Category Archives: Humour

“… the Latest Trick in Jiu-jitsu”: Cartoons from Punch Magazine (1905-12)

Posted on December 24, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 14th October 2015 During the decade following E.W. Barton-Wright’s introduction of jiujitsu to England, the Japanese martial art was thoroughly absorbed into English popular culture – most famously when Sherlock Holmes made use … Continue reading →

Posted in Edwardiana, Humour, Jiujitsu | Comments Off on “… the Latest Trick in Jiu-jitsu”: Cartoons from Punch Magazine (1905-12)

Geek Duchess Felicia Day Recommends Bartitsu for Fending Off Llamas

Posted on December 23, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 30th June 2016 Early in this interview for Chicago’s WBEZ Nerdette podcast, actress and professional nerd Felicia Day namechecks Bartitsu in the context of a discussion on self-defence against llamas. Specifically, she’s referring … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Pop-culture | Comments Off on Geek Duchess Felicia Day Recommends Bartitsu for Fending Off Llamas

“The cumbersome boxing glove superseded” (Punch Magazine, September 4, 1869)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 6th November 2016 Cartoonist George du Maurier offers a helpful suggestion for boxers.  The caption reads: Sparring without pain or loss of temper – the cumbersome boxing-glove superseded. For more on this topic, see The … Continue reading →

Posted in Boxing, Humour | Comments Off on “The cumbersome boxing glove superseded” (Punch Magazine, September 4, 1869)

“The Game of Bartitsu” (Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 12 October, 1901)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 18th December 2016 In the game of Bartitsu, or Japanese self-defence, the other person tempts you to engage him, and then by apt manipulation deftly twists and twirls you to your mother … Continue reading →

Posted in Canonical Bartitsu, Humour, Jiujitsu | Comments Off on “The Game of Bartitsu” (Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 12 October, 1901)

“The Victorian Gentleman’s Self-Defence Guide”

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 9th January 2017 This amusing take on Bartitsu is available as a wall poster from this site.

Posted in Humour | Comments Off on “The Victorian Gentleman’s Self-Defence Guide”

“The Bold Suffragette” (1910)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 18th January 2017 This caricature of suffragette jujitsu trainer Edith Garrud, and accompanying poem titled “The Bold Suffragette”, first appeared in the Wednesday, 13 July 1910 edition of The Sketch.

Posted in Edwardiana, Humour, Jiujitsu, Suffrajitsu | Comments Off on “The Bold Suffragette” (1910)

“Injudicious Ju-Jitsu” (circa 1910)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 25th January 2017

Posted in Edwardiana, Humour, Jiujitsu | Comments Off on “Injudicious Ju-Jitsu” (circa 1910)

“Self-Defence with a Bicycle” Video from the 2017 Dreynevent

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 19th February 2017 A humourous and enlightening demonstration of Self-Defence with a Bicycle, animating the lessons of Marcus Tindal’s eccentric 1901 Pearson’s Magazine article. The demo took place at the recent Dreynevent historical European … Continue reading →

Posted in Antagonistics, Exhibitions, Humour, Video | Comments Off on “Self-Defence with a Bicycle” Video from the 2017 Dreynevent

“Hot, Towzled, and Flabbergasted” (1901)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 22nd April 2017 An amusing account of a Bartitsu challenge contest from the Sporting Times of 7 September, 1901. Noting as usual that the term “Jap” was used as a non-pejorative abbreviation in Edwardian English. … Continue reading →

Posted in Canonical Bartitsu, Humour, Jiujitsu | Comments Off on “Hot, Towzled, and Flabbergasted” (1901)

“What Every Woman Ought to Know” Reviewed (Daily Mirror, March 29, 1911)

Posted on December 22, 2020 by BartitsuSociety

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 24th April 2017

Posted in Edwardiana, Fiction, Humour, Jiujitsu, Reviews, Suffrajitsu | Comments Off on “What Every Woman Ought to Know” Reviewed (Daily Mirror, March 29, 1911)