BARTITSU - The original Bullshido?

**LLL** · Posted On: 7/12/2003 8:31am

http://www.budokwai.org/early_martial_arts.htm

Well I know it's basically jujutsu, so probably the techniques were OK, but just the name alone is so incredibly stupid....

**MrMcFu** · Posted On: 7/12/2003 8:43am

164 Posts in 3 days. That is truly amazing.

http://www.zanshin-dojo.de

**LLL** · Posted On: 7/12/2003 8:49am

Hey, only 24 posts... I don't know what that 'gold' means. You don't have to read them anyway ;)

**MrMcFu** · Posted On: 7/12/2003 9:06am

Oh sorry. I fucked that up. I don't know what Gold is either.

http://www.zanshin-dojo.de

**sinanju441** · Posted On: 10/13/2007 9:27am

Has anyone here actually participated in a Bartitsu seminar or studied the form in any manner?

**Wolf** · Posted On: 10/13/2007 9:34am

if you want information on Bartitsu go to http://www.bullshido.org/martialarts/Bartitsu.

**DdlR** · Posted On: 10/13/2007 10:08am

Originally Posted by sinanju441

Has anyone here actually participated in a Bartitsu seminar or studied the form in any manner?

Yes. It's actually a very interesting study; they've revived the old jujitsu and stick fighting techniques recorded by E.W. Barton-Wright and his colleagues around 1900 as the basis, and are filling in the blanks with info. from books by Yukio Tani, Sadakazu Uyenishi, old-school boxing champions etc.

AFAIK most of the revival is out of historical interest but there are also plans to bring back Edwardian-style boxing vs. jujitsu and stick fighting competitions formats.

**sinanju441** · Posted On: 10/15/2007 11:42am

I have read that there are two types of Bartitsu being practiced. The first is the classic style, which is focused on a histrically accurate representation of the style as practiced in the 19th century. The second is Neo-Bartitsu, which is intended to represent an adaption of the form to modern times. I do not know as much about it as I would like, but my understanding is that it is based around concepts that are meant for "the street" rather than a formal competition.

**DdlR** · Posted On: 10/15/2007 1:59pm

Originally Posted by sinanju441

I have read that there are two types of Bartitsu being practiced. The first is the classic style, which is focused on a histrically accurate representation of the style as practiced in the 19th century. The second is Neo-Bartitsu, which is intended to represent an adaption of the form to modern times. I do not know as much about it as I would like, but my understanding is that it is based around concepts that are meant for "the street" rather than a formal competition.

http://www.bartitsu.org

In 2002, author and Bartitsu enthusiast Will Thomas set up an email list to communicate with others of like mind. This correspondence developed into an international association known as the Bartitsu Society, which was formed to research E.W. Barton-Wright's "New Art of Self Defence". Although initially focussed on academic and historical documentation, the charter of the Bartitsu Society grew to encompass reviving the art at the practical level.

The first task was to gather as much primary source information as possible about Barton-Wright and his martial art, and towards this goal, members of the Society scoured institutions such as the British Library as well as old bookstores and newspaper archives. Eventually, the Society had enough information to be able to confidently define “Canonical Bartitsu”; the collection of self defence sequences, kata and techniques that were specifically presented as Bartitsu by Barton-Wright and his associates between 1899 and 1903. Canonical Bartitsu is maintained as a mark of respect for Barton-Wright’s vision, as a matter of historical preservation and also as a form of common language amongst contemporary enthusiasts.

Having established the Bartitsu canon, the Society then turned its attention to the idea of neo-Bartitsu. This was suggested as a way for Bartitsu enthusiasts, both individuals and groups, to work creatively with the canonical material. Neo-Bartitsu was also conceived as a way to extend the art through reference to the corpus of boxing, jiujitsu, savate and stick-fighting methods recorded in the books produced by Barton-Wright’s colleagues and their students between 1903 and the early 1920s. In this sense, neo-Bartitsu can be described as “Bartitsu as it might have been” or as “Bartitsu as it can be today.”

By 2004, members of the Society had begun offering practical workshops in both canonical and neo-Bartitsu techniques.

**cyrijl** · Posted On: 10/15/2007 2:11pm

This all sounds very cult like. If they manage to find any practitioners still alive or more supporting documents then it might turn out to be interesting. Right now it is hard to say.