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Product Description
Product Description
From the author of Renaissance Swordsmanship comes the most comprehensive and historically accurate view ever of the lost fighting arts of Medieval knights, warriors and men-at-arms. Based on years of extensive training and research in the use of European swords, it contains highly effective fighting techniques for the sword, sword & shield, long-sword, great-sword, pole-arm and more. And with more than 200 illustrations and rare historical documents, it is a scholarly reference as well as a hands-on training guide for martial artists of all levels.
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First Sentence
There really is no such thing now as a ''traditional Medieval European sword art." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
There really is no such thing now as a ''traditional Medieval European sword art." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
John Clements' latest book is a welcome and valuable resource in the international effort to revive traditional European swordsmanship as a martial art. It is well-illustrated by the author (a professional graphic artist)and covers a great deal of technical and historical ground.
Unfortunately, "Medieval Swordsmanship" is not well organised and does not present a structured guide to learning the art. In his enthusiasm to cover a wide variety of techniques, the author has omitted to discuss many of the fundamental principles of swordsmanship, such as body mechanics. This would not present any real obstacles to experienced practitioners but could be confusing or even dangerous for novices.
The main fault in this book lies in the author's writing style, which is undisciplined and tends towards egotism. He appears to confuse his own motivations with those of fantasy-game enthusiasts, fencers and fight-scene directors and to waste a great deal of space comparing apples and oranges. Some of these critiques seem rather petty and detract from the otherwise positive tone. Footnotes would also have been welcome, in that the author cites a great diversity of sources but seldom follows through with specific details.
Any future editions of "Medieval Swordsmanship" will benefit from some professional editing and accurate citations, and several of the more vociferous appendices could usefully be dropped or replaced.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was rather excited when I found this book, but left it feeling rather disappointed. The diagrams are very good, indeed better than other books in the field; The author's writing style sadly does not match. He adopts a "my way or nothing" approach, spending almost as much time talking of how bad or unrealistic modern fencing, kendo or re-enactment fighting all are that he does talking of his own techniques. The book desperately needed editing to remove this rather unnecessary annoying rubbish. While I applaud the author's notion of restoring western fighting techniques as martial arts, I did not even bother to finish, but put the book down rather sadly, just too frustrated with it to continue.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It is a good book into which the author has put a lot of effort and inspiration.
However it should not be treated as an ultimate guide to sword fighting, rather additional material for one's study of sword. While the text is interesting (even though a bit over stretched and vague in places) and the diagrams are informative, one should not base his or her training entirely on this publication.
The main drawback of the book is the fact that the author has attempted to cover too wide a field which resulted in the main subject being somewhat neglected, or so it seems at times.
Still it is an interesting work which may give someone with previous experience in sword fighting a few new ideas.
However it should not be treated as an ultimate guide to sword fighting, rather additional material for one's study of sword. While the text is interesting (even though a bit over stretched and vague in places) and the diagrams are informative, one should not base his or her training entirely on this publication.
The main drawback of the book is the fact that the author has attempted to cover too wide a field which resulted in the main subject being somewhat neglected, or so it seems at times.
Still it is an interesting work which may give someone with previous experience in sword fighting a few new ideas.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
For the art of Sword fighting . Get this book.
John Clements is a professor. He speaks without egotistical embroidery.His descriptions , instruction and suggestion , are clear and concise . Read more
Published 2 months ago by MickV
Useful but too long
Whilst the book does contain useful information about the weapons and techniques it aims to cover, I felt much space was wasted in repetitive and long-winded criticism of methods... Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2009 by D. Carter
A good start
Mr. Clements's enthusiasm shines through in the sheer volume of content he aspires to cover in this book. Read more
Published on 18 July 2007 by Mrs. H. R. Martin-bacon
Extremely informative book
This is an amazingly detailed book. Both a practical fight manual and a historical guide, it contains a wealth of information on fighting with the Sword-and-Shield and the... Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2004 by Tom Watson
Practical swordfighting advice from an impassioned source
First; the bad. Clements could use a better editor, and he often lets his frustration at other sword users (fencers, theatrical choreographers, Historical Societies) get the better... Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2003 by Julian Morley
Awful
This book is without doubt the worst start a beginner can make in the study of swordsmanship. Full of shoddy historical research (if any), mistaken premises, and utterly incorrect... Read more
Published on 21 Dec 2002 by Windsor Guy
dreadful
Despite his undoubted enthusiasm for his subject, Mr. Clements' book is regrettably devoid of merit. Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2002 by Windsor Guy
Medieval Swordsmanship : Illustrated Methods and Techniques
This book is an absolute must for any keen swordsman of any discipline. As a fencing instuctor and medieval re-enactor I found this book very insightful. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2002 by Mr Alan J Knowles
Flawless - A Masterpiece
Absolutely amazing: like Terry Brown's 'English Martial Arts', this is a no-nonsense comprehensive guide to medieval European fighting, and is completely authentic and... Read more
Published on 22 Sep 1999
WOW!
This book is amazing, it has helped me to not only understand the use of broadswords but also a majority of the swords of the period. Read more
Published on 24 Jun 1999
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