Opinions on these books...

[Michael Kelly]

So it looks like in the very near future I may finally get the chance to start studying WMA and the European sword in general... So long as life doesn't get in the way again. Anyway, with that in mind I thought I'd see about picking up a couple books to give me something to look over and hoped some here might have some opinions to share about a couple of them...

'The Beginner's Guide to the Long Sword: European Martial Arts Weaponry Techniques' ~ by Steaphen Fick

'Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword' ~ by David Lindholm

Also 'The Longsword of Johannes Liechtenauer Vol. 1' DVD

Thanks in advance...

[J. Harvey]

Michael,
I don't know about the DVD or the Fick book, but the Lindholm book is a good one - although like many things , parts of it are outdated. That is to say current understanding of the techniques has evolved .
Where are you located? If at all possible, I would suggest trying to make it to a nearby study group - they can give you alot of information and advice .

[Michael Kelly]

I would suspect that much everything we understand or think we understand is, or will be outdated at some point... I'm in south Georgia and hope to start training soon with a group out of Charleston, SC... At least once or twice a month. The group looks to focus on the Italian Fiore dei Liberi school and I realize the books and DVD I asked about focus on the German school, but I cannot seem to find any books that focus on Fiore's method for less than an arm and a leg.

Thanks for the reply...

[Randall Pleasant]

So it looks like in the very near future I may finally get the chance to start studying WMA and the European sword in general... So long as life doesn't get in the way again. Anyway, with that in mind I thought I'd see about picking up a couple books to give me something to look over and hoped some here might have some opinions to share about a couple of them...

'The Beginner's Guide to the Long Sword: European Martial Arts Weaponry Techniques' ~ by Steaphen Fick

'Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword' ~ by David Lindholm

Also 'The Longsword of Johannes Liechtenauer Vol. 1' DVD

Thanks in advance...

Use the Lindholm book for for the translation. For ARMA member all three books are out of data in regard to interpretation. Basically all non-ARMA interpretations are 2 generations behind the Rosetta Stone Interpretations of John Clements.

[Allen Johnson]

I agree that the Lindholm book is he best of the bunch, especially for having a translation of the text.

[Ian Mac Pharlaine]

Personally I have found the Lindholm book is not only outdated, but the translation is very poor. This is not Ringeck speaking, but rather the author extrapolating and idealizing what the masters were saying. When you compare the english and german, you can see where he added or changed words where they werent needed. For instance, a 5 word german phrase becomes a 10-15 word english interpretation.

I havent read the Tobler Ringeck book, but from what I hear it's outdated too. I just got the In St George's name book by him, and it is a great overall look at the German system while giving the "Danzig" gloss of the verses. Its a different beast than the better Ringeck translations floating around on the web, but it is one of the better Liechtenauer texts out there.

As for the other two options, the beginners guide is poor, and the DVD can be found here for free, but be forwarned that it is very outdated and much of what it presents is just plain wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3jJ9tfiQjw

Now if you want a Fiore book, I recently received this one from Freelance:

http://www.freelanceacademypress.com/armizare.aspx

What can I say about it? OH MY GOD... BEST FIORE BOOK EHH-VUH-UHR!!! For the price you cant beat it, and it is by far the most accurate, in depth, and organized presentation of a historical fencing manual I have ever seen. I love it! If you only get one book, get this one!

[Randall Pleasant]

Now if you want a Fiore book, I recently received this one from Freelance:

http://www.freelanceacademypress.com/armizare.aspx

If you are studying Fiore you should also have a copy of Tom Leoni's translation of the Getty version of Fiore. Italian is Tom's first language and it is reflected in the translation. The translation does not contain any images from the Getty but these can be found on the Internet. One thing that I like is that there is no interpretations, it is only a translation. At only $28 Tom's book is a must have.

Ran

[Ian Mac Pharlaine]

Thats the excellent thing about the Armizare book. The author clearly states that all of Fiore's quotes in his book will come from Tom's translation of the Getty. So while you wont get the whole entirety of the text of Tom's book (which I also plan to get one day) like the prologue and paragraphs introducing the various sections, if it is a poste, master, scholar, remedy, or counter, it will have the text of those plays accompanying each one's individual section.

What I would love one day is to see a complete Fiore book. Like have each of the 4 editions compiled into one volume, with each page an HD scan of the plates with the facing page a translation. The Armizare book is good at compiling everything into a general presentation of Fiore's art as a whole and notes interesting phenomena between editions, but it would be nice to see each of them side by side in one volume, like first the Pissani-Dossi, then the Morgan, then the Getty, and then the Paris. Probably cost prohibitive to make, but one can dream eh? lol