Like Sherlock Holmes? Learn Bartitsu
Sherlock Holmes.
Remember him?
If you will recall, he was quite skilled at thinking his way through problems. But he was also no couch potato — in fact, he was quite skilled in the martial arts, and these skills aided him in his adventures. In specific, he was skilled at the art called Bartitsu, and this was mentioned in The Adventure of the Empty House.
Developed by Edward William Barton-Wright in England in the late 1800’s, Bartitsu is what might be considered to be the first MMA, or mixed martial art, as it combined elements from Western wrestling, jujutsu, British boxing, French savate, Western stick fighting (la canne), and a strong physical culture foundation. Some techniques were published in a self-defence article from 1901 — “Self-defence with a Walking-stick: The Different Methods of Defending Oneself with a Walking-Stick or Umbrella when Attacked under Unequal Conditions”.
Although the art fell out of style, it has lately seen a resurgence of interest. The Bartitsu Society has thoroughly researched the history of the art, publishing two books on its history, and Tony Wolf prepared a short documentary:
Bartitsu is also discussed in the book Absinthe & Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on the Art of Living Dangerously
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Posted in Fitness, Martial Arts | No comments
Here’s a preview of an upcoming documentary on Bartitsu, the art highlighted by Sherlock Holmes and one of the first mixed martial arts:
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Posted in Culture, Fitness, Living, Martial Arts | No comments
In an earlier post I mentioned movie footage of jujutsu moves from a Bartitsu instructor, perhaps some of the earliest motion picture footage of jujutsu in the world.
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Earliest jujutsu movie footage?
July 2, 2009 - 8:21 am
Posted in Martial Arts | No comments
Tony Wolf just posted about an animated gif someone made of Sadakazu Uyenishi, who taught jujutsu in E. Barton-Wright’s Bartitsu Club in London around 1900.
The clip shows the seoi-nage shoulder throw technique, and may represent the earliest motion picture footage of jujutsu and Bartitsu, a martial art I wrote about earlier.
I think it is neat [...]
