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Print: $19.82 “To be courageous is enviable, whilst, on the other hand, to be able to conceal the absence of courage is useful” – Baron Charles de Berenger, 1835
“Defensive Gymnastics” is a long-forgotten classic in the annals of how-to literature, compiling the Baron’s advice on the different modes of “manly character”; the use of defensive gymnastics with fists, canes, whips, pistols and umbrellas to thwart pickpockets, street ruffians and con-artists; and how to escape from highwaymen, burning buildings, icy ponds and wild bulls.
The 2008 edition features over 50 new photographs and drawings, an introductory biography and a special feature on the Baron’s Stadium, a 24-acre training academy for all manner of “manly sports and defensive exercises”.
Eccentric and street-wise, de Berenger’s “Defensive Gymnastics” is a fascinating glimpse into a bygone age; a wonderful gift or practical study guide for self-defence enthusiasts and history buffs alike.
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Print: $36.04 IN 1899, E.W. Barton-Wright devised the martial art of Bartitsu as a process of cross-training between jujitsu, boxing, savate and stick fighting, designed to beat the fearsome street gangsters of Edwardian London at their own game. The second volume of the Bartitsu Compendium provides resources towards continuing Barton-Wright’s experiments. It combines extensive excerpts from fifteen classic Edwardian-era self defence manuals, including well over four hundred illustrations. Volume II also offers an extensive collection of long-forgotten newspaper and magazine articles on Bartitsu exhibitions and contests; original articles on Bartitsu history and training; a complete course of Edwardian-era “physical culture” exercises; personality profiles, essays and more besides. The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume II is a must-have companion piece for the first volume in this series, and offers further fascinating insight into the world of “antagonistics” in Edwardian England.
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Print: $21.59 Originally published in the year 1882, "The Sword Prince" is the stranger-than-fiction biography of Danish-American swordmaster, boxer, duelist and soldier of fortune, Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery.
Biographer Frederick Whittaker follows his subject from his boyhood years as a cadet in the Danish Navy, through his education in physical culture and swordsmanship at the great European military academies, and thence into his wild career as a sword-for-hire and adventurer in the USA and in Spanish America.
Colonel Monstery's life was a switchback of soaring victories and crushing defeats, punctuated by duels of honor against a range of desperate adversaries in many exotic locations.
This enhanced re-publication includes fifty sketches and photographs illustrating the life and times of the Sword Prince, supplemented by a new biographical essay and a bibliography.
Colonel Monstery is truly one of America's forgotten heroes of swordsmanship.
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Print: $12.00 The Falcon Defence Cane Basic System is a unique, practical method of self defense against a single, unarmed assailant.
Drawing from military bayonet training, the Basic System is adapted to the unique advantages of the Falcon Defense Cane. It may also be integrated into any Eastern or Western martial arts curriculum or self-defense training program.
This booklet presents the complete Basic System including techniques and training drills, illustrated with over seventy photographs.
See the system in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f3lvBY8y7Q
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Print: $15.30 This classic and unique American self defense manual was originally written by A.C. Cunningham in 1912. It details a practical and versatile system of self defense using a common walking cane or umbrella.
Mr. Cunningham's twenty-three lessons include grip and guard positions; the different types of attack and defence techniques; targets, feints, counter-parries and footwork; dealing with multiple attackers and "special cases" such as defending against an attack by a dog, or using a hat as an additional weapon of self defense.
This expanded edition includes over one hundred and seventy new, captioned photographs in addition to the twelve pictures featured in the 1912 original, to help modern readers put Mr. Cunningham's lessons into practice. The 2006 edition also includes a new introduction and bibliography section.
"The Cane as a Weapon" makes a wonderful novelty gift or practical study guide for martial artists, self defense enthusiasts and history buffs alike.
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Print: $27.36 The Bartitsu Compendium is a complete guide to the history, theory and practice of Bartitsu, an eclectic martial art founded by E.W. Barton-Wright in the year 1899. Bartitsu was a combination of four of the most effective self defence methods known at the time - jiujitsu, boxing, savate and stick fighting.
The Compendium features over two hundred and seventy pages of original essays, rare vintage reprints and never-before-seen translations, illustrated with hundreds of fascinating photographs and sketches.
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