The new Sherlock Holmes and wing chun

[dnovice]

Apparently Sherlock Holmes practice wing chun The fight scenes are packed with wing chun moves.

My overall impression of the movie: The fight scenes were great, while the plot production of the movie were just ok.

 

[Omar B]

I think that was more of Robert Downey Jr showing through since he is a chunner.

Interview with the movie's fight choreographer: http://www.bartitsu.org/index.php/2...lock-holmes-fight-choreographer-richard-ryan/

 

[Gordon Nore]

I think that was more of Robert Downey Jr showing through since he is a chunner.

Interview with the movie's fight choreographer: http://www.bartitsu.org/index.php/2...lock-holmes-fight-choreographer-richard-ryan/

Thanks, Omar. That site was very interesting. I remember the topic of bartitsu coming up here in the past, including it's appearances in Holmes books. A search of "bartitsu" on this site yields several threads.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Bartitsu

http://www.answers.com/topic/bartitsu

 

[dnovice]

I think that was more of Robert Downey Jr showing through since he is a chunner.

Interview with the movie's fight choreographer: http://www.bartitsu.org/index.php/2...lock-holmes-fight-choreographer-richard-ryan/

It actually is more than Downey showing through according to your link. Apparently, for avoid licensing conflicts they created a neo-bartitsu, a bit different from the normal bartitsu. They used wing chun together with some other arts...

excerpt from above link...
"Bartitsu, as you are acutely aware, is a mixed martial art involving boxing, ju-jitsu, savate, stickfighting and swordplay that was popular at the turn of the 20th century. In developing our Holmes combat style we wanted to use a neo-Bartitsu that was in keeping with the film’s contemporary aesthetic. To do this we chose to utilize the Chinese boxing that Downey practices as the foundation and also incorporate swordplay and elements of Brazilian ju-jitsu, which Ritchie practices"

 

[bully]

Watched it this afternoon.

Was going to start a thread, but was beaten to it!!

Definitely some WC in there, Downey being an avid practitioner.

All good publicity for the art, but don't think non WC's will know what they are looking at.

Film was OK, a bit boring in the middle, 6/10 for me.

Last thing, I agree with dnovice, it is a lot more than Downey Jr being a WC guy coming through. If you read the whole interview you will see that.

 

[Jenny_in_Chico]

My only beef with the movie was the costumery. Not entirely true to the period, and they dressed and painted Irene Adler like a prostitute.

 

[Stac3y]

Now I want to see this film even more. Yippee!

 

[Steve]

I was so proud to see that Watson didn't cross his feet as he choked out the giant by RNC.

I'd agree with 6/10. Pretty good but I was expecting a more complex plot. For a Sherlock movie, there wasn't a lot of real mystery. No twists.

 

[profesormental]

Of course not!

It's elementary!

 

[dnovice]

Film was OK, a bit boring in the middle, 6/10 for me.

Last thing, I agree with dnovice, it is a lot more than Downey Jr being a WC guy coming through. If you read the whole interview you will see that.

I second that 6/10.

Now I want to see this film even more. Yippee!

The action scenes are definitely worth seeing. The plot as steve said above is not all that.

I was so proud to see that Watson didn't cross his feet as he choked out the giant by RNC.

I'd agree with 6/10. Pretty good but I was expecting a more complex plot. For a Sherlock movie, there wasn't a lot of real mystery. No twists.

I actually passed out sometime after the second fight when a lot just started to happen and then woke up right before the next fight scene;-)

Of course not!

It's elementary!

... Watson!

 

[dnovice]

For those of you who have seen the movie do you ever process a fight the way Downey broke down the fight in his head, before actually fighting. For example, when you see a possible opponent you start thinking, first i will slap his eardrums, move into a chop to his neck, stomp his knee and finish it off with a sweep...

When I have sufficient time to think I do this spontaneously when I'm I've faced an aggressive person; I was never trained to do this.

 

[Stac3y]

I second that 6/10.
The action scenes are definitely worth seeing. The plot as steve said above is not all that.

The plot may not be "all that," but the actors certainly are. Yum.

 

[Steve]

The plot may not be "all that," but the actors certainly are. Yum.

My wife said pretty much the same thing.

 

[Gordon Nore]

Bartitsu

The link triggered a memory for me. When I was a kid my uncle had what he described to me as an old London policeman's walking stick. It was a sword inside the covering -- perhaps a hollow wooden or bamboo sheathe, I don't recall for sure. I wonder if this implement is connected to the practice of Bartitsu.

 

[dnovice]

The plot may not be "all that," but the actors certainly are. Yum.

:roflmao:

 

[yorkshirelad]

The link triggered a memory for me. When I was a kid my uncle had what he described to me as an old London policeman's walking stick. It was a sword inside the covering -- perhaps a hollow wooden or bamboo sheathe, I don't recall for sure. I wonder if this implement is connected to the practice of Bartitsu.

Conan Doyle refered to Holmes' fighting style as Baritsu, which was just a misspelling for Bartitsu. The movie itself is just a good yarn. My wife and I enjoyed it. We are both fans of Guy Ritchie, Robert Downey and I am and always have been a keen fan of Conan Doyle.

Guy Ritchie is an avid Bjj practitoner and used to train regulary with the former conservative party leader William Hague. BJJ was represented by the rear naked choke and arm bar performed against the very large Frenchman in the movie.

Downey is a WC practitioner and represented his art in the bareknuckle boxing match.

As a martial artist, I would've loved to see some historical research done on Bartitsu. I believe the art is pretty much dead apart from a few manuals and various martial artists who have attempted to resurrect the art. I don't think that there is a lineage directly associated with Barton-Wright. His art as a mixture of Kito ryu and Kodokan Judo (which I believe he learned from Kano in Japan) bare knuckle boxing and the French art of Le Canne.

 

[dungeonworks]

Robert Downey Jr is a direct student of William Cheung I believe. Their was a good piece on him somewhere in the American news media showing him practice with Sifu Cheung and how he is using Wing Chun to overcome his demons as well as Tai Chi practice. I can relate to using Martial Arts to overcome certain instabilities during my life back in my Koei Kan Karate Do days. I am not a church kind of guy, but I did find the same qualities and sanctity in the dojo as one may find in a church, synagogue, mosque...ect. Therefore, I can relate on some levels to Downey and have always been a fan of his work.

The interview/news spotlight is somewhere on YouTube I believe and came out around the release of the first Iron Man movie.

 

[dungeonworks]

Heres one that also mentions Nic Cage in Bangkok Dangerous as well as RDJ.

 

[jks9199]

As a martial artist, I would've loved to see some historical research done on Bartitsu. I believe the art is pretty much dead apart from a few manuals and various martial artists who have attempted to resurrect the art. I don't think that there is a lineage directly associated with Barton-Wright. His art as a mixture of Kito ryu and Kodokan Judo (which I believe he learned from Kano in Japan) bare knuckle boxing and the French art of Le Canne.

There is a group working on resurrecting/reviving Bartitsu; the article linked in the OP is from one of their websites. The original art did pretty much die out, according to what I've read. There were some internal issues about the facility, as I recall, as well as some falling outs between the early instructors/members.