Rating:  Summary: Good resource for writers, but.... Review: This book obviously is written by someone full of passion for the techniques of Medieval Swordsmanship. However, the passion does not cover for some of the flaws. With a little more research worked into this and a correct of some of the faulty information, it would have been the bible for writers, reenactors and people interested in the historical technique of medieval sword fighting. Still when used with other historical works, it is an excellent resource. He covers medieval swords, their making, swords use with shields and against shields. He discusses sparing methods, how to stage reenactments, then historical decline of the swords, and then how the sword has evolved in martial arts of today. It's a good work, but due to glaring problems it just misses as being a great work. I would still think writers and reenactors - using it conjunction with other works - would find it a useful book and would not want to miss it.
Rating:  Summary: An excellent start Review: Mr. Clements has done a complete and authoritative job of introducing a new reader to the lost martial art of the west, medieval swordsmanship. I am a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and am an authorized rapier fighter in the Middle Kingdom (which includes my home state of Michigan). I purchased this book based on reviews here, to aid my rapier fighting techniques since I am a relatively new fighter. [The Postitives] The book has excellent diagrams of weapons and fighting techniques. Even more, he explains such things as the "why" behind the differences of period rapier fighting and its modern successor, sport or Olympic fencing. He also shows how the differences of various grips upon a rapier or sword will impact a combatant. He covers cut-and-thrust swordsmanship with the same depth. Each weapon and technique is clearly explained. Many diagrams have human figures displayed in the appropriate stance. While sparse, they are very effective. [The negatives] As noted in an earlier review, Mr. Clements does spend time debunking those he disagrees with. However, I interpreted this as someone who was taking the time to explain why they were doing this (swordsmanship) to someone coming from another discipline. I didn't find it condescending or irritating. While Mr. Clements does an excellent job with showing you various stances, parries and cuts, they will probably quickly lose their luster once you have practiced them. There are no further drills to practice or techniques to learn once you have figured out what he has shown you. [Conclusion] This book is excellent for someone with little or no experience in re-creating swordsmanship. I highly recommend it. The only thing keeping me from rating it a full five stars is that it has no provision for you once you have advanced past what it has to teach. Still, it was a worthwhile purchase.
Rating:  Summary: Excellent... Review: This was an excellent book. I was getting nervous when it was on order that I wouldn't like it as much as I hoped. I was pleasantly surprised. There are numerous diagrams and my husband and I can now properly play with our swords. The book also goes into swords while used with shields. A very helpful book.
Rating:  Summary: Good resource, but not great Review: First, I would like to complement Clements because his book does contain a wealth of knowledge and was one of the first widely accessible books on the subject I ever came across. He has spent a great deal of time in developing his skills and knowledge about Western fighting techniques and it shows. You can learn a lot from this book. However to do it you will have to wade through some of Clement's literary shortcomings. He has a tendency to be overly critical of anyone who he disagrees with, wasting way too much space in his book talking about what he feels others are doing wrong. I would much prefer he spend more time discussing what he is doing right. I've read several other papers written by Clements and this is a consistent complaint of mine with his work. Another conclusion is that Clements is very impressed with himself and wants to share that with everyone. Still, he has a great deal of knowledge to share on this topic and with this book has given us a widely distributed and affordable tome. When he is sticking to details he has a lot to offer.
Rating:  Summary: You have to start somewhere... Review: This book is a well-researched and informative reading...if you're willing to sift through the B.S.; it would seem that the book hadn't an editor to cut away the fat in lieu of the meat of the subject. I have a few observations on the book's content: It contains a good introduction to the nature of swords and their method of combat; It dispels certain sword myths that are common among the uninformed; As for the writing: The author's writing is not great, but that is dismissible. However, John Clements is also painfully redundant, dedicating chapters to concepts that fit entirely in one or two paragraphs. He also spends an atrocious amount of time and ink on slamming stage performers, eastern martial artists, and all martial practitioners in general other than himself and his organization (ironic, seeing as how he stresses in this very book the need for eastern and western martial artists to understand each other when he so obviously knows nothing real of eastern martial arts and insults them all greatly). If you read a few essays written by Mr. Clements on [URL] you will understand. The writing aside, this book does offer a pleuthora of good information pertaining to medieval swordsmanship...you just have to ignore the redundancies/attitudes of the author.
