| By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions; 10th anniversary edition (Modern Library Paperbacks)
| Napoleon fenced. So did Shakespeare, Karl Marx, Grace Kelly, and President Truman, who would cross swords with his daughter, Margaret, when she came home from school. Lincoln was a canny dueler. Igantius Loyala challenged a man to a duel for denying Christ’s divinity (and won). Less successful, but no less enthusiastic, was Mussolini, who would tell his wife he was “off to get spaghetti,” their code to avoid alarming the children. By the Sword is an epic history of sword fighting—...More
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| Old Sword Play: Techniques of the Great Masters (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor)
| Comprehensive, detailed instruction in the use of the two-hand sword, rapier and dagger, broadsword and buckler, rapier and cloak, and dagger and cloak, along with 59 illustrations, including diagrams and rare woodcuts, of classic fencing positions. Valuable information for scholars, sword-play enthusiasts, general readers and anyone interested in this age-old form of self-defense.
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| Essence of Ninjutsu
| Looking back almost 1,000 years, the mists of Japan's chaotic past shroud the development of a way of life, an ancient struggle waged against fierce feudal lords who ruled the island nation with swords of steel and a code of death before dishonor. The people of the mountainous regions of what is now Iga prefecture wanted to live in peace, but their lords had other plans-so the people learned the martial arts of self-defense and used their meager farm tools as weapons against the samurai blades o...More
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| Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Arts Of Combat: Sword and Buckler Fighting, Wrestling, and Fighting in Armor
| The lessons of influential 15th-century fencing master Sigmund Ringeck are brought to life once again by David Lindholm and Peter Svärd, the duo behind Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword. This lavishly illustrated companion to Longsword examines Ringeck's instruction on fighting with the sword and buckler, fighting in armor with longsword and spear, and wrestling. These disciplines and more are fully explained both by Ringeck's text (offered in the original old German as well as ...More
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| Fencing: Steps to Success (Steps to Success Activity Series)
| Fencing: Steps to Success covers all of the essential skills of the epee and foil forms of fencing. This book will serve as the perfect training guide for less experienced fencers and students of fencing, as well as a valuable reference for instructors of this highly technical sport.One of the most recognized fencing figures in the United States, author Elaine Cheris shares her expertise as both a fencer and instructor. In each progressive learning step, she carefully describes each m...More
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| Fencing: A Renaissance Treatise
| Camillo Agrippa's widely influential "Treatise on the Science of Arms" was a turning point in the history of fencing. The author - an engineer by trade and not a professional master of arms - was able to radically re-imagine teaching the art of fencing. Agrippa's treatise is the fundamental text of Western swordsmanship. Just as earlier swordsmanship can be better understood from Agrippa's critiques, so too was his book the starting point for the rapier era. Every other treatise of the early-mod...More
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| Cold Steel: The Art of Fencing with the Sabre (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor)
| The techniques associated with the sabre differ markedly from those of the épeé and the rapier. This 1889 classic by a pioneer of modern fencing offers both technical and historical views of the art of the sabre. Topics include a variety of different strokes and parries, methods of combining attack and defense, and associated weapons. 55 illustrations.
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| Kendo: The Definitive Guide
| Kendo-the Way of the Sword-is one of the oldest of Japan's martial arts and the one most closely associated with the samurai. Immortalized in the action movies of Akira Kurosawa and in the bestselling novel Musashi, Kendo--originally a form of swordsmanship-has in recent years developed into a popular and highly competitive sport enjoyed by thousands of men and women around the world. Kendo: The Definitive Guide is the first book in English to provide a practical and truly comprehensive approach...More
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| Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art Of The Longsword
| Ringeck's invaluable 15th-century compilation of the lessons of German fencing master Johannes Liechtenauer is given new life by two modern students of the sword. The original text is presented with extensive interpretations and detailed, instructive drawings to capture the medieval swordsman's art.
