Bartitsu at CombatCon 2012

Bartitsu instructor Tony Wolf (left) will be teaching an introductory class among the many attractions of CombatCon 2012 at the Tuscany Suites hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada (July 6-8).

A confluence of Western martial arts with pop-culture entertainment genres (horror, pirates, science fiction, steampunk etc.), CombatCon offers a very wide assortment of hands-on classes, demonstrations, panel discussions and vendor’s booths. 19th century antagonistics were well-represented at last years’ convention, which also included a large “museum” room devoted to steampunk artifacts … who knows what else CombatCon 2012 has in store?

Bartitsu seminar with Tony Wolf at Forteza Fitness and Martial Arts (Chicago)

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.

Bartitsu at Forteza Fitness, Physical Culture and Martial Arts (Chicago, IL)

Tony Wolf will be teaching an intensive introductory Bartitsu seminar, with the option of an ongoing six-week training course, among the many attractions of the new Forteza Fitness, Physical Culture & Martial Arts school in Ravenswood, Chicago (website forthcoming).

What is Bartitsu?

In the year 1899, Edward William Barton-Wright devised a system of cross-training between jujitsu, British boxing, kicking, wrestling and self defense with an umbrella or walking stick.  Bartitsu was created so that the ladies and gentlemen of London could beat street gangsters and hooligans at their own dastardly game.

Promoted via magazine and newspaper articles, exhibitions, lectures and challenge matches, Barton-Wright’s School of Arms and Physical Culture quickly became a place to see and be seen.  Famous actors, athletes and soldiers enrolled to learn the mysteries of Bartitsu.

After Barton-Wright’s school closed down under unknown circumstances in early 1902, Bartitsu was abandoned as a work in progress and almost forgotten throughout the 20th century … apart from a famous, cryptic reference in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of the Empty House”.

One hundred years later, the International Bartitsu Society was formed to research and then revive the “New Art of Self Defence”.  The modern revival is an open-source, community-based effort to continue Barton-Wright’s radical cross-training experiments.

What will we learn?

The introductory seminar will begin with a discussion of the origins, loss and revival of Bartitsu.  A series of warm-up exercises will then segue into drills and games exploring several of Barton-Wright’s fundamental principles of combat, especially the skills of manipulating an opponent’s balance and of tactical spontaneity.

We will then study a representative series of jujitsu and stick fighting sequences taken directly from Barton-Wright’s original system.  Next, we’ll work on transitioning from set-play sequences into a more realistic freestyle format, referring to the principles explored earlier in the day, before a warm-down and Q&A session.

Participants who wish to follow through into the six-week, twelve lesson basic training course will find this seminar an excellent grounding in the art of Bartitsu.

Where?

Forteza Fitness, Physical Culture and Martial Arts

4437 N. Ravenswood
Chicago, IL

Patterned after a Victorian-era physical culture studio, Forteza features a 5000 square foot training area with brick walls and high timber ceiling.  The training area is equipped with mats, weapons and a “gymuseum” of functional antique physical culture apparatus including Indian clubs, iron dumbbells and medicine balls, as well as rowing and weightlifting machines dating to the late 1800s.

When?

Sunday, January 22nd; 11.00 – 5.30 pm, with a half-hour lunch break.

How much?

$60.00 pays for your place in the introductory seminar and automatically deducts $25.00 from the cost of the optional 6-week basic training course.

What should I bring?

Comfortable workout clothing, packed lunch if you wish, and a drink bottle.  We will have a limited number of training canes available for the stick fighting portion of the seminar, but participants are encouraged to bring their own sturdy hook-handled umbrella, walking stick and/or roughly 36″ hardwood dowel, with any edges smoothed away.

I’m in! How do I register?

Email us to pre-register – we will confirm your registration and send you a PayPal link.  Alternatively, you can pay by cash or check on the day.

Cane fighting seminar in Wuppertal, Germany

Instructor Stefan Dieke will be holding a seminar on the Vigny method of stick fighting on December 17th & 18th.

Topics:

* Vigny’s stick fighting concepts
* representative canonical techniques
* exploring variations
* similarities and differences between a cane and a singlestick and how this affects fighting techniques
* fundamental singlestick exercises and their adoptions for the cane
* abstract exercises building up fundamental skills

Venue: the Alte Kampfkunst historical martial arts school, Paradestr. 57 a
42107 Wuppertal, Germany

Fee: 130 Euro per participant

Details: (sorry, in German only) or contact info@alte-kampfkunst.de

International guests are welcome! The seminar can be held bilingually in German and English.

