Weekend reading links for 23 September 2011, including: sushi etiquette, cultural insights from 5 million books, Bartitsu demonstration, and great science discoveries.

Last night when I pulled into my driveway it was dark out, but I could dimly see by the light of the stars and moon. So I was startled when I thought I saw someone’s brain in the middle of my driveway.

After a brief investigation, with the reassurance of this morning’s light, I’m not sure if I should be happy at discovering the object was not, after all, someone’s brain in my driveway, . . . → Read More: A brain in my driveway and weekend reading links: October 8, 2010]]>

Last night when I pulled into my driveway it was dark out, but I could dimly see by the light of the stars and moon. So I was startled when I thought I saw someone’s brain in the middle of my driveway.

After a brief investigation, with the reassurance of this morning’s light, I’m not sure if I should be happy at discovering the object was not, after all, someone’s brain in my driveway, or if I should feel unnerved at finding a large mushroom growing in the middle of my driveway that looks like someone’s brain.

While I ponder this, here are some weekend reading links:

• “Twilight” hand model wants fame, recognition
• How to be an MFA student
• Sherlock Holmes and Bartitsu
• A short article on Nobel in Literature winner Mario Vargas Llosa
• Roll your own e-books wiki

Related Posts:

• Tuesday Links for 20 September 2011: writing prompts, jujutsu, nanowrimo, and more
• New Podcast Series – Episode 1 – Beginnings
• 5 quick links for 8 October 2011
• Weekend links 23 September 2011
• Mushrooms on the mulch pile and galumphing through the Internet

This documentary is sponsored by Tony Wolf and the Bartitsu Society, and includes lots of great footage, including the earliest footage of jujutsu.

Bartitsu was one of the first martial arts to combine Asian and Western fighting styles (70 years before Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do) and predated modern MMA fighting . . . → Read More: Preview of new documentary: “Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes”]]> Here’s a preview of an upcoming documentary on Bartitsu, the art highlighted by Sherlock Holmes and one of the first mixed martial arts:

This documentary is sponsored by Tony Wolf and the Bartitsu Society, and includes lots of great footage, including the earliest footage of jujutsu.

Bartitsu was one of the first martial arts to combine Asian and Western fighting styles (70 years before Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do) and predated modern MMA fighting by about 100 years. This art also provided self-defense skills to the Suffragette movement.

The art is currently undergoing a revival, and work is being made towards collecting funds for a memorial for E.W. Barton-Wright, the art’s founder.

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Tony Wolf of the Bartitsu Society has created a very nice video of several of Sadakazu Uyenishi’s jujutsu moves from the book Textbook of Ju-jutsu, showing movie footage from actual techniques.

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 that Bartitsu is the art that captures that honor.

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 . . . → Read More: 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, and fighting techniques from that art are said to be featured in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie by Guy Ritchie.

Related Posts:

• A brain in my driveway and weekend reading links: October 8, 2010
• Weekend links 23 September 2011
• Preview of new documentary: “Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes”
• Earliest Jujutsu Movie Footage?
• New Podcast Series – Episode 1 – Beginnings