Click for information on the July 28-29, 2012 Bartitsu seminars with Professor Mark P. Donnelly in New York City.   Learn to fight like Sherlock Holmes! London's Bartitsu Club was all the rage in 1899, but only recently has this lost martial art been rediscovered. Learn the "gentlemanly art of self-defense" at our study group training session. No martial arts experience required. The Club meets once a month for three hours of Bartitsu training consisting of Vigny cane, savate, 'scientific' pugilism, and Ju Jutsu. Curriculum includes canonical Bartitsu from turn-of-the-century instructional articles published by Bartitsu's founder, Edward William Barton-Wright, as well historic and antique training manuals of the era. Neo-Bartitsu will also be explored. Since we do not have a Bartitsu instructor residing in New York City, the sessions are led by two experienced martial artists, Rachel Klingberg and Jesse Barnick. Historical combat expert Professor Mark P. Donnelly, whose July 2011 Bartitsu seminars in New York City helped to launch the group, has kindly agreed to advise us via e-mail, telephone, and Skype. To join our study in self-defense and history, or for more information, contact Rachel at mlleviolet@nycsteampunk.com. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/nycbartitsu "We tottered together upon the brink of the fall. I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me. I slipped through his grip, and he with a horrible scream kicked madly for a few seconds, and clawed the air with both his hands. But for all his efforts he could not get his balance, and over he went." - Sherlock Holmes in "The Empty House"   Photo slide show from February 2012 Club Meet. Click for larger version.   June 2012 meeting TBA The Society For Martial Arts Instruction 4 West 18th Street, Third Floor New York, NY 10011 The Society for Martial Arts Instruction (SFMAI) is generously helping us to revive the lost martial art of Bartitsu, so our monthly training sessions will be held at their dojo at 4 West 18th Street. You can drop in anytime, but we'll be ending around promptly to make way for a subsequent class. When you arrive at the SMFMAI, please do the following: Remove your shoes until you reach the training floor. No shoes anywhere in the dojo, including locker rooms, bathrooms, except on the training floor after mats are up Sign the SFMAI waiver if you are new, and if you are new to the Bartitsu Club of NYC, sign our waiver as well Contribute a donation of $10 ($5 for students/financially challenged, $15 for landed gentry and robber barons), unless you are already a SFMAI student or staff member Note that ALL PROCEEDS will go directly to The Society For Martial Arts Instruction (SMFAI), a kick butt not–for-profit 501c organization committed to empowering people of all ages through the knowledge and practice of martial arts and somatic movement sciences. If you cannot afford to contribute even $5, then no explanation necessary, just donate whatever you can to help sustain SMFAI's efforts to promote martial arts as a means of self-improvement, and to assist small groups like our own.   facebook.com/nycbartitsu Please bring a walking stick, parasol, and/or stick umbrella if you have one. You can purchase an inexpensive cane or stick umbrella at drugstores and gift shops. A wooden dowel or length of PVC piping approximately 36" long can serve as a walking stick; please smooth or tape any rough ends and mark one end as the "loaded" tip. Wear comfortable clothing in which you can scuffle about a bit. If you are mobile in your period attire, you are welcome to wear it, although we would discourage high heels as we will be on soft grass. If you want to dress in historic exercise attire, gents can wear light-colored broadfall trousers or knee breeches, plain white tee shirt or tank top, and a waist sash for historic flair. Ladies can wear knee breeches, Bloomer pants, or plus-fours, a loose chemise-style top, and a waist sash, or masculine attire if preferred. See this page for more on Victorian and Edwardian exercise attire. Since we do not have a Bartitsu instructor residing in New York City, the sessions are led by two experienced martial artists, Rachel Klingberg and Jesse Barnick. Historical combat expert Professor Mark P. Donnelly, whose July 2011 Bartitsu seminars in New York City helped to launch the group, has kindly agreed to advise us via e-mail, telephone, and Skype. Curriculum may include any of the following: Intros, warm-up with Victorian/Edwardian calisthetics, pugilism shadow boxing with attention to proper form and structure Savate kicks, coup de pied bas Vigny cane - footwork and posture, proper form and stances with solo movements, drills Safe falling, Ju Jutsu locks and defense against grabs, "How to Put a Troublesome Man Out of the Room", grabs to wrists, coat lapels, etc. Parasol defense, bayonetting with parasol, locking with cane or parasol, drills from "Self Defence with a Parasol" 1901 article Cool-down and debriefing September 2011 Meeting >> photos from the September 2011 Club Meet