Bartitsu School of Arms 2012 - a video memoir

The second annual Bartitsu School of Arms seminar/conference was held from September 7-9 at the Forteza Fitness and Martial Arts studio in Chicago. The event was organised by Tony Wolf and hosted by the Bartitsu Club of Chicago; its main theme was to continue E.W. Barton-Wright's experiments in martial arts cross-training, which were abandoned as a work-in-progress in 1902.

Day 1 included a field trip to the historic Hegeler Carus Mansion in La Salle, IL and an extended guided tour of the mansion's 1870s vintage gymnasium. Participants then returned to Chicago to join the audience of the play "Susan Swayne and the Bewildered Bride", an action/comedy/drama set during the late Victorian era.

Day 2 included 8 hours of Bartitsu circuit training and cross-training with instructors Allen Reed, Mark Donnelly, Tony Wolf and Keith Jennings, followed by a dinner in the Victorian-themed side room at O'Shaughnessy's Public House.

Day 2 featured further cross-training and ended with an Antagonisticathlon (a Sherlock Holmes themed martial arts obstacle course), followed by the presentation of participation certificates, group photos and farewells.

This video showcases moments from some of the cross-training classes and sparring matches, interspersed with highlights from the Antagonisticathlon event.