It’s Bartitsu time! You know, Bartitsu — the 19th century “gentlemanly art of self-defense,” AKA Victorian stick-fighting … coming to Seattle via seminar on March 6, at the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts. Behold, a link: Bartitsu In Seattle.
The seminar’s presenters are creating a documentary on this subject, called Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes. For lots of information and fun old photos (plus great period fashion, including that of 19th-century women martial artists) take a peek at this trailer.*
For the record, I have no affiliation with these people and I don’t know any of them, either. I only thought it sounded neat. And yes, this information is more-or-less cross-posted over on LiveJournal’s SteamFashion community.
* Yes, they have permission to use that Abney Park music.
January 31st, 2010 at 11:32 pm
If you are interested in western Martial Arts of the time period it might be worth looking at DEFENSE DANS LA RUE or french street savate this Australian instructor has some tapes on it and the use of the Cane http://www.savateaustralia.com/
January 31st, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Also check out this wordpress site which covers Barton-Wright as well as any others http://lacannevigny.wordpress.com/pierre-vigny/