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 enlarge | Author: John Clements
Publisher: Paladin Press
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $19.95
You Save: $20.05 (50%)
New (20) Used (8) from $17.64
Avg. Customer Rating:  73 reviews
Sales Rank: 137172
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 344
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 1581600046
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.86
EAN: 9781581600049
ASIN: 1581600046
Publication Date: October 1, 1998
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent book! May 16, 2005
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
This book is all about the martial art that is (or was) medieval swordsmanship. This ain't for folks who want to play-fight.
The book covers the history, construction, and usage of the longsword (two-handed or hand-and-a-half sword) as well as the single sword and shield. The author is interested in clearing up the misconceptions that have been generated over the years concerning European swords and swordsmanship, and does so very well in this book. His goal, it would seem, is to make sure that people actually understand how these weapons were used in war.
From the standpoint of a martial artist, I find this book to be an insightful look at weapons which have been neglected for, perhaps, centuries. Clements provides information on what makes for a good sword and how to judge a replica, which is the first step in becoming a swordsman/woman: know your tools. Then he explains the basic principles and techniques for using the sword and shield, explaining the various guards and the attacks which can be launched from them. Proper posture and the use of the shield, both defensively and offensively, are important enough for him to mention. He briefly covers sword & shield techniques vs. the axe and flail before moving on to the longsword.
In the longsword section, the use of the grip is covered as well as the numerous postures favoring this particular weapon. Parrying is given some fine points as well. The advantage of having one had free of the sometimes-cumbersome shield becomes apparent upon viewing the techniques; apparently, this method of fighting allows one to take advantage of anatomical weapons that the sword & shield method did not. At the end of that section, he presents strategies and tactics for the longsword vs. the sword & shield, the spear, and the halberd, as well as a brief section on true two-handed swords, which were often five or six feet in length.
Mr. Clements end his book with advice on how to train, and the pluses and minuses of training in the modern age.
As a martial artist, I found many of the principles in this book to be compatible with other practicle war-arts (no telegraphing your movements, guarding your weak points, etc) and recomend this book to anyone who's interested in what fighting with the European weapons is/was like.
My reverence for the sword, as a weapon, is based on the fact that it was the first one that was not a variant of a pre-existing tool, such as a flail, bow, or spear. It was the first true warriors weapon, and Clements gives it it's proper respect by viewing it as such.
Excellent April 11, 2005
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
Despite the controversy and negative reviews here, I found this and the author's other book excellent as introductions to the field, and am very satisfied with them. Many of the negative reviews appear to be by authors of other books who are just dissing Clements.
I am mostly involved in the Japanese and Chinese sword arts rather than the western ones, but I do have at least a basic background there, and I am an instructor in kali/escrima, which is descended from and influenced by Spanish espada y daga. So I bought this book to get somemore background on that. I have also seen many battles and duels by SCA and Scottish Games recreators who have presumably researched this, and am familiar with the Wallenstein Codex, Capo Fero's and Carozzo's manuals, the Talhofer, and so on.
One reviewer says that book doesn't really tell you how to fence, and that it will take much more than this book to do that. However, the author tells you that in the introduction. The book does several important things, though, which are to familiarize you with the nomenclature, the typical method or normative use of the swords and weapons, the many types of weapons, basic techniques and strategy, when and where they developed, and something of the overall and more detailed evolution of the weaponry and tactics.
In short, whether the book tells you exactly how to fight is pretty moot since the author admits that would require many separate manuals just by itself, and the book is still excellent as an introduction and overview of the entire field. To me this is no different from the many karate and kung fu and jiu jitsu books I have, most of which are good for giving you the basic techniques and knowledge, but far more study is needed in order to truly become well informed or even an expert. This book is no different and still contains much useful information.
However, when you consider that Clements's detractors aren't taking into consideration the fact that most videos do a far superior job of showing the true body mechanics and movement of a martial art than any book can, their own books are vulnerable to the same objection. No book can match even the most rudimentary and basic video on martial arts, and there are now hundreds if not thousands of excellent and very detailed martial arts videos out there, many by very famous and even internationally renowed masters.
Furthermore, one can buy these videos on e Bay used for a fraction of the new price, and which is usually less than that of a martial arts book which conveys far less.
The upshot of all this is that books on the martial arts are now best designed to give the reader other information besides actual movement and body mechanics and kinesiology, such as theory, strategy, fine points of technique, historical information, and so on. By that token, I sometimes wonder why people are continuing to write books on the martial arts at all, considering how superb some of these videos are (I've reviewed many of these myself).
Anyway, all that having been said, this is still a very informative and detailed introduction to the field and well worth the price, and I wanted to dispell some of the criticisms by previous reviewers whose own books are basically subject to the same criticisms.
 Les 'orribles March 17, 2005
5 out of 14 found this review helpful
This book is a pity. Guy Windsor's "The Swordman's Companion" available from Amazon is a much, much better book. As has already been mentioned, this Medieval Swordsmanship is a horrid composition that has some technique and information, but highly disjointed and the filler between these bits is nonsensical diatribe firing off at a number of groups. In some respects, it is good that Clements wrote this book; he made mistakes that other writers in the Western Martial Arts community learned from. However, in reading his book, one has the impression that the majority of his failings would be repeated if he could write it again, out of sheer refusal to admit when he is simply wrong or ignorant.
The only introductory text on Medieval Swordsmanship! December 22, 2004
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
I've read all 61 reader reviews of this book, and I feel like there is one important point none of them have covered. The point is simply this: Whatever its faults, this is the *only* book of its kind. You simply will not find another introductory text to Medieval Swordsmanship out there. There are plenty of translations of old fechtbuchs, but those were never intended for the beginner and are virtually incomprehensible to the novice. There is a fair amount of material with a focus on theatrics, archaeology, history, etc., but there simply isn't anything other than this one book for the beginner on learning how to use a sword the way it was actually intended to be used. Not once in any of the 61 reader reviews of this book does anyone mention a better alternative book. (Of course, in any martial art a real live instructor is much preferred over a book.)
If you already know how swing a sword, then I can see where you might object to some of Mr. Clements diatribes, but the rest of us will just have to accept them, because nobody else has done us the favor of writing an alternative introductory text to medieval swordsmanship.
It is also worth noting that John Clements through his ARMA organization has arguably fostered more scholarly research on the subject of swordsmanship as a martial art than anyone else in this decade. On the ARMA web site you will find more free PDF's of ancient swordsmanship manuals in one place than anywhere else on the planet. (AEMMA also maintains an extensive online library, but only a small portion of their archives are free to the public.) They also have many contemporary essays on various sword topics and a neat library of video clips.
In summary, if you are interested in learning about medieval swordsmanship as an authentic martial art and you don't have an instructor in your area, then this book is *THE* place to start.
 Groan... if only not for the tone October 30, 2004
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
This book contains a whole lot of good information. The challenge is wading through the arrogant, condescending writing style. Yes, SCA fighters don't practice a "real" fighting art. For that matter, neither do Olympic fencers, boxers, or anyone else who competes in a rule-based tournament. After all, the law frowns on killing your opponent in a sporting competition. The historical references are quite good and the topic is interesting, even insightful, but I just can't handle the writing style. If Clements could lighten up a bit I'd rate this much higher...
Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction
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