Category Archives: Reviews

Review: the Empire – Broughton Pugilism Gloves

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Friday, 4th May 2012 Disclosure – the Weapon Store forwarded samples of this product for review purposes. As the practice of “revived” Western martial arts becomes better established, an increasing number of manufacturers … Continue reading

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Miss Sanderson and the Womanly Art of Parasol Self Defence

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Saturday, 9th March 2013 Although the woman known as “Miss Sanderson” was a prominent fencer and self defence instructor in Edwardian London, regrettably little is known of her life – including her first … Continue reading

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The Cowford Steampunk Bartitsu Seminar Report

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 25th July 2013 Steampunk Bartitsu: A Dignified Response to altercations involving Pirates, Cads, Bureaucrats, and General Thuggery Noted Lecturer, Historical Hoplologist and Antagonistics Enthusiast William ‘Battlin’ Bill’ Trumpler made an appearance at … Continue reading

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“Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes” Documentary

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Monday, 9th September 2013 Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes is the first and only feature documentary on Bartitsu, the “gentlemanly art of self defence”. At the end of the Victorian era, … Continue reading

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Flossie Le Mar, the “World’s Famous Ju-Jitsu Girl” (1913)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 17th October 2013 Florence “Flossie” Le Mar was a pioneering advocate of jujitsu as feminist self defence. Flossie and her husband, professional wrestler and showman Joe Gardiner, toured vaudeville theatres throughout New Zealand … Continue reading

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“The Gentleman’s Martial Art: Bartitsu at the Idler Academy”

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 7th November 2013 Click here to read Santiago Genochio’s report on his Bartitsu class with James Garvey at London’s Idler Academy: In contrast to many dojos and gyms, there wasn’t a trace … Continue reading

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“A Knowledge of Many Curious Fouls” ( The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 29 August 1901)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 9th March 2014 We confess to grave misgivings with regards to the Japanese system of self defence known as Bartitsu, which a Mr. Barton Wright has been privately booming in London for … Continue reading

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Testing the BlackSwift Raven Self-Defence Walking Stick

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Sunday, 4th October 2015 An assessment of the BlackSwift Raven self-defense walking stick for formal Bartitsu training and self-defence purposes.

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“Skill Against Strength” (1899)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Wednesday, 2nd July 2014 This somewhat tongue-in-cheek review/essay, inspired by Bartitsu founder E.W. Barton-Wright’s first self defence articles for Pearson’s Magazine, was originally published in the Australian newspaper Table Talk on April 21, … Continue reading

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“What Every Woman Ought to Know” (1911)

Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Thursday, 20th April 2017 A short review from The Stage of 14 September, 1911, concerning a one-act polemic play that featured fight choreography by Edith Garrud: On Monday evening Mr. Martyn Roland and Miss Eva Quin appeared … Continue reading

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