Rating:  Summary: An Excellent Guide for the Beginner! Review: I have to admit I was a bit hesitant to buy this book, as it had mixed reviews here on Amazon. Now that I've read it for myself, I can safely say that it's a outstanding guide for a Western Martial Arts newbie such as myself. I highly recommend it for anyone who's interested in seriously exploring European sword fighting. Some of the inital background information might be a bit redundant for those with a decent knowledge of warfare in the Middle Ages. However, it doesn't detract from the wealth of information in this book. The chapters are well-organized and easy to follow. The various swordfighting techniques are nicely illustrated and very easy to recreate on your own. I was especially taken by the chapter on fighting with a one-handed sword & shield. I had always taken my cue about shields from TV, films, and Ren-fair stuff, basically hiding behind the shield, while the other guy clubs it like a deranged monkey on crack, waiting for an opportunity to strike out. Mr. Clements presses the importance of viewing the shield as a weapon, and provides techniques on using it as an integral part of the fight. As for the digs on the stage action/Ren-fair/SCA "battles", John is not nearly as harsh as some of these reviews make him out to be. He basically explains how such theatrical fighting causes a degraded mental image of what Western Martial Arts really are, at least as far as the general public is concerned. And on that point, I have to agree. Reenactments are great fun, but no-one should kid themselves that it's even close to the real art. He's calling it as he sees it, and quite frankly, he's not too far off the mark. Anyway, if you want an excellent beginner's guide to the sword, you would do well to start with this book.
Rating:  Summary: Mixed blessings Review: I think that this book is a great step forward and it will help to convice many "doubting Thomases" that Europe did have its own martial arts and that they can still be practised today. It's a bit hard to follow in some places and is not really a step-by-step guide for beginners, but it does provide lots of information and good ideas. The pictures are very good and clear, and there are lots of sketches from old fencing books as well. The writer does waste a lot of ink hassling movies, fantasy roleplayers and others who are not really trying to do what he is doing anyway. It's boring and I felt a bit ... when I read these parts. Evereyone knows the difference between fantasy and reality.
Rating:  Summary: A good start Review: But for a lack of an editor and source citations, both this book and the Renaissance book could be better. Both could be consolidated into a single text the density of the Medievial. It appears the author was rushed. Either because of over committment or a hurried publisher. Either way, neither text was ready for press. It is either that or the author lacked enough informational text and filled the blank spaces with the occasional stage combat, collegiate\Olympic fencing, or SCA tirade. I own both books. I bought both books to get me started in Western Martial arts. I am willing to continue to disagree with the author on some issues and concede others. Is this book worthless? I don't think so. Could the author have done better? Heck yes. Would I recommend this book? As a primer, but not for advanced study. If you are already a student of European martial arts, this is not a book for you. If you don't know one end of a sword from another, it is a place to start. Patiently awaiting Bob Charron's Fiori translation with very high expectations.
Rating:  Summary: clear and concise Review: Having studied eastern martial arts for over 14 years, mostly Japanese, I had always pined over the lack of material available to those who wished to pursue Western martial arts. What I like most about this book is how clear it is. Many other books do not show enough pictures in sequence for a particular move to fully understand it, but the drawing in this book are very easy for me to follow. Although some reader have apparently found the author's remarks regarding those in the stagecombat and reenactment camps, I found them to mirror my experiences of them exactly. It is high time someone put forth a scholarly work to refute those people who think THEIR way is the "only way". Mr. Clements shows us the basics and then allows us to take what he gives us and create our own personal way of using this most ancient and revered weapon. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Rating:  Summary: Realistic, Very Good, Buy It! Review: I not only read this book, I also saw the Author giving lectures and demonstrations (Leeds, England). I must say that the book is good and realistic and the experitise of the author very good (saw it in the demonstrations). He really knows what he is talking about and he leaves the flowery stuff out. That's why he places critical remarks about stagecombat and moviefighting. But he has a point. Since movies are there to enjoy, swordfighting is there to kill and thus has to be realistic. As I have seen the author himself in action and as I do have an extensive Martial Arts background I can tell every reader that Mr. Clements is very good at swordsmanship. Just buy the book and read page 277 good (there he says that the critical remarks are not meant to put anyone down)
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