My fascination with all things martial arts has led to many hours reading and searching on the net. I think it was when I was reading up on Judo. It was there down somewhere in the rabbit hole of pure information that I discovered the existence of (yet) another martial art, having the unusual name of Bartitsu.

History

Bartitsu is a hybrid martial art introduced to Europe around the turn of the 20^th century by Edward William Barton-Wright. It experienced only a short episode of popularity in London, and It would have disappeared into obscurity forever, probably, if it weren’t for a passing reference to the art as ‘Baritsu‘ in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes story, ‘The Adventure of the Empty House’, first published in 1903. The name for the art is from a contraction of his last name, Barton, and Ju Jutsu. Barton-Wright had been a world-travelled british railroad engineer, having resided for a time in the empire of Japan. While there he studied both classical jujutsu and kodokan judo. He is recognized now as the first to have taught asian martial arts in the west. Once in London, the Bartitsu curriculum expanded to include elements of French Savate boxing, Cane self-defense, British boxing, and Swiss wrestling.

I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me. (Sherlock Holmes).

Bartitsu enjoyed a brief era of popularity in London that coincided with the need for a gentleman’s self defence in the street, growth in the interest in Asian culture, and the rise of ‘physical culture’.

By combining several martial arts into a ‘complete system’, and promoting Bartitsu by a series of challenge matches between Asian and European fighters with different skill backgrounds , Barton-Wright’s martial art pre-dated the advent of MMA by almost a century.

Bartitsu has been devised with a view to impart to peacefully disposed men the science of defending themselves against ruffians or bullies, and comprises not only boxing but also the use of the stick, feet, and a very tricky and clever style of Japanese wrestling, in which weight and strength play only a very minor part. (Barton-Wright, 1902).

Bartitsu disappeared due perhaps to the poor management skills of its founder, or that is skills were bettered by his associates, or by the excessive cost of the gym membership. The spin-offs paved the way for popular interest in martial arts in the West. He eventually moved on to other businesses such as electrotherapy.

Barton-Wright maintained correspondence with the great Kano Jigoro, founder of Judo, whose acquaintance he is presumed to have made during his sojourn in Japan. It must be in part to the ties Kano had to fellow judoka in far away places that motivated him to work to promote Judo around the world. Curiously, Vasili Oshchepkov, one of the founders of Sambo, was also a student of Kano before he returned to Russia to promote martial arts. Oshchepkov died during the political purges of the day for refusing to deny his education in judo under Kano.

The Bartitsu revival in this century has come about by the grace of the republication of articles written by Barton-Wright in the Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences http://ejmas.com/. A following developed as more material became uncovered and studied. Now a society exists for martial arts enthusiasts to celebrate and share the skills and art of Bartitsu first introduced a century ago.

Train in Bartitsu

There is a much a need today as in Edwardian England to defend oneself against all sorts of ruffians, hooligans, bullies and the like. Courses and workshops in Bartitsu are available to provide for this need.

Academie Duello recently offered a one-day Bartitsu workshop which I was fortunate enough to attend.

The workshop was led by the very capable Stage Combat Instructor/Choreographer, David McCormick.

In a day we covered the canons of Bartitsu, with tactics for avoidance and action, throws and falls, the walking stick, striking methods, umbrella, and modern tactics. (outline). We also examined what Bartitsu might have evolved into had its popularity continued. A martial arts experience outside of your regular training is always worthwhile. You get a different perspective on yourself and your training; you learn something different than what you know and practice and you get the opportunity to share what you know with new people.

I managed to snap a few photos of the day.

Bartitsu coming soon to the silver screen

Bartitsu has grown like a bamboo tree, which spends years in the soil before sprouting skyward in great leaps. Its popularity is set to take another leap forward, with the 2009 Christmas day premier of Director Guy Ritchie’s latest film, ‘Holmes’, an action movie featuring Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes. The movie promises to be an awesome martial arts movie. Ritchie himself is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu, and Robert Downey Jr. is a Wing Chung practitioner.

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Sources, links:

http://www.bartitsu.org/

http://www.bartitsu.org/index.php/about/

http://www.bartitsu.org/index.php/the-origins-of-bartitsu/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartitsu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kano_Jigoro

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes_(2009_film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo_(martial_art)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Ritchie#Personal_life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Downey_Jr.#Personal_life

http://www.playfighting.ca/journal/bartitsu-workshop-wrap-up/

http://www.playfighting.ca/