Bartitsu at TeslaCon 2011

A report from instructor Allen Reed on his recent introductory Bartitsu seminar at the TeslaCon steampunk convention in Madison, Wisconsin. Allen will also be teaching a Bartitsu workshop in early 2012.

I drove up to Madison, WI Saturday morning (about a 90 minute drive) to teach my Bartitsu class. The class was scheduled for 10 AM and the room filled rapidly with steampunk fans who wanted to learn about Bartitsu. I was very lucky that Bruce and Bonnie Aller, two good friends and fellow WMA students, were there so I could use them as teaching assistants.

I gave a short introduction to Bartitsu and Barton-Wright and then started working on pugilism. We worked on the left lead and right rear punches and then got into blocking a right rear and then countering with a right rear punch. I then had the group work on blocking a right rear with a right elbow and then use a chopper as a counter. I finished the pugilism section by working on blocking a left lead punch as you go out side and punching to the kidney with what Allanson-Winn would call a “contracted arm” hit.

I demonstrated some of the similarities between throws in pugilism and jujutsu and talked about how throws were used for boxing matches vs. for self defense.

We then moved on to working on Vigny cane techniques. I did have some loaner canes but about half the participants still did not have canes so we had to work on these techniques slowly so everyone could share. I first had them work on “Guard by Distance” and then since we had so few canes I had them all finish with “The Best Way to Disable a Man who Tries to Rush You.”

Everyone seemed enthused and interested throughout the class. I gave out quite a number of flyers for the seminar in January and all of the business cards I had brought with me. I also sold three copies of the Bartitsu Compendia and one of my Bartitsu DVDs.

Video from the 2011 Bartitsu School of Arms and Physical Culture

A report on the 2011 Bartitsu School of Arms (London)

The 2011 (and inaugural) Bartitsu School of Arms symposium was held over the weekend of August 27-28 in London, England. The symposium represented a landmark in the revival of E.W. Barton-Wright’s “New Art of Self Defence”, founded 110 years ago in the same city. 18 participants attended the event, including Bartitsu enthusiasts from the USA and Germany as well as throughout the U.K.

The theme of the 2011 School of Arms was to continue Barton-Wright’s radical experiments in cross-training between various martial arts and combat sports, which were abandoned as a work-in-progress when the original Bartitsu Club closed down under mysterious circumstances in early 1902.

The event began on Friday evening outside the doors of the Shaftesbury Best Western Hotel, the building that once housed Barton-Wright’s club. At precisely the time the group gathered, sheltering from a torrential downpour, the clouds parted and the sun shone through, which was generally taken as a good omen. The group then made its way to the back bar of the Salisbury inn, a classic late-Victorian London pub.

Training began at 9.00 a.m. on Saturday morning at our venue, the ground floor of a Victorian era warehouse in Bermondsey, which roughly made up in 19th century ambiance what it lacked in amenities. The large, white-walled space was divided into 10′ squares by a grid of iron pillars, with enormous wooden beams in the ceiling and a sturdy old wooden floor. A wall display featured a portrait of E.W. Barton-Wright, rare photographs taken inside the original Bartitsu Club and other inspirational images. Rubber-tipped rattan training canes were propped against the pillars and one section of the floor was covered with thick rubber jigsaw mats.

Mornings began with various warm-up exercises, including American wrestler and physical culturist “Farmer” Burns’ upper-body routine. The remainder of the mornings were spent alternating between circuit training, in which small groups rotated between instructors teaching 5-10 minute mini-lessons/drills in savate kicking, boxing, jujitsu and stick fighting, and team-taught sessions in which pairs of participants experimented with self defence scenarios incorporating elements of each of the lessons they’d just learned. The aim was to practice Bartitsu as a holistic art, smoothly transitioning between techniques, styles and ranges as required by the needs of the moment.

After the lunch break, the afternoon sessions featured longer, whole-group classes in each of the specialist subject areas, taught by James Marwood, Tony Wolf, Allen Reed, Stefan Dieke and George Stokoe. These classes covered practical self defence, neo-Bartitsu drills inspired by the canonical stick fighting and unarmed combat sequences, fencing theory applied to Vigny stick fighting and tactical kicking.

The final session on both days was allocated to “break-out” time, a chance for participants and instructors to explore areas of special interest in a less formal environment. In one corner a group would be debating and demonstrating the “garotting” attack of 19th century muggers, in another a pair of stick fighters would be sparring and a submission grappling match would be taking place on the mats.

Evening events included drinks and socialising at the Sherlock Holmes pub on the banks of the Thames and a meal at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a pub and restaurant dating back to the 1700s that was once the haunt of Charles Dickens and, later, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The 2011 Bartitsu School of Arms was a great success and plans are already underway to make it an annual event.

