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Title: Medieval Combat: A Fifteenth-Century Illustrated Manual of Swordfighting and Close-Quarter Combat -- Greenhill Military Paperbacks by Hans Talhoffer, Mark Rector, John Clements ISBN: 1-85367-582-2 Publisher: Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal Pub. Date: February, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.44 (18 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: At last! In English!
Comment: For the linguistically challenged of us, research into western martial arts is frequently a frustrating endeavor. For so many purposes only primary documents will do. Now, thanks to author Mark Rector, Talhoffer is among the readily available. Complete with sections on a wide variety of weapons including mounted combat, this treatise will greatly aid the diverse community of historical re-enactors, stage combatants and western martial artists. Another plus is the fact that the author is a respected martial artist himself and an instructor at the Chicago Swordplay Guild where these fascinating medieval martial techniques are still practiced on a regular basis. Through Mr. Rector's clear handling of the work, the words of this important master can still guide the modern student of the sword.

Rating: 5
Summary: Message from the Translator
Comment: I am delighted with the response to MEDIEVAL COMBAT. My hope is that it serves to help the emerging Western Martial Arts community in their study of European swordsmanship, and that students and scholars and just plain folks who are interested in the history and art of the Middle Ages look to this book for the insights it provides into the real people who fought and lived and died in this fascinating period.

As a martial artist and stage fight choreographer and combatant, I am keenly interested in understanding the "real deal" of European swordsmanship. There is an astonishing wealth of material outlining the systematic methods for using all the weapons in the medieval and Renaissance warrior's arsenal, but many of these documents remain untranslated into English. For years, English speaking martial artists have been constrained to base their interpretation of these methods on the illustrations alone, without the benefit of the knowledge to be gained by a careful study of the accompanying text. Now, finally, efforts are under way to unlock these secrets of the sword.

This book is just one small step in what promises to be an exciting rebirth of the study of the Western Martial Arts and historical European swordsmanship.

Cheers!

Mark Rector

Rating: 5
Summary: Just like a book about Okinawan kata
Comment: If a Karate-ka writes a book about a kata, only an expert will actually gain much from it. He will recognize the pictures for what they are: refreshers for those who may train every day. This treatise is no different from the much vaunted "Best Karate" by Nakayama, in fact it goes a step further by not covering basic techniques that an entry level martial artist would need, or think they need. This hints at the precept of being a reference manual for very skilled martial artists. You cannot learn a martial art from a book, and this is no exception. But if you are familiar with fighting arts in general this book will show you that organized fighting systems evolved concurrently in Europe and the far east. Here we have "snapshots" taken of certain techniques. Many of the pictures look like they are pulled from the "Bubishi" (so called "bible of karate"). If you are interested in weaponry, buy this book and compare the techniques within to Kendo and fencing. Form follows function, and it is obvious in this book. Enjoy.
If nothing else, it is a fascinaing glimpse into a martial art far more ancient than Shotokan Karate

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