Martial Arts in Sherlock Holmes Canon & (their) Premium Tobacco Pairings Vol. 1 Baritsu
Below is the first of a three-part series (within a larger umbrella series*) where I'll be taking a brief look at the martial arts that appear within the Sherlock Holmes canon. Each installment will include a bit of Sherlockian context, a brief overview of the stated fighting system, and finally, a recommendation as to premium tobacco (cigars & pipes) pairings. We begin with this installment of Baritsu, which somewhat leads and bleeds (perhaps punintentionally) into Single-stick, then we end with Boxing. There is your orientation; here is your content...
::: BARITSU IN SHERLOCKIAN CANON :::
Baritsu plays an enormous and quite singular role in the Sherlock Holmes canon. This unfurls in The Adventure of the Empty House [EMPT] in regards to events that occurred in The Final Problem [FINA]. It is pivotal in Holmes describing to Watson how he, after all, survived the attacks of the sinister Professor Moriarty and ultra-violent Colonel Sebastian Moran at Reichenbach Falls. The martial art came in particularly handy in his victorious tussle with Moriarty at the edge of the abyss.
"We tottered together upon the brink of the fall. I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me. I slipped through his grip, and he with a horrible scream kicked madly for a few seconds and clawed the air with both his hands. But for all his efforts he could not get his balance, and over he went." - EPMT.
Holmes then employed each of the five Ds of Dodgeball in eluding Moran's rolled boulders and emerged as "A Norwegian explorer named Sigerson," thus to traverse the globe--dead to all but Mycroft Holmes. This period of traversing is known as The Great Hiatus...
"This is, indeed, like the old days. We shall have time for a mouthful of dinner before we need go. Well, then, about that chasm. I had no serious difficulty in getting out of it, for the very simple reason that I never was in it." EMPT, Holmes to Watson.
Yes, I did awkwardly splice that bit in just to save a few moments and to include a link**. thx
::: ON THE MARTIAL ART OF BARITSU :::
Things do get interesting with the term Baritsu. First, as it appears therein the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle, it is almost certainly a misspelling of Bartitsu, whether or not purposefully is anyone's guess. Before we get to Bartitsu proper, however, this ACD misspelling/homage did go on to live a life all its own in the fictional universes of The Shadow and Doc Savage. As for Bartitsu, the martial art existed and was fairly popular in Britain, at the time of EMPT being written.
So what is Bartitsu? It's a fighting system that combines elements of boxing, cane (walking stick) fighting, Judo & Jiujitsu, and Savate (French kickboxing). It fell abandoned not long after its original popularity but has since enjoyed something of a revival in recent years. This rebirth, as I scan it superficially, has hipster Fight Club written all over it. Although Bartitsu does, just as superficially scanned, seem to cover a lot of bases, namely striking, grappling, and weaponry.
If you are ever in Portland and see a ne'er-do-well peddling his Penny-farthing at you, handlebar mustache twirled into aggressive if not quite mad asymmetry--expect to be attacked by Bartitsu. Don't worry though, as it will only be done ironically. But to be clear, from the founding of this system, it was meant to be a defensive tool only.
"The New Art of Self Defense," was created by an engineer named Edward William Barton-Wright upon his return from Japan. He even had thoughts on Stiletto (dagger not heels) usage, for his more prized pupils. Say what you will, no one touched this fella's pencil protector and just came out all dandy.
REMINDER to please check out both I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, As well as Interesting Though Elementary. Both are fantastically infotaining spots for Sherlockian Scholarship. (As well as used in some of my own research.)
::: BARITSU PREMIUM TOBACCO PAIRINGS :::
"Not your father's Connecticut." I hate that apologetic term for offering up a cigar that doesn't singe your nose hairs or grow hairs on your mother's chest. Nevertheless, what it means is a classic, but with a bold twist. A refined statement of zest and/or zeal. A modern take on an old classic. A revival on-par with the Victorian art of Bartitsu itself, perhaps. But also, here, the more campy inclusion of its Baritsu fork in the road. So with all that taken into account, I'd recommend the below premium tobacco pairings...
CIGARS
PIPE TOBACCO
In conclusion (apart from the below links) WHY DOES THE SERIOUS VERSION HAVE TO BE THE ONE WITH THE WORD "TITS" IN IT??? Absolutely maddening.
::: COMPANION READING :::
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