Bartitsu Training at the WWW

One of the cool things about Bartitsu and
Victorian Cane Fighting systems is that
you actually train to fight with a Bowler hat.

While I was back in Michigan at Christmas, I had a chance to head out to Chicago to train at Winter Wonderland Workshop. The event produced by MACE, is held annually, and is basically the biggest gathering of stage combat professionals in the world. I first found out about the WWW because I had given a workshop at Michigan State University on East Asian Style fight choreography, and the fight master who's class I gave the seminar for, Christina Traister, was a regular teacher there. (Consequently, the WWW is also how it is that I found out about the stunt school I attended in the states- as the same person who started it, Maestro David Boushey is also one of the founding fathers of the Society of American Fighter Directors- one of the organizations that sanction the event).

This was my second time attending the workshop, and I had to say that this time was just as much fun the first. The first time I chose to concentrate all of my energies on learning and understanding the realities of knife fighting. (Simulated knife fights, how knives are used, the realities and aftermath of actual street fights with knives, etc) as well as introducing myself to various western weapons (rapier, broadsword, etc). This time however, I decided to focus on two things: intimate violence, in the form of strangulation (the realities of it, the nature of it, how to portray it on stage and on camera, etc) as well as Victorian cane fighting systems, and a martial art I had never heard of before: Bartitsu.

Apparently, Bartitsu was arguably one of the first western mixed martial arts, blending bare-knuckle pugilistic boxing, and french kick-boxing (Savate) with Jiu-jitsu, and the aforementioned British cane fighting. The style was developed by a world traveler named Barton Wright, in the late 1800's, who soon after Japan first opened its doors to the world brought back two Japanese Jiu-jitsu instructors to teach in England. He set them up to have challenge matches with anyone and everyone who cared to (of course stacking the deck by making them fight by Jiu-jitsu rules) and used their victories to build a name for the instructors so that eventually, he could open up his own academy where he mixed their instruction with the aforementioned other systems.

After several successful years of teaching the system to the British elite, and for reasons still unknown he suddenly closed down the academy and went to focus his energy on working as a physical therapist. As Barton Wright's school was the only school of it in the world, once he walked away from it, it was more or less completely forgotten about- and would have stayed that way had it not been for a one word (and misspelled at that) reference to it in a Sherlock Holmes book.

 At the time, the author had already killed off both Holmes and Moriarty) but due to public demand needed a way to bring him back. That way was to say that he used "Baritsu" to defeat Moriarty at the falls.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of martial historians such as Tony Wolf, (who was teaching the class) this cryptic misspelled reference was finally decoded, and once again Bartitsu was brought back to life- a little over 100 years later by the Bartitsu Society.

Stylistically, it was fascinating... Not just because it used cane fighting techniques from a completely different era...(complete with ways Bowler hat fighting techniques!) but because it mixed them pugilistic boxing as well- another long since past martial form. Studying it was like taking a step back into history itself.

A small selection of the weapons for sale at the
Winter Wonderland Workshop

Unfortunately as I had to get back to Japan for work, I couldn't stay at the WWW for the full three days offered. I only did two. But for myself, it was worth it, just for the chance to give Bartitsu a go. Beyond that, it was also a great time in terms of catching up with friends from stunt school (many of whom were there) and catching up with the friends whom I had made when I came out the last time I was around. One of the great things about this gathering in particular is that it has a really warm, family environment, and as we all know that not only makes you happy to come back the next time, but makes your training more productive as well. Hope to hit it next year as well.