Where can I download free fighting manuals?

[JohnDemick]

Hey everyone, im new here and I was just wondering where I can download fighting manuals on Euro SwordArts. If you could include a direct link that would also be nice <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

Also, for a couple of weeks ive been searching the net trying to correct people's common misconceptions of knights and European Swordsmanship. Imagine my anger when i found this ingnorant post on another forum...lol

"FYI -- For my humble take an Japanese Samurai versus European knight (both subjects I've studied for decades): It would not even have been a contest. In every aspect, from strategy and combat technique to mobility, weapons quality and vision when armored, the Samurai were vastly superior.


Europeans allowed religious superstitions and caste prejudices to impact their fighting style and combat strategy. They were rigid and inflexible in their views. The Samurai were adaptable and pragmatic. They would have quickly spotted weaknesses in European fighting techniques and strategy (and quickly copied and adapted anything they thought worked), and in short order have torn the knights to pieces. (Note how quickly Japan adopted and began developing and manufacturing firearms.)


"One more thing: If I had to fight a European knight in full plate armor (and I was in the Samurai equivalent), I'd just wait for him to swing that big clumsy sword at me, allow his balance to get off center, and stab him through the eye slits of his helmet, or shove the sword up under the lip of his helmet, into his throat -- both attacks employ the "stabbing" technique you keep advocating. Or I'd try to manuever myself behind him and strike at the butt and upper legs -- often left exposed to facilitate horseback riding."

"t is interesting to note that Brittain and other European countries conquered and enslaved people everywhere they went -- EXCEPT Japan. NOBODY messed with them, except the good old US of A. In the last century we sent a warship to forcibly "open" the country to US trade.


Just as I noted earlier, they quickly adopted our technology, and less than one hundred years later used American-style fighting techniques and weapons (aircraft carriers, submarines and carrier-based planes) to launch one of the most daring and innovative military strikes in human history -- Pearl Harbor.


It's interesting to note that the airplane, submarine and aircraft carrier were ALL American inventions. Like I said, Samurai learn and adapt FAST! They would have kicked European knights' butts! (And gosh, we didn't even get into what Japan has done to American industry since WWII!) "

I mean cmon, get behind your enemy??? hahahh! has this guy ever spared before? He must be watching too much anime.
Here is the forum link, if anyone wants to prove this guy wrong
http://p209.ezboard.com/fjediacademyfrm45.showMessageRange?start=21&amp;stop=40&amp;topicID=19.topic

[Randall Pleasant]

John

Check out the Historical Manuals page on this site.

In regard to your online disucssion it does sound like that person has been reading too much anime. However, it is not normally worth your time to try to prove anything to such a person. Post some links to this site, ask them to read, tell them to have a nice day, and then refocus back onto your own training.

[JohnDemick]

ahh yes, it is good advice. However, my experience with leaving links is that the person im trying to prove a point to does not read them, but instead says he looked at it for a couple of minutes (when it was obvious he/she didnt look at it at all) and was not impressed, many would even say that they didnt even bother looking at it, haha. Ohh well, i guess some people will never believe anything outside of what they see from TV. <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

[Matt Shields]

You may also want to look at AEMMA's Website.

As for the Knight Vs. Samurai debate, I think most of us here have seen more than our share. I personally can take no more. I'll warn you that every single time you finish dispelling false and ignorant claims it comes down to the two following things:

A user with a Ninja/Anime icon trying to either create some horribly bizarre scenario in which the Samurai wins, or simply insulting Europeans/European Weaponry in general.
A Kenjitsu/Iado practitioner claiming that mobility is the most important attribute in combat (always mentioning his personal training, and how well he understands the Katana’s capabilities.)

And while I realize how absurd everything about that post you pasted was, I've seen much worse (Knight Vs. Shaolin Monk brings back some very unpleasant memories,) and I suggest you avoid wasting your energy arguing with users of Fantasy/Science Fiction Forums. It's simply useless.

[Casper Bradak]

Some suckers simply have no sense, and no respect for (usually) their own ancestry.

[Daniel_Vince]

But it's a lightsabre...er...katana!
Given that the later period katana were really designed for fighting unarmored opponents, might not a rapier be a fairer fight? I'm not sure I want to bring up that issue either.

[Trent Sharp]

The thing I notice about these debates is that all of the Samurai "enthusiast" know nothing about history. It seems like they got most of their ideas about history from movies like a "A kid in King Arthur court" and the last season of "Rioni Kenshin."
Then to fill in the blanks they go on the bugei forum, where they all tell each other what they want to hear about history, so that the great all-powerful man cleaving, mystical katana will be placed above everything and anyone. I have heard such stupid things that I had to re-read lines and just ask my self why o' why. If that guy would have known he would not have mentioned Japanese WW2 guns. I watched an one hour show on the history channel about WW2 Japanese guns and it was pretty much a bunch if collectors saying how horrible they were the whole time.This goes for kung-fu too. I say they do this because their is a seed of doubt placed in them when they hear about how the "Black Dragon " gets ravaged by royce gracie in the UFC and how John Clements wins their tournament, and it shatters what they were spoon fed and they are not sure what to do but find people to argue with in message-boards to pound these ideas into their head.

[Daniel_Vince]

Honestly, I think many of those people aren't interested in samurai or martial arts of any kind for that matter. They're interested in Real Ultimate Power, which of course doesn't exist. They're not going to let that stop them though.

[Matt Shields]

Very well said Trent.

While I still don't understand it, perhaps I can give everyone an idea of what these people are like.

Back in my Kung-Fu days (about a year ago those days ended) I needed that "pounding" to give me some confidence in the ridiculous techniques I was learning. Things like Grapplers and the UFC filled me with horror and I looked to certain message boards like those for explanations. People who posted that kind of crap were the only thing keeping me in the Eastern Martial Arts Circle (buying all of their shoddy products and then trying to get friends to do the same.) Even then the doubt ate away at me day and night (no exaggeration.) I had to lie not only to myself, but also to others. To this very day I still don't understand why I clinged so tightly to something that was causing me so much agony.

As sick as it may sound, hearing about how Knights were virtually blind and couldn't get up after they were dismounted was actually satisfying. The same went with hearing that European Blades were sharpened, twenty pound crowbars did the same, but that wasn't enough. I think eventually I started telling myself that while Kung Fu was far from perfect, it was still the best thing available. It didn't help that once teachers/book writers know they have your confidence, they don't have to worry about teaching you less practical and more pitiful techniques. It got to the point where for about three months I avoided thinking about Martial Arts all together. During that period I heard of John Clements victory in the 1994 Kung Fu Weapons Tournament. It did indeed shatter what I was "spoon-fed" and the attempts to rationalize it on one Particular Forum were beyond pathetic. Eventually I built up the courage to put John’s name into a search engine and the first thing that came up was the ARMA website.