Hi all,

a quick report on my recent Bartitsu seminar as organised by RC-
Annie, Inc. which is a London-based stage combat company. This class
was part of a 2-day "Industry Intensive" featuring a range of short
seminars in various subjects related to stuntwork and martial arts.

With limited time, I focussed on presenting two tactical themes -
controlling the initiative and controlling the opponent's physical
structure - using technical examples drawn from Edwardian scientific
boxing and savate, B-W's "New Art of Self Defence" jiujitsu kata and
several of the Vigny cane defence sequences.

We used the image of the opponent's body as an interlocking series of
triangles, representing points and angles of maximum and minimum
skeletal/muscular resistance. The task then was to use the canonical
techniques as examples of the efficient use of one's own triangular
structure and leverage to disrupt that of the opponent, both in
striking and in locking/throwing techniques. The class was presented
from a combative/martial arts perspective rather than from that of
stage combat and stunt performance.

We also had time for a quick discussion of the social context of
Bartitsu, highlighting B-W's role as an innovator and indicating the
various cultural "waves" that he was able to ride during his brief
heyday. This included a demonstration of the London garroting attack
and several mugging techniques employed by the Parisian Apache
gangsters, which were, as usual, very well received.

The participants were particularly taken by Marcus Tindal's eccentric
1903 article on "Self Protection on a Cycle", which is reproduced as
an appendix in the Bartitsu Compendium; so much so that they made me
promise to develop a practical seminar in that subject for the next
tour!

Next up will be a two-day class in both canonical and neo-Bartitsu
for Stefan Dieke's historical martial arts school in Wuppertal,
Germany.

My best,

Tony