Old School Jujutsu

Every once in awhile I come across some old Jujutsu advertisement or old pictures from a vintage self defense book. I did some reading about Edward William Barton-Wright the other day. In 1898 he formed what he referred to as a "new form of martial arts," called Bartitsu. It was predominantly drawn from a traditional style of Japanese Jujutsu and Kodokan Judo. The name of the art of course came from combining his surname with Jujutsu. I think Conan-Jitsu has a nice ring to it.









Then there is Captain Allan Corstorphin Smith, Author of Secrets of Jujitsu: A Complete Course in Self Defense (1920). This is an excerpt from a section in the book entitled,


THE SECRET OF JUJITSU IS THE STAHARA
The throws of jujitsu are achieved by the mechanical force of your center of gravity playing against opponent's center of gravity.

The center of gravity is contained in the lower abdomen, therefore the proper disposition of your lower abdomen is the most important factor in any given trick.

Conversely the object of your exertions against an opponent is to out-think his center of gravity, by maneuvering him into a position where his lower abdomen is off balance.

Ms. May Whitley was a pioneer for women practitioners as early as the 1930's. She appears in various vintage self defense film clips from that era, performing Jujutsu demonstrations with a male attacker. Dorthy Darke was another jujutsu practitioner of that time.

This advertisement for Super Ju Jitsu is one of my favorites. For only $5.95 you too can learn Lightning-quick super Ju Jitsu with this full 76-lesson course.

This is an old school Jujitsu demonstration that really captures the essence of how the art was marketed. As it was with many of the old advertisements and film clips, the demonstrators are usually wearing their everyday clothing, depicting them going about their everyday lives.