ferrule end, he used it in such a way that a band of ruffians would have found it difficult break through his guard, and in a match with Mr. Roger Nowell, who has won a reputation in this particular department of self-defence as the cleverest amateur In England, he dealt several forcible blows, which would have placed any man not fully guarded immediately hors de combat. Mme. Vigny also took part in the demonstration, and proved herself little less clever than her accomplished husband.
The success of the tournament was so pronounced, and gave such an enjovable evening to representatives of two nations that it is likely shortly to be repeated.
Here follows an interpretation of Captain Laing’s “3rd Practice” as described in his 1902 article on The Bartitsu Method of Self-Defence.
3RD PRACTICE.
From “rear guard.”–Guard face sideways, then head as already described, retire one pace, right foot leading, draw left foot back to right, making a half-left turn of the body, riposte on opponent’s head and return to “rear guard.”
The Alte Kampfkunst historical martial arts school will be offering a two-day seminar on Bartitsu stickfighting between September 16-17. Click here for more details.
Here follows an interpretation of Captain Laing’s “3rd Practice” as described in his 1902 article on The Bartitsu Method of Self-Defence.
3RD PRACTICE.
From “rear guard.”–Guard face sideways, then head as already described, retire one pace, right foot leading, draw left foot back to right, making a half-left turn of the body, riposte on opponent’s head and return to “rear guard.”
Captain F.C. Laing of the 12th Bengal Infantry (Kelat-I-Ghilzai Regiment) spent several months doing intensive training at the London Bartitsu Club. He then produced a uniquely useful article, The “Bartitsu” Method of Self Defence, which was originally published in the Journal of the United Service Institution of India (1903) and which was reproduced in the second volume of the Bartitsu Compendium (2008).
Like most members of the Bartitsu Club, Laing was a keen fencer and physical culturist who took an interest in unusual antagonistics systems. He would later prototype the “sword-lance” for the British Army in India, incorporating a radically novel sword design equipped with a spiked pommel; Laing recommended the Bartitsu stick system for its use.
Captain Laing’s brief gloss of canonical Bartitsu stick fighting is significant in that it offers a system of “basics”, including some progressive drills, which were not covered in E.W. Barton-Wright’s articles for Pearson’s Magazine. Although Laing’s essay included some simple sketches of basic cane attacks and defences, however, he did not illustrate the more elaborate defence sequences or “set-plays” that he had learned at the Club.
He did, fortunately, offer brief written “examples” detailing several of these set-plays for his presumed readership of soldiers interested in the “New Art of Self Defence”. These set-plays are clearly similar to those that were featured in Barton-Wright’s own articles for Pearson’s, but they also include several details that Barton-Wright had omitted, notably including the use of the point (thrust or jab) with the butt or “short” end of the cane at close-quarters.
This feature of the Vigny system was frequently remarked upon by Barton-Wright himself and by observers of the system in action, with several commentators likening it to the use of a dagger. Laing reported that “Points are made with the butt end of the stick at any part of the body, the most favourable places being at the throat and ribs”.
Here is an interpretation of Laing’s second example, in which the Bartitsu-trained defender is armed with a walking stick and opposed by a man who punches at him.
Second.—A man without a stick rushes at you with his fist. He will probably strike out at your face or body with his left hand; if so, take up the ” rear guard” position and as he strikes guard with left arm, seize his left wrist, and hit his left elbow with your stick, advance right leg and point with butt end of your stick at his throat, then follow this up by thrusting your stick between his legs and so levering him over.
