Rating: 
Summary: Most Remarkable and Valuable Book for Period Fencing
Review: I've been involved with fencing (sport and period) and living history for over 20 years and no where, repeat no where, have I seen information, guidance, advice, and just plain common sense on true renaissance swordsmanship as straightforward and insightful as presented in this tome. Meanspirited resentments by expressed malcontent sport fencers only serve to buttress the value of this work in dismissing the myth that renaissance swordplay is the real thing. Garth of York, The Black Blade Sword Studio
Rating:
Summary: A Book for Serious Students of the Sword
Review: If you are interested in the use of rapiers and cut-and-thrust swords, Renaissance Swordsmanship is a valuable guide -- in fact, it's the *only* book in print today covering this material. The book provides a useful introduction to both rapier and sword, then goes on to illustrate a number of techniques. You can't learn swordsmanship from a book, but you can certainly learn more *about* it from this practical introduction. No, it's not about fencing and Clements doesn't approach his subject as a fencing teacher would, but Renaissance Swordsmanship has earned its reputation as a solid starting point for serious students.
Rating: 
Summary: Good overview but overpriced.
Review: It's a good basic intro/overview of Renaissance Swordsmanship.
The first part of the book explains the differences between the
sword makes. The rest explains how each sword make was used with
debunking Hollywood myths and what fencing techniques are just for sport. The book is loaded with illustrations that clearly explain the techniques, although I wish they were more than just human shaped outlines, more detailed in time period dress would of really set the mood for the book. It's worth $...-... dollars, A little more info and rendered illustrations would have made it a $...-... dollar book
Rating: 
Summary: The JOY of Rennaisance Swordplay
Review: John Clements has done exactly what he appears to have set out to do, create a book that dispels the goony Hollywood sword swinging method while attacking his peers for not being quite the purist that he is. Though Mr. Clements may be an outstanding talent in the arts of defence he lacks the writing skills to hold the readers attention and provide detailed instruction. I will say that, while leaning on the numerous handsome illustrations for support, Clements does provide an outstanding overview of the art of Rennaisance Swordsmanship. The book, measuring in at a mere 3/8" thick with a 8 1/2" x 11" profile, is one whose subject matter could easily justify twice the heft, I felt a bit disappointed in it's instructional value. Clements begins by saying that this book "...is intended primarily to dispel the many myths and misconceptions permeating the field of European swordsmanship and propagated by the media and entertainment." I wish it wou! ! ld have stated that information in Amazon's summary. My feeling about the work overall can be summed up by this exerpt from the book itself, "Of course modern people doing reenactment can only hope to approach, not surpass, those warriors in history who trained practically everyday to fight and kill with real weapons Such men were warriors who passed on their experiences learned in life-threatening war over hundreds and hundreds of years. How can modern practitioners training intermittently or playing on weekends even imagine that they could duplicate this fighting skill? Who would presume to even dare innovate their own fighting techniques?". Though these statements have a believable point one could argue this stuff from so many angles it's practically useless to bring up. There are many such discouraging statements in Renaissance Swordsmanship. Clements lords his knowledge over the reader with the heavy hand of dogma. Guess what? Those unthinkable miscreants who s! ! houldn't even dare to conceive that they might possibly hav! e a notion to pick up a sword and endeavor some form of art and excellence or dare I say...fun, are the people who are buying this book with the hopes that it may be another step on their long road to enjoyable, safe and yes, fun swordplay. Fortunately for the modern seeker of sword knowledge the days of haughty, abrasive teaching masters are a thing of the past. Unfortunately, John Clements is living in that past.
Rating:
Summary: Superb introductory manual of Renaissance Sword technique.
Review: John Clements' work is an essential addition to the library of the Arms and Armour Historian, the Historical Reenactor of the 16th and 17th Centuries, the student of Renaissance Swordplay, and anyone with an interest in Western martial heritage and antagonistic personal combat. John Clements has spent years of exceptionally hard work in researching authentic Renaissance Sword technique, studying original period manuals, practicing full-contact sparring with historically-accurate padded or blunted swords and rapiers, and test-cutting with fully sharp high-quality replica blades against soft but resistant target materials. If you are looking for a deep analysis of the sword or rapier style of a particular period master, this is not the place to find it. Clements work is rather a synergy of effective, basic sword and rapier technique, rather than a precise and exacting presentation of a particular Renaissance style. For extraction of useful, effective, sparring-tested sword technique and strategy, Clements book has no equal in print in the English language. "Renaissance Swordsmanship" is one of the harbingers of a small but steadily growing wave of interest in resurrecting Renaissance Swordplay as a true martial art, using the highest standards of research, accurately reconstructed cut-and-thrust swords and rapiers, and a devotion to the high level of excellence and martial ability of the period masters. Clements' book is by no means perfect, but it is highly recommended, and certainly a bold and commendable effort by an obvious zealot of a nearly lost segment of Western heritage.
Rating:
Summary: Rapiers and Ridicule
Review: John Clements's articles usually show an interesting mix of real knowledge, opinion expressed as proven fact, and ridicule of anyone who would ever presume to disagree with him. This book is no exception. He has the ONE TRUE WAY, and he will tell you at extreme length why any other opinion is not merely wrong, but proof of the other person's ignorance, delusions, etc. (I can hardly repeat all of his insults.) If you can stomach the insulting tone, there is some useful knowledge here. But you must supply all the judgement about the limits of his understanding or about any other possible opinions - he provides none.
