19th century men in hats beating each other senseless, nonlethally

I think Boing Boing quotes the absolute best part of the article here:

How to kick someone's ass with an umbrella.

The second half of the actual article, which follows in a similar vein, can be found here.

A note to the Brandeis karate club: Although we will be working with sticks in club tomorrow, "traditional attire" as seen in the diagrams will not be required, as the amount of ass kicked will likely be slight. We are all just beginners, remember! :)