About

In 1899 London was home to the world’s first school of mixed martial arts. The Bartitsu Club, on Shaftesbury Avenue, offered instruction in boxing, wrestling, stick fighting and savate - the French form of kickboxing. In addition there was the brand new attraction of ju-jitsu, a real novelty for Victorian Europe. EW Barton-Wright, the owner of the school, assembled a brain trust of leading martial artists from Europe and Japan. This included Pierre Vigny, the famed Swiss maitre d’armes and Japanese ju-jitsu expert Tani, who fought all comers without defeat in many public bouts.

using the left lead punch to pre-empt an attack

This was the first time a codified system of civilian self defence had been offered in such a manner, and the first time a blend of Eastern and Western martial arts were taught. Bartitsu, as the art was called, is often referred to as Victorian JKD as it was not until Bruce Lee that similar concepts were available. To learn more about Bartitsu have a look at the Bartitsu Society.

Modern Bartitsu takes the base arts of Bartitsu and applies modern training methods and the latest in behavioural thinking and decision science to bring it up to date as a devastatingly effective  self defence system.

James Marwood is a management consultant, self defence and Modern Bartitsu instructor based in Hampshire, UK. He teaches regular classes in Farnborough, as well as being regularly invited to teach at events around Europe. Past events have included SWASH, FightCamp, the Dreyn Fencival and Swordfish. In addition he holds regular self defence seminars aimed at those without experience in martial arts or the like. He has provided training events at Oxford University, University College London, Université de Bourgogne and for corporate clients.

Having studied the martial arts since he started school, a degree in Criminology and with 10 years experience in the private security industry James is especially interested in the practical applications of fighting systems and how the theory can be applied in the real world.

For self protection seminars and consultancy please see here