Once saw a brief demo on the art of Bartitsu. It was a victorian stick fighting art developed by a chap called E.W Barton-Wright who was a frequent visitor to Japan in the early 19th century. On his return to England he developed a means of defending oneself, against "ruffians" using ordinary walking sticks and canes, from the eastern stick fighting arts he observed. The history of the art is well documented but the actual moves used are not, so if anyone can provide me with sources of information on the subject I will be eternally gratefull!
Hi Yoksha, There's a recent WMA thread on this subject under the title 'Victorian MMA' which has a link to the Bartitsu website. Louie
It was also used by the well-known detective Sherlock Holmes in a confrontation with a criminal named Moriarity.