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| The Fighting Sword: Illustrated Techniques and Concepts
| The second in Dwight McLemore's Fighting Weapons series, The Fighting Sword began as a way for the author to chronicle his experience of commissioning a custom-made sword and then designing a training program to use with it. As he developed the sword-fighting concepts, techniques and combat scenarios for use with his sword, however, he realized that they could be adapted and used by anyone with a sword.McLemore brings the fighting sword to life with his unique style of dynamic draw...More
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| Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship
| To become an expert swordsman, one must pay close attention to detail, be highly self-critical, and practice diligently every day under the guidance of a good teacher. Unfortunately, contact time with a worthy mentor is limited for most. Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship fills this obvious gap in the training of the modern swordsman by providing bokuto (wooden sword) drills to supplement the formal class activity of forms practice. Both single and two-person drills are pre...More
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| The Major Methods of Wudang Sword
| Originally published in Chinese in 1930, The Major Methods of Wudang Sword has become a contemporary classic in the field of traditional Chinese martial arts. Written by Huang Yuan Xiou, the disciple of Li Jing-Lin—China’s most celebrated sword practitioner—this edition now introduces English readers to the fascinating world of traditional Chinese swordplay. Immensely popular in China, Wudang sword contains within its techniques the essence ...More
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| Foil, Saber, and Epee Fencing: Skills, Safety, Operations, and Responsibilities
| Anyone who wishes to learn the sport of fencing will find the basic elements necessary to begin in Foil, Saber, and Épée Fencing. The already accomplished fencer will find the answers to methodology and strategies by which to overcome one's opponent in tournament play. The coach and teacher is herein presented with lesson plans by which to chart a student's progress. The administrator is advised of the safety factors and range of liability to consider while incorporating fencing into a sp...More
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| THE MODERN SWORDSMAN - Realistic Training for Serious Self-Defense
| Here is a complete training program designed to help the aspiring sword fighter become proficient with his weapon of choice and truly dangerous to an adversary. Covers mental conditioning, air-cutting drills, slow-motion and exaggerated-range-of-motion practice, extra-heavy sword drills, isometric and resistance training, point-sensitivity drills, aggressiveness and power training, speed and accuracy drills and more.
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| Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword (Literary Links to the Orient)
| Focusing his expertise on the techniques and history of the bokken - the wooden training sword used by both ancient samurai and today's swordsmen - the author maintains that training with the bokken is important on two levels for the modern practitioner: to build the physical stamina, rhythms, and adroit body movements of traditional swordsmanship and to achieve something of the animating spirit of the traditional swordsman. This history of the bokken combines the author's concise, eloquent writ...More
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| Venetian Rapier: Nicoletto Giganti's 1606 Rapier Fencing Curriculum
| Perhaps no other weapon represents Renaissance Italian fencing like the rapier. But do we know how it was used and how it was taught? This book takes you to the fencing School, or Salle of celebrated renaissance rapier Master Nicoletto Giganti of Venice, one among the period teachers leaving instructions on the use of this weapon. More uniquely, his 1606 text The School, or Salle is a veritable training curriculum, with its stepwise lessons and easy-to-follow explanations on the use of the rapie...More
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| Taiji Sword, Classical Yang Style: The Complete Form, Qigong & Applications (Martial Arts-Internal)
| One of the most notable Taiji teachers demonstrating the most popular of the many Taiji Weapons in this long-awaited, comprehensive guide.
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| Highland Knife Fighting: With the Dirk and Sgian
| In this entertaining and informative look at the Highland dirk, author Christopher Thompson examines a number of Scottish historical and oral sources to document the role of the knife in Gaelic society. Although worn by all classes of society, the dirk was the primary weapon of the common clansmen, and since it was worn indoors as well as outdoors, it was the favored weapon for acts of revenge and self-defense. Highland Knife Fighting traces the historical roots of the dirk, which is believed to...More
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| A Basic Foil Companion
| Every beginning foil fencer should read this book. It's more than a textbook - think of it as your coach's assistant. It guides you through your first classes and lessons, reinforces the basic principles of foil fencing, takes you to your first competitions, and introduces you to the terms you'll use throughout your fencing career. Here is just a partial checklist of the topics covered: * Sport Fencing and Stage Fencing * Foil, Saber, Epee - choosing your weapon * What you might cover...More
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| Schools and Masters of Fencing: From the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor)
| The standard reference on historical swordsmanship since its 1885 publication. The author traces fencing from its roots in the unschooled brawling of the Middle Ages to its latter-day precision and refinement, focusing primarily on the 16th-century development of the rapier and its popularity in Renaissance Italy. 150 black-and-white illustration.
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