The month of November is here, and the ritual of growing a mustache to raise funds for testicular cancer and other men’s health issues has been dubbed Movember. Deliberate and sometimes elaborate facial hair was common in Victorian era, so I’m sure Bartitsu enthusiasts are keen to learn more. Mustache Goals If you’re participating in […]
October is the month of death and candy in North America, so let’s talk about a steampunk-Holmes-Victorian Halloween. Besides your best clockwork sky pirate garb, I don’t have costume ideas, just some inspiration and factoids. Jack the Ripper Synonymous with the words “serial killer”, Jack the Ripper murdered female prostitutes in the Whitechapel district of […]
This is a tricky subject, and I hope you will discuss these issues with myself and your friends to figure out your own opinions. This post is going to be a multifaceted exploration, because I’m not settled on all the factors. Ethics is messy, so let’s get our hands dirty. War, Police, Politics And I […]
There’s few worse positions in a fight than to have an opponent behind you. Visibility The biggest concern is that you can only see what’s ahead of you, so an opponent behind you is effectively invisible. You cannot react to their motion unless they grab you and you can feel their position and their close […]
Keeping your options open is an attractive concept and feels like freedom. It permits room for debate, changes of opinion and forgiveness. In most circumstances, I believe that the gentleman and the rational person avoids taking sides until the most information is analyzed. I believe in science. I wanted to get that messiness out of […]
As a follow-up to my last post on fitness, I’m filling in for the morning bootcamp at Academie Duello for the next two weeks. Since it’s a fighting fitness class, it has a different focus than the strength training I wrote about. Naturally, we’re using Bartitsu skills as the foundation of our movements. One-hour Class […]
Training the fighting skills of Bartitsu can help with your fitness goals, but skill development should be your main focus in class. We set aside some time in class for strength and conditioning, and you should continue this work outside of class for the best results. Warm Up Always begin your physical activity regimen with […]
Studying self-defense and combat too often starts with blocks, parries or other methods of intercepting attacks. All of these techniques rely on seeing the opponent attack and choosing the appropriate movement to deal with it. The reactionary stance will keep you moving backward, looking for the next threat, and a victim of the attacker’s speed, […]
A picture is worth a thousand words (that’s why we all like illustrations in our fight manuals), and a video is 30 images per second… so that’s a lot better. Here’s a selection of Bartitsu videos from around the world: Russia If you pause at 1m30, that poster was design by me, made to look […]
The concept of chivalry originated with the knight. In fact, that’s all it means: knightly. The French word “cheval” means horse, and the thing that separated a knight from other soldiers was his steed. But we all know that chivalry goes beyond horse grooming, it is more closely related to the code of honour expected […]