Rating:
Summary: A sincere but flawed work.
Review: Mr. Clements book makes an attempt to be a primer for sparring in the renaisance style. Unfortunatly it is marred by some serious flaws. Poor scholarship leads to some misleading, and occationaly bizzare, statements about the practice of swordplay in the period he covers. People who are new to the subject are likely to walk away from his book with some odd ideas. The books strength is in its well developed diagrams and grounding in sparring practice. In this area though Clements skimps on the amount of material. There seems to be no end to his misleading preface, notes, introductions, and mini essays; but there is fairly little of what he does well. The middle third of his relativly brief book is all he devotes to the practice of swordplay. All in all I cannot really recomend this book to anyone, the neophyte will leave worse informed than when he started and there isn't enough solid technical information for those interested in the sparring.
Rating: 
Summary: Shooting for the gold-medal; terminating below the bronze.
Review: Mr. Clements means well in generally promoting the tenuous existence of European Historical Swordsmanship. Kudos to his efforts indeed. His publication has basically introduced the eyes of many, to the particular workings of this regal art and science. Thus, a maximum benefit for the historical fencing community at large. On the dark side, most unfortunately - and I do mean so again and again, Clements' work is imbued with spectacular errors (i.e. Carranza's nationality; use of the term 'sparring' etc.) to name a couple. Such deficiencies resulting in historical inaccuracy and incorrect nomenclature, leaves me to ponder about the author's legitimacy. Mr. Clements seems to severely lack the fundamental understanding of the Christian European Zeitgeist of Renaissance Swordsmanship. In other words, the proper historical-mindset and spirituality for the accurate presentation of this work. Without such assets in possession, any pedagogical text on the Occidental sword, be it a complex treatise or even, a user-friendly basic manual, can be and should be devalued. Hence, such applies to this book in its attempt to claim scholarly status. Clements, I am somewhat sure, realizes that by nature, all martial-arts embody a spiritual aspect that is absolutely essential. However, given the porous quality of his presentation, he fails to comprehend in essence that the Western-European sword (and technique) are 'transcendent' beyond its martial capabilities. It (the sword), seriously seeks its Glory through the spiritual contribution of its manipulator thereby, 'it' being the personification of the swordsman. All of the great fencing masters adhered to this formula in practice and certainly, on paper. No such aesthetic-spirit emanates at all from Clements. The tone of writing is 'jockish' and 'sportive' - contrary to the attributes of effective, academic-style communication. I suggest that he seriously refer to Mr. Aldo Nadi's work, specifically regarding such tone of spirit. Any further attempt at research by the author into the more complex insights of European rapier swordplay would indeed be a frightening aspect. Especially, after having laid a defective-base of knowledge. Mr. Clements simply does not possess the 'swordsman's militant Roman Christian mentality' nor, the capacity to properly interpret (i.e. multi-language translation skills; contextual understanding) and instruct correctly from the masters. Representing the pristine scholarship of 'The Renaissance' carries with it enormous responsibility. Only the masters can lift and uphold such a globe. I, the reviewer, am 'not' one of them. As a senior student of classical fencing and historical swordsmanship, I can however state cogently, that this author falters profoundly in the tact and spirit of that realm; all 'stop lights' apply here.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly light, given the high flown title
Review: Mr. Clements' work is an interesting read. It is also a great gift to those interested in Western European historical martial arts, as the library of modern materials dealing with this time period is extremely limited. That is, at root, part of the problem with Clements' work. While he makes an pseudo-scholarly attempt to bolster his work with period sources he is extremely short on citations. Why? Largely, I suppose, because Clements' work is more about the style his group, the HACA, has developed rather than what the period masters have to say. Ironically, in this sense Clements is guilty of exactly what he accuses the SCA of; making up the techniques to fit his game rather than working to recreate purely historical techniques. (The only difference being that the SCA holds itself out as a spectator sport and makes no pretense of being a pure re-creation of medieval and renaissance combat while Clements and his group do.) Clements is given to strong opinions, some of which appear to be unfounded, hyperbole, high falootin pretensions, vitrol and some level of personal promotion. Further, because the field of re-creating medieval martial arts is so new, much of Clements misinformation is accepted by many as valid simply due to the fact that they have few modern works to compare it to. The fact is any serious student of renaissance or medieval martial arts should go "straight to the horse's mouth" and read the period masters. That being said, Clements work is a boon to modern martial artists simply because it "gets the ball rolling" and adds another work to the scant library available today. Recommended with reservations.
Rating: 
Summary: Essential for rediscovering the lost art of the rapier
Review: Only one practical, illustrated guide to the lost art of Western swordsmanship exists, and it is John Clements' Renaissance Swordsmanship. Clements, along with several colleagues, has been engaged for several years in the ambitious project of separating the true fighting practices of the Renaissance Masters of Defense from all the nonsense you see in the movies. His approach combines a careful reading of the period manuals with live-steel experimentation and testing. The result is a book that serves as a practical handbook for the student who wants to learn not how to "fence" but how to fight with a sword. Clements' illustrations are ideal -- much better than photographs at communicating the necessary movements. In addition, Clements provides useful commentary on modern abberations such as stage combat, sport fencing, and SCA-style fantasy fighting to set the true art in contrast to false resonances in contemporary culture. At a time when our memory of the Western martial tradition is all but eclipsed by the illusion of Hollywood sport fencing and an inordinant reverence for the martial arts of the East, this book is essential for anyone who wants to understand what Renaissance Swordsmanship was really all about.
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