Rating: 
Summary: Swashbuckling is the ultimate guide to stage fighting.
Review: In words and pictures - about 400 of them, Swashbuckling covers everything an actor must know and everything an actor must do to give a dynamic and convincing performance as a stage combatant. Covered in detail are weaponry, defense and attack techniques, and working with fight directors."[This book] is more than a manual... A necessity! Richard Lane's concepts are vital... 'Why' and 'When' are explained and make 'How' easier to understand and execute... I raise my sword on high and salute you, Richard. Well done!" - Oscar Kolombatovich, former Fencing Master, Metropolitan Opera, New York END
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Primer
Review: It is important to remember that no book ever written will adequately prepare you for participation in stage combat. Though stage fighting is choreographed down to the instant and is tightly controlled, it remains very risky. Many actors have been hurt very badly participating in supposedly "phony" combat. Do not attempt to participate in stage combat without either taking a course with an SAFD-certified coach or ensuring your fight choreographer has done the same. This book, however, is one of the most thorough primers available. You cannot learn stage fighting from this book, but you can use this book to prepare yourself for what's coming when you study with an SAFD coach. This book gives you instruction on postures, motions, workouts, acting attitudes, and more to get you started and get you in the right way of thinking and moving, preparatory to studying with a certified coach. One attractive quality of this book is the amount of space it dedicates to unarmed combat. I have encountered many coaching texts that place all the emphasis in their material on fighting with weapons, especially swords. Unarmed combat, when mentioned, is primarily a sidelight. This isn't wholly unfair, since sword fighting is very difficult and involves many integrated skills; sword fighting without wounding or risking a wound to your opponent or yourself is all the more difficult. However, unarmed combat-fistfights, barroom brawls, catfights, and even physical gags in low comedy-require more skill than many people seem to realize. If you throw a punch or kick a foot at random, somebody's going to get hurt, possibly very badly. This book begins to teach readers how to brawl or tangle with somebody unarmed, make it look like it hurts, and walk away unscratched. All in all, this is a superior book on the skills of staged combat. To repeat, this book will not teach you how to choreograph or participate in a stage fight. No book can do that. If you try to stage a fight without either SAFD-certified participants or an SAFD-certified trainer, injury is all too likely. However, as a side to more strenuous coaching, Richard Lane's "Swashbuckling" is one of the better primers available to you.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Primer
Review: It is important to remember that no book ever written will adequately prepare you for participation in stage combat. Though stage fighting is choreographed down to the instant and is tightly controlled, it remains very risky. Many actors have been hurt very badly participating in supposedly "phony" combat. Do not attempt to participate in stage combat without either taking a course with an SAFD-certified coach or ensuring your fight choreographer has done the same. This book, however, is one of the most thorough primers available. You cannot learn stage fighting from this book, but you can use this book to prepare yourself for what's coming when you study with an SAFD coach. This book gives you instruction on postures, motions, workouts, acting attitudes, and more to get you started and get you in the right way of thinking and moving, preparatory to studying with a certified coach. One attractive quality of this book is the amount of space it dedicates to unarmed combat. I have encountered many coaching texts that place all the emphasis in their material on fighting with weapons, especially swords. Unarmed combat, when mentioned, is primarily a sidelight. This isn't wholly unfair, since sword fighting is very difficult and involves many integrated skills; sword fighting without wounding or risking a wound to your opponent or yourself is all the more difficult. However, unarmed combat-fistfights, barroom brawls, catfights, and even physical gags in low comedy-require more skill than many people seem to realize. If you throw a punch or kick a foot at random, somebody's going to get hurt, possibly very badly. This book begins to teach readers how to brawl or tangle with somebody unarmed, make it look like it hurts, and walk away unscratched. All in all, this is a superior book on the skills of staged combat. To repeat, this book will not teach you how to choreograph or participate in a stage fight. No book can do that. If you try to stage a fight without either SAFD-certified participants or an SAFD-certified trainer, injury is all too likely. However, as a side to more strenuous coaching, Richard Lane's "Swashbuckling" is one of the better primers available to you.
Rating:
Summary: I raise my sword on high and salute you Richard
Review: Swahbuckling is the ultimate guide to stage fighting technique and basic swordplay. In words and in pictures about 400 of them, it covers everything an actor must know and everything anactor must do to give a dynamic and convincing performance as a stage combatant. Founde and executive director of the Academy of the Sword, Richard Lane is one of only 25 instructors of stage combat certified by the Society of American Fight Directors
Rating:
Summary: Errol Flynn move over!
Review: This is a useful text for those currently studying stage combat or interested in studying stage combat. A warning- THIS IS NOT A DO IT YOURSELF guide to stage combat. The only safe and sane way to learn stage combat is to study (i.e. take a class at your local university or acting studio) with a fully accredited stage combat teacher. The book's information is thorough and useful if one is in a classroom setting.
Rating:
Summary: Errol Flynn move over!
Review: This is a useful text for those currently studying stage combat or interested in studying stage combat. A warning- THIS IS NOT A DO IT YOURSELF guide to stage combat. The only safe and sane way to learn stage combat is to study (i.e. take a class at your local university or acting studio) with a fully accredited stage combat teacher. The book's information is thorough and useful if one is in a classroom setting.
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