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“A preview trailer for the upcoming documentary exploring the cultural history, rediscovery and modern revival of E.W. Barton-Wright’s “New Art of Self Defence”. Founded in London in 1899, Bartitsu was an early example of a mixed martial art, combining boxing, jiujitsu, savate and self defence with a walking stick. After a brief heyday, it was all but forgotten throughout the 20th century except for a single cryptic reference in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes story, “The Adventure of the Empty House.”
Brian Kagen is an avid web researcher with a particular interest in martial arts. His training background includes both judo and aikido. He has contributed hundreds of article links over the years for AJ readers.
“To cast away everything, surrendering yourself to the flow of nature and just sitting in meditation. This is the essence of Dogen’s Zen Buddhism. In the 13th century, Dogen, a young Japanese monk traveled to China, determined to find his true master. There he found a monk who taught him that sitting in Zen meditation is the true and only path to enlightenment. Returning, enlightened, to Japan, Dogen risked his life to pioneer Zen Buddhism, inspiring the millions of Zen Buddhists who practice around the world today”
“During the war large numbers of Americans and British were trained by the armed forces in the language, his tory, and culture of Japan. Still others, not so specially trained, were stationed in Japan as part of the Occupation forces and had the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the country. Out of these experiences has come a whole generation of social scientists who specialize in Japanese studies. Nearly every major American university has at least one of these people on its staff, and in several institutions, specialized institutes or study programs have developed around one or more of these scholars.”
“This is not to say that locks have no place in standing situations, but they are much harder to apply. Against a trained opponent who may expect locks during sparring, then there is a small chance of pulling one off, against someone on the street with no fighting experience, it may be easier. Following up locks after a hard strike are good times to apply them as your opponent may be stunned from the strike, and his/her reflexes and attention might not be available to react to the lock. The bottom line is that practice is needed and experience of the best way to apply locks from standing positions is necessary to be able to pull them off.”
“For many of us, we first become aware of our fears in Aikido when it is time for us to go to the ground. Some people have a very difficult time teaching their bodies to experience actions and reactions that allow them to connect with the ground in a soft manner that feels both comfortable and protecting. It is important to allow these people to actually get comfortable rolling and moving on the ground. For them, teaching them to roll from the ground up is helpful.”
“Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda is a former Japanese army intelligence officer who fought in World War II, and did not surrender until 1974, having spent almost thirty years holding out in the Philippines.”
“The history of Aikido in America has had much to do with Robert Frager’s ground breaking work teaching, promoting and nurturing the art. Frager, a student of the Founder of Aikido, O Sensei, lived in Japan with the Master where he was able to observe and train with his teacher on a day to day basis. Upon returning to the States, he invited Robert Nadeau, Shihan, to teach classes with him at Esalen. Nadeau is a fellow-American he trained with in Japan. In 1968 he founded the Cal Aikido Club with Stan Pranin, another long time practitioner of Akido and publisher of Aikido Journal.”
“If it’s a question about who would win in a prolonged fight requiring great stamina and endurance, I couldn’t answer that one either. See, both arts are about self defense, and nearly all self-defense encounters have nothing at all to do wth endurance. Most all fights are over before you can shift from anaerobic to aerobic metabolism (something like 2-3 minutes), and most all exertion that occurs in a fight is anaerobic in nature. So in a fight, “to the distance” would generally be a few seconds, perhaps as much as a couple of minutes.”
“One of the important aspects of Miles’ teaching is an on-going questioning about not only breaking down barriers between cultures but within ourselves. How can we challenge and confront what we have built within ourselves?”
“Breathing is very often something that we don’t do well. The majority of us, unless we are trained musicians, singers or athletes, breathe in an inefficient way and fail to benefit fully from this most essential and natural of functions. Our habitual breathing is usually shallow “chest” breathing and employs a limited range of muscles confined to the thoracic cage, upper chest and, often as a result of tension, the muscles of the neck and upper shoulders.This can result in tension headaches and feelings of lethargy. By changing how you breath, it’s possible to change how you feel.”
“Harry Enfield’s TV prog of the 90s. Available on DVD, but these Cholmondley-Warner (pronounced Chumley) slots were a sketch each week in a mixed sketch show, similar to The Fast Show.”
“Aikido means ‘the way to union with the universal force.” This impersonal force is known as “chi.” The goal of Aikido is to control both self and environment. Ironically, this martial art is the most compatible with Christianity in regard to its nonviolent nature, but — on the other hand — it is unalterably steeped in Eastern mysticism.”