Bartitsu seminar in Racine, Wisconsin (October 8 & 9)

Instructor Tony Wolf will lead a Bartitsu seminar at the DeKoven Center‘s 1875 vintage gymnasium in Racine, Wisconsin. The seminar will run from 12:30 to 5.00 pm each day on the weekend of the 8th & 9th of October, 2011. The beautiful DeKoven Center, originally a 19th century university campus, is located at 600 21st Street in Racine, Wisconsin.

What is Bartitsu?

In the year 1899, an English gentleman named Edward William Barton-Wright created the “New Art of Self Defence” that he called Bartitsu; a combination of low kicking, jiujitsu, fisticuffs and walking stick fighting, designed to beat the fearsome street gangs of Edwardian London and fin de siècle Paris at their own dastardly game.

Bartitsu was the first “mixed martial art” to combine Asian and European fighting styles. It was later incorporated as “baritsu” into the Sherlock Holmes stories, and was used by Holmes to throw his arch-enemy, Professor Moriarty, to his doom from the top of Reichenbach waterfall.

What will we learn?

This seminar provides an intensive, practical grounding in this fascinating system, first taught circa 1900 at the Bartitsu School of Arms and Physical Culture in London’s Shaftesbury Avenue.

Canonical Bartitsu refers to “Bartitsu as we know it was”; the self defence skills and sequences that were specifically presented as Bartitsu by Barton-Wright and his associates between 1898-1902. Neo-Bartitsu refers to the modern application of the art, continuing Barton-Wright’s martial arts experiments in the 21st century; it is “Bartitsu as it may have been and as it can be today”.

We will begin with warm-up exercises taken from the 19th century “physical culture” repertoire before exploring the underlying principles and tactics of Bartitsu, via lessons in the unique combination of fighting styles that made up Barton-Wright’s arsenal of tricks.

The seminar will include:

• a selection of the original self defence sequences represented in Barton-Wright’s classic article series, “Self Defence with a Walking Stick” and “The New Art of Self Defence”

• practical examples of both the canonical and neo-Bartitsu blends of jiujitsu, scientific boxing, low kicking and stick fighting

• discussions on the fascinating history and revival of Barton-Wright’s New Art of Self Defence, the “hold-up” tactics of 19th century street gangsters and the counters developed by self defence masters of the period, and the jiujitsu training of the Bodyguards of the radical Suffragette movement.

This introductory seminar is suitable for participants of all experience levels, though prior intermediate-level training in martial arts, boxing, fencing and/or stage combat will be an advantage.

What should I bring?

Please bring suitable exercise clothing, including shoes; a sturdy cane (crook handle preferred), or strong, smooth dowel approx. 36″ long. Fencing masks, boxing gloves and judo gi jackets are useful, but are not required.

Enrollment

$100.00 per participant until September 17th, with the possibility of the price coming down as more participants enroll before the deadline. Once the deadline of September 17th is past, the fee stays at $100.00 per person.

A bag lunch and water will be supplied for each participant free of charge.

For further information please contact the organiser, Mr. Mario Baleywah, at handmbaleywah@att.net .

Bartitsu seminar at the Academia Duellatoria (Portland, OR)

Guest instructor David McCormick (Bartitsu instructor for the Academie Duello in Vancouver, Canada) will be teaching a special class on Bartitsu on the evening of Thursday, July 28th at the Academia Duellatoria studio in Portland.

Bartitsu was one of the earliest attempts at mixing Eastern and Western martial arts. During the Victorian age in England, the system was billed as the gentleman’s art of self defense and prominently featured the use of the cane or umbrella as a weapon. E.W. Barton-Wright, the system’s creator, recognized that fights have various ranges. The cane, which no gentleman ever went into the streets without, extends one’s reach and lets a fellow defeat an opponent without dirtying his hands. At closer range the hands and feet come into play utilizing savate and pugilism. Closer still, jiujitsu and wrestling are employed.

Cost: $15.00 (all payments going towards offsetting the instructor’s travel expenses)
Time: 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Venue: 4755 SW Oleson Road, Portland, OR
Please bring a cane if you have one.

Contact via this page for all details.

Bartitsu seminar in Spino d’Adda, Italy

An introductory Bartitsu workshop lead by Ran Arthur Braun, with the collaboration of master-at-arms and police officer Maestro Gaetano Papagni will be held on January 23rd at Spino d’Adda (about 20 km. from Milan, driving towards Crema).

Time: 11.00 – 13.30 (unarmed combat)
14.30 – 17.30 (walking stick self defence)

For details, please contact Maestro Gaetano Papagni at gaee61@yahoo.it