The best of both Eastern and Western Sword Fighting Techniques Sword fighting is a vigorous activity that develops strength, speed, and overall physical fitness. It also promotes mental acuity and quick thinking. Once you have developed the requisite skills to the point where you no longer have to think about them to perform them properly, you can focus your attention on out-witting your opponent in an exciting game of physical chess. The Art and Science of Sword Fighting takes an innovative, progressive approach to swordsmanship. Consisting of an eclectic collection of high-percentage sword fighting techniques borrowed from many diverse sources, these universal concepts can easily be applied to fighting with a wide variety of swords. The Art and Science of Sword Fighting is aimed at creating a formidable general practitioner, someone who is comfortable fighting with a variety of swords. This approach provides a solid foundation in the general art of sword fighting, a necessity for beginners and experts alike. Later, once you have determined what your strengths are and where your personal interests lie, you may choose to go on to specialize in a particular brand of swordsmanship. Regardless of what that style may be, this strong foundation will serve you well. By not focusing on the historical context of any particular style, advanced practitioners, regardless of personal style or affiliation, might transcend stylistic differences to come together as a swordsman or a swordswoman in order to discover the universal concepts that underlie all styles. Such collaborations serve to improve the collective understanding of sword fighting. The Art and Science of Sword Fighting is divided into two main sections. Part One focuses on wielding a one-handed sword. Subsections include offense, defense, fencing, and advanced techniques. Part Two focuses on wielding a two-handed sword. Subsections include offense, defense, fencing, and advanced techniques. This book takes a bold, progressive approach to the topic of next generation fencing. The condensed course of study is designed to teach you how to use just about any sword; an eclectic approach to the art of swordsmanship aimed at ferreting out the universal concepts common to wielding a sword. By taking this fresh, methodical approach to the topic, any student can quickly learn the Art and Science of Sword Fighting.

This sixteenth-century German guide to sword fighting and combat training is a crucial source for understanding medieval swordplay techniques. Following his translation of Joachim Meyer’s The Art of Combat, Jeffrey L. Forgeng was alerted to an earlier version of Meyer’s text, discovered in Lund University Library in Sweden. The manuscript, produced in Strasbourg around 1568, is illustrated with thirty watercolor images and seven ink diagrams. The text covers combat with the longsword (hand-and-a-half sword), dusack (a one-handed practice weapon comparable to a sabre), and rapier. The manuscript’s theoretical discussion of guards sheds significant light on this key feature of the historical practice, not just in relation to Meyer but in relation to medieval combat systems in general. The Art of Sword Combat also offers an extensive repertoire of training drills for both the dusack and the rapier, a feature largely lacking in treatises of the period and critical to modern reconstructions of the practice. Forgeng’s translation also includes a biography of Meyer, much of which has only recently come to light, as well as technical terminology and other essential information for understanding and contextualizing the work.

“Useful, helpful, absorbing, entertaining. Whether you are interested in weaponry or, like me, researching details for a novel, this is the book for you.” - Helen Hollick Your search for a book that will feed your passion for and deepen your knowledge of swordsmanship ends here. Guy Windsor’s Swordfighting offers insight into this magnificent historical European martial art: you will find answers to your burning questions about swordsmanship, its theory and practice. This carefully crafted book provides essential information on diverse topics with piercing clarity. “Whether you are a writer or game-maker seeking the kind of information I sought while writing The Baroque Cycle, or just a general reader with an interest in the arts to which Guy Windsor has dedicated his career, you should find much that is rewarding in these pages.” - Neal Stephenson, New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author Made up of a selection of Guy’s essays and articles, with a great deal of brand new material, this engaging and revealing book makes this complex subject accessible, enabling you to deep-dive into — - Benefits of training - Types of weapons - Sword fighting principles - Historical accuracy If you are an actor, writer or games designer creating or writing fight scenes, this book provides cutting-edge research on our European martial arts heritage. You will also discover the dos and don’ts of producing a stunningly realistic sword fight. Swordfighting is not a training manual. For technical instruction on specific swordsmanship styles, pick up The Medieval Longsword and The Duellist's Companion.

“Guy has the rare talent of making this material accessible” -Neal Stephenson (from his Foreword to Swordfighting) “Guy Windsor's greatest gift to WMA/HEMA is his marvellous ability to translate period language into a meaningful experience for modern WMA/HEMA practitioners and he has once more shown his ability to do exactly that.” - Adam (review of Veni Vadi Vici) NOTE: THIS EDITION DOES NOT INCLUDE A FACSIMILE OF THE MANUSCRIPT From the late fifteenth century comes a detailed manuscript on knightly combat, written by Philippo Vadi. Dedicated to one of the most famous Italian condottiere of the age, Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino, this book covers the theory of combat with the longsword, as well as dozens of techniques of the sword, the spear, the pollax, and the dagger. The Art of Sword Fighting in Earnest includes a detailed introduction, setting Vadi and his combat style in their historical context, a complete translation of the manuscript, and a detailed commentary from the perspective of the practising martial artist. Please note it does not include a facsimile of the manuscript, but that may be downloaded from a link provided in the text. This volume is the second edition of Dr. Windsor’s earlier work, Veni Vadi Vici, updating the translation and the introduction. This is essential reading for any practitioner of knightly combat, academic historian, or enthusiast for the quattrocento period of Italian history.

"Simplicity is the shortest distance between two points." ― Bruce Lee, The Tao of Jeet Kune Do The Art and Science of Stick Fighting is a unique, non-style specific, approach to fighting with the short stick. Its curriculum is streamlined and divided into nine logical stages of training that allow the reader to quickly and methodically learn and develop the skills needed for competative fighting and self-defense with the stick.

This is an extravagantly illustrated and engrossing exploration of the art of medieval fighting. The book features some of the most interesting selections from a manuscript by the renowned Italian fencing master Fiore dei Liberi depicting the knightly arts of fighting with swords, daggers, and polearms, both on foot and on horseback.