What Does one need to start a casual Bartitsu club?

**Sley** · Posted On: 8/21/2009 10:45pm

What Does one need to start a casual Bartitsu Club?

We will not be training any one but more trying to retro fit each other's BJJ, MT and Judo into something resembling Bartitsu,

I also have minor experience in stage combat (yea that funny old play sword fighting) and Folk style wrestling

So what kind of experts should I try and seek out or does the compendium explain it all?

Besides that kind of equipment would we need? Besides Gloves and Pads?

**DdlR** · Posted On: 8/22/2009 12:11am

Have you seen http://www.bartitsu.org ?

I'd also strongly suggest joining the Bartitsu Forum at YahooGroups - http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bartitsu_Forum/

BJJ, Muay Thai and Judo would be great background skills for the unarmed side of things, corresponding fairly closely to pre-WW1 eclectic judo/jujutsu, boxing and savate. Vigny-style stick fighting is another important aspect and requires training canes and some sparring gear (reinforced fencing masks, body protection etc.)

Pretty much the entire curriculum is laid out in the two volumes of the Compendium, but it's important to understand a couple of things about how modern Bartitsu works.

The "canonical" syllabus consists of the ko-ryu jujutsu kata and Vigny cane defense sequences that were presented as aspects of Bartitsu by Barton-Wright; it's incomplete, but concrete and serves roughly the same function as do classical kata in other systems. The canonical syllabus is practiced today as a sort of common technical language and as a mark of respect for B-W's vision. It requires particular training methods (presented in the second volume of the Compendium) to make it workable as a competitive or combative system.

"Neo-Bartitsu" fills in all the gaps left by what Barton-Wright didn't record, based on hints from his writings and drawing from the wide range of books produced by his assistants and their students. It represents both "what Bartitsu might have been" and "what Bartitsu can be today".

In general, to avoid re-inventing the MMA/Jeet Kune Do/RBSD wheels, the Bartitsu Society is deliberately anachronistic, kind of like people choosing to play old-time baseball rather than the modern sport. The consensus is that, in order to "legitimately" refer to what you're doing as Bartitsu, it makes sense to base your stuff on Bartitsu lineage sources.

Also, Bartitsu was left as a "work in progress" by Barton-Wright and that's what the Bartitsu Society does, by promoting neo-Bartitsu as a set of cross-training experiments between the four major "source styles" rather than as a set technical curriculum. Different people take it in different directions, including sport, self defense and even stage combat.

In terms of people to seek out, there are a few instructors who teach seminars and even a few ongoing study groups, but the practical revival has only really been getting under way over the past couple of years. Again, check out the links above for details.

**Sley** · Posted On: 8/22/2009 12:38am

Thank you for being so helpful, I am true excited to start studing bartitsu in dept, and don't worry I'm not trying to create a New Effective system, I got to MA's five days a week for that, I am purly looking for a fun anachronistic activity, I have also always been facisnated with fisticuffs, Its a pity no one in my family passed it down though, and I have always loved history and wanted to get involved with some historical reenactment. I hope people will reenact our silly martial arts in the future!

**Permalost** · Posted On: 8/22/2009 1:05am

Make sure to grow some gentlemanly facial hair.

**Sley** · Posted On: 8/22/2009 9:32am

Originally Posted by CodosDePiedra

Make sure to grow some gentlemanly facial hair.

I suppose I will need a bowler to go with that, I wonder if they waxed their mustaches with something and if they did what?

(Its funny how I'm going to LARP as a Victorian era European)

**kingwado** · Posted On: 8/23/2009 8:42am

Sley I can only wish good success and pray Amercia deports you over here so as I can attend.
Doh!

Ive always had a keen interest in this, on the practical side ie setting it up, I reckon if you just locate a cheap hall to rent for an hour or two a week, and dole out a few printouts amongst the local martial arts community, stating clearly its more of an interest group/meeting of minds type of gig, you will get many takers,
But for the bloody big pond id pop along for sure.

**DdlR** · Posted On: 8/23/2009 9:04am

Kingwado, if you're interested, James Marwood (one of the bartitsu.org webmasters) is based in London and runs occasional Bartitsu seminars in the UK.

There is also this seminar series coming up in Italy in the near future: http://www.bartitsu.org/index.php/20...itsu-in-italy/