A short “video impression” of the June 22nd Bartitsu seminar at the new (and still under development) Forteza Fitness and Martial Arts studio in Ravenswood, Chicago.
Instructor Tony Wolf led a group of about thirty eager participants through a combination of canonical and neo-Bartitsu drills, concentrating on blending fisticuffs, jujitsu and walking stick defense according to E.W. Barton-Wright’s precept of adaptability:
It is quite unnecessary to try and get your opponent into any particular position, as this system embraces every possible eventuality and your defence and counter-attack must be based entirely upon the actions of your opponent.
Also visible in the clip above are some items from the Forteza “gymuseum”, including original late-19th century posters, antique cast-iron dumbbells, wooden Indian clubs and an 1880s rowing machine.
The new Bartitsu Club of Chicago will be holding its first six-week term at Forteza, beginning January 31st.
Some of our readers may fondly recall the short-lived 1982 TV series Q.E.D., starring Sam Waterston as Professor Quentin Everhart (or Everett) Deverill, an eccentric American scientist/detective who solved mysteries in Edwardian London.
During the first episode, Professor Deverill infiltrates and exposes a hoax spiritualist seance, much in the manner of Harry Houdini, and also in the spirit of Bartitsu founder E.W. Barton-Wright’s article which exposed the secrets behind various feats of apparently superhuman strength.
Fittingly enough, when the exposed hoaxer calls in some bully-boys to deal with Professor Deverill, the latter responds with a very Bartitsu-like combination of fisticuffs and jiujitsu …
Amidst intrigue and explosions, the Great Detective exhibits some deft atemi-waza (striking techniques), a nonchalant disarm against a pistol-wielding enemy and a picture-perfect combat combination with a tightly-furled umbrella in this new trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (opening December 2011).
The documentary Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes is now available via Amazon.com. You can read an interview about the documentary and its production here and watch the trailer right here:
Longtime Bartitsu aficionados are well aware of Marcus Tindal’s eccentric 1901 article Self Protection on a Cycle, which appears to have been inspired both by E.W. Barton-Wright’s articles on self defence with walking sticks and by this 1900 letter published in the London Bicycle Club Gazette. Tindal’s article included several ingenious techniques involving the use of bicycle pumps, water pistols and bikes themselves as weapons of self defence:
In this video, Canadian stunt team Riot A.C.T. offers an updated take on the same idea …
The world’s most famous investigator clashes with the world’s most preposterous narrator in You’ve Ruined a Perfectly Good Mystery! — a play that hilariously exploits and subverts theatrical conventions and classic detective stories. Audiences decide which clues the detective and his associate follow in a fantastic investigation that features entertaining combat, dastardly schemes inspired by Victorian-era science fiction, an increasingly vexed protagonist, and cultural references as diverse as Shakespeare, Abbott & Costello, Oscar Wilde, and Monkey Island video games.
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Events, Training, videos | Bartitsu Society Monday, 23rd January 2012 | 
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