yeah, this dvd totally doesnt work, maybe up to the 8th chapter (out of 24), from what i saw i expected such hope, regardless of quality, but to judge it on the content shown would be to tell everyone that they should go elsewhere to learn this art.

Do NOT buy this DVD! It is amateurish in the extreme, and consists of a barely audible static video recording of Kirk Lawson demonstrating (badly) irrecognisable movements of Bartitsu outside on a windy day. (Some seminar!) To the left of the demonstrator we can see, periodically, apparent students attempting to mimic the movements. Their performance is indicative of students who are being taught badly. Besides which, the copy of the DVD that I ordered for my son would not play beyond Chapter 8. A complete waste of time and money, with no apparent redress, since all Lulu.com can offer me is another copy (no thanks!) and no refund! I hope that this offering of mine will prevent at least one prospective buyer from wasting his or her money, though I doubt very much that this review will appear on the website. We shall see!

This video is a great introduction to the historical self-defense system of Bartisu, developed in England during the end of the 19th century. It is a rare chance to see the historical art "in-action".



A live on-location filming of a seminar recently given in the USA, Kirk Lawson gives an overview of the basic components of Bartitsu, as well as a presentation of some of the techniques taught by the systems' founder Edward Barton-Wright.



Mr. Lawson, one of a handful of "modern" Bartitsuka (Bartitsu practioner) does a wonderful job of presenting the physical aspects of the techniques. In addition he provides an historical perspective, explaining how much of the technical content was shaped by the context of Edwardian England.



This DVD would be a great investment for anyone interested in seeing Bartitsu live, as well as anyone interested in actually practicing the art.

This DVD is a single-camera recording of a Bartitsu class/presentation that took place at a Western Martial Arts seminar in the USA.

Demonstrator Kirk Lawson begins with a concise summary of Bartitsu history and then moves into demos of all of the basic elements, armed and unarmed, which are presented clearly. He is also very clear in distinguishing between canonical and neo-Bartitsu techniques and covers a great deal of ground in a relatively short amount of time. The specific techniques were well-selected to give a sense of how the various aspects of the art did (and could) fit together.

He concludes with a presentation of some Edwardian street gangster tactics which were obviously much enjoyed by the participants.

The DVD itself is easily navigated as the menu allows you to skip to various sections by subject matter (Safe Falling, Boxing Basics, Savate Kicks, Canonical Stick Technique #1, etc.) The presentation is fairly clear, a single camera angle that covers everything that happened during the class, and the sound is also mostly fine - it was an outdoor class and the wind occasionally causes some microphone feedback, but nothing drastic.

All in all, a great effort and really a model lesson in conveying the "sense" of Bartitsu in a short time to a group of interested lay-people.