Bartitsu
I found a reference to a strange Martial Art from the Edwardian era in Shonen Jump some time ago. Bartitsu is probably best described as Edwardian Jeet Kune Do. I was curious about this odd stuff and dropped some cash on the Bartitsu Compendium. The book is mostly history about the art’s founder, Edward Barton-Wright, but also has some of his canonical syllabi for instruction.
Now, I’m not some random schnook that grabbed a book and thinks he can teach himself a useful martial art. I’m actually a Black Belt Candidate in Kuk Sool Won, so a fair chunk of the stuff in the book was stuff I’m largely familiar with. As Bruce Lee said, there are only so many ways to make a body move. However, some of the more anachronistic stuff really caught my eye. It’s downright hilarious to see a man in a three piece suit and skimmer in a deep horse-stance holding a stick over his head.
Somehow I convinced Jeff that we should learn some of the drills and techniques from Bartitsu. Partially for the oddity factor, partially as good exercise, and partially as a form of self-defense. So, training sessions are a little odd, because I try to keep some of the odd stances that are useless in a fight for part of the training and then ditch them when dealing with practical matters.
Below is one of the pics from our first training session. It took a little while to find a good one, as I wanted something that looked a little silly without making either of us look like outright idiots. I’m the one that looks like he might know what he’s doing. Jeff is the one that will no doubt cause me injury when he loosens up and gets used to that stick in his hand.
Injuries will be posted in due time, I’m sure.
Tune in next time. No reason, just do it.
