Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A form of martial arts based on jujitsu and also incorporating elements of boxing, savate, and stick fighting, popularized by E.W. Barton-Wright in late-Victorian London.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Coined by EW Barton-Wright in 1899, from ‘Bart(on-Wright)’ + jujitsu.

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Examples

  • Bartitsu is a little known but ingenious self defense skill which I cover in my current book, Absinthe and Flamethrowers.

    Boing Boing 2009

  • The seminar’s presenters are creating a documentary on this subject, called Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes.

    Calling Seattle-Area Victoriana Buffs lithera 2010

  • The seminar’s presenters are creating a documentary on this subject, called Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes.

    good news/bad news 2010

  • The fame of bartitsu and the Bartitsu Club grew quickly, and gentlemen as far abroad as India rapidly acquired the skills Barton-Wright wrote of in his books, interviews, and articles.

    The Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes | Edwardian Promenade 2010

  • (FYI: There's a well done compilation of 1890s vintage Bartitsu instructions available on Amazon.)

    Boing Boing 2009

  • Upon his return to London from Japan in 1899, Barton-Wright set up a martial arts school to teach Bartitsu to Englishmen.

    Boing Boing 2009

  • Bartitsu was invented by a British engineer named Edward Barton-Wright, who combined the martial arts skills he learned while building railways in Japan with the stick-and-sword fighting skills he mastered in Europe.

    Boing Boing 2009

  • Today, the Bartitsu Society, founded in 2002, revives this long-forgotten sport, and combines historical martial arts with modern martial arts, making a complete and attractive bridge between us and our Victorian forebears!

    The Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes | Edwardian Promenade 2010

  • As the above quote suggests, the detective mastered a now little known but very effective fusion of British boxing techniques and Japanese martial arts called Bartitsu,.

    Boing Boing 2009

  • I have some knowledge, however, of Bartitsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me.

    Boing Boing 2009

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