23/10/2016
I posted this elsewhere, but it can't hurt the group effort/mission to post it again, here...
'Look at Bartitsu- as Ralph Grasso correctly points out, this is an art based on stick fighting and jiujitsu, with some degree of boxing and savate added, and there was also a wrestling coach at the club. ALL of the instructors there had competed in their own arts, and some of them had engaged in other arts and challenge matches against other arts. Some of them, according to what was written at the time, had tested and proven their skills in street encounters, too. So, anyone attending the Bartitsu club seriously, and for an extended period of time, could train and spar with stick fighters, savateurs, jiujitsuka/judoka, wrestlers and in all manner of weapons (with Hutton). Now, I am a serious student (not a teacher) of 'Nouveau-Bartitsu', and so I train or have trained with competitive boxers, wrestlers, judoka, BJJ players and savateurs. I need to train much, much more in all of those arts- and do as much as I can. Stick fighting will need me to spar with Dog Brothers and/or competitive HEMA to get a real, skilled challenge- although at the moment I'm learning the European arts with other enthusiasts, so that I have some chance of defending myself against experienced escrima and sword guys. I don't want to train in escrima, as my goal is to make the historical European stick arts work for me. My point though (and Ralph has made it, too) is HOW MANY OF THESE 'BARTITSU' PEOPLE ACTUALLY TRAIN IN THE ARTS THAT WERE TAUGHT IN THE BARTITSU CLUB?! HOW MANY ACTUALLY BOX, AND WRESTLE, AND GET ON THE FLOOR AND DO REAL NE-WAZA? DO ANY OF THEM TRAIN IN JUDO OR BJJ CLUBS, OR EVEN IN SAVATE ASSAUT? Now, I occasionally speak to people who do train in some type of combat sport, who have heard about Bartitsu (unfortunately, Defense dans la Rue is mostly unknown), and think it might be interesting- because they think of it as being an early form of MMA, and they're interested in learning self-defence and stick work. The truth is, a guy like Billy Wilsher, who already trains and competes in judo, submission grappling and kickboxing really has nothing or very little to learn from most 'Bartitsu' people, because he's someone who actually fights (with rules) using his techniques, and so he knows his skills actually work under pressure. Richard Kurosawa spoke to me before about training Bartitsu, but an experienced judoka like him can't learn stuff from people who dress up like a steampunk and pretend to fight! :o LOL Peter Smallridge is probably the only person I've met- or even seen on the internet- who studies Bartitsu (along with many other things) and trains and competes in jiujitsu, wrestling, striking, stick fighting and historical weapons. He's a real 'Bartitsuka', and hopefully we'll be able to get together and train again, at some point. Sam Wigand very graciously taught me some Vigny basics, and was honest and brave enough to be the 'criminal' pressure testing some of my self-defence ideas (and he was strong and aggressive enough to show up some holes in them! Which is the whole point of doing it...). I've 'struck gold' with my new training partner, Michael Rook- as he's a very knowledgeable guy, who's willing to spar the stick, striking and grappling in a realistic manner (ie. trying to make your own techniques work and stop the opponent from doing his thing, not the 'martial arts smokescreen' of letting your opponents stuff 'magically' work on you! ; ) ha ha). He also can help me- and our fledgling little 'club'- develop our jiujitsu/ne-waza. I feel that, with a small 'open community' or collective of individuals, who like the history and also enjoy training is some kind of sport/sparring, we will have enough knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to make Bartitsu grow from it's current image as a novelty/joke, and become the fighting art it's capable of being (with a little 'help from its friend', Defense dans la Rue! :p LOL Craig Savate).'
