- Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 16th June 2014
A promotional postcard featuring Bartitsu Club wrestling and physical culture instructor Armand Cherpillod, shown posing in typical early 20th century jujitsu garb.
According to his 1929 biography, Cherpillod was invited to teach at the Bartitsu Club by his fellow Swiss martial arts instructor, Pierre Vigny, who had traveled to Switzerland at the behest of E.W. Barton-Wright specifically to find a champion wrestler. Upon arriving in London, Cherpillod quickly made his mark in the wrestling circuit and successfully represented the Bartitsu Club in several significant challenge matches. He also cross-trained in jujitsu with fellow instructors Yukio Tani and Sadakazu Uyenishi.
Cherpillod’s most famous student at the Bartitsu Club was Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, an eccentric athlete and aristocrat who later became famous as one of the few male civilians to have survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
Following the closure of the Bartitsu Club in 1902, Cherpillod returned to Switzerland where he pioneered the instruction of Japanese martial arts. He also wrote several books on that subject, including one that is the first known manual on jujitsu as self defence for women.