Bartitsu

Bartitsu

A portrait of E.W. Barton-Wright, with a montage of Bartitsu self defence techniques
Focus	Hybrid
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Creator	Edward William Barton-Wright
Parenthood	Jujutsu, Schwingen, Savate, Canne de combat, Judo, Boxing
Olympic sport	No

Bartitsu is an eclectic martial art and self-defence method originally developed in England during the years 1898–1902. In 1903, it was immortalised (as "baritsu") by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories. Although dormant throughout most of the 20th century, Bartitsu has been experiencing a revival since 2002.

In 1898, Edward William Barton-Wright, a British engineer who had spent the previous three years living in the Empire of Japan, returned to England and announced the formation of a "New Art of Self Defence". This art, he claimed, combined the best elements of a range of fighting styles into a unified whole, which he had named Bartitsu. Barton-Wright had previously also studied "boxing, wrestling, fencing, savate and the use of the stiletto under recognised masters", reportedly testing his skills by "engaging toughs (street fighters) until (he) was satisfied in their application." He defined Bartitsu as meaning "self defence in all its forms"; the word was a portmanteau of his own surname and of "Jujitsu".

As detailed in a series of articles Barton-Wright produced for Pearson's Magazine between 1899 and 1901, Bartitsu was largely drawn from the Shinden Fudo Ryu jujutsu of Terajima Kuniichiro (not to be confused with the SFR taijutsu associated with the Bujinkan lineage) and from Kodokan judo. As it became established in London, the art expanded to incorporate combat techniques from other jujutsu styles as well as from British boxing, Swiss schwingen, French savate and a defensive la canne (stick fighting) style that had been developed by Pierre Vigny of Switzerland. Bartitsu also included a comprehensive physical culture training system.