Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated Methods and Techniques

I have a few observations on the book's content:
It contains a good introduction to the nature of swords and their method of combat;
It dispels certain sword myths that are common among the uninformed;

As for the writing:
The author's writing is not great, but that is dismissible. However, John Clements is also painfully redundant, dedicating chapters to concepts that fit entirely in one or two paragraphs. He also spends an atrocious amount of time and ink on slamming stage performers, eastern martial artists, and all martial practitioners in general other than himself and his organization (ironic, seeing as how he stresses in this very book the need for eastern and western martial artists to understand each other when he so obviously knows nothing real of eastern martial arts and insults them all greatly). If you read a few essays written by Mr. Clements on [URL] you will understand.

The writing aside, this book does offer a pleuthora of good information pertaining to medieval swordsmanship...you just have to ignore the redundancies/attitudes of the author.


An Excellent Guide for the Beginner!   January 16, 2002
 10 out of 13 found this review helpful

I have to admit I was a bit hesitant to buy this book, as it had mixed reviews here on Amazon. Now that I've read it for myself, I can safely say that it's a outstanding guide for a Western Martial Arts newbie such as myself. I highly recommend it for anyone who's interested in seriously exploring European sword fighting.

Some of the inital background information might be a bit redundant for those with a decent knowledge of warfare in the Middle Ages. However, it doesn't detract from the wealth of information in this book. The chapters are well-organized and easy to follow. The various swordfighting techniques are nicely illustrated and very easy to recreate on your own.

I was especially taken by the chapter on fighting with a one-handed sword & shield. I had always taken my cue about shields from TV, films, and Ren-fair stuff, basically hiding behind the shield, while the other guy clubs it like a deranged monkey on crack, waiting for an opportunity to strike out. Mr. Clements presses the importance of viewing the shield as a weapon, and provides techniques on using it as an integral part of the fight.

As for the digs on the stage action/Ren-fair/SCA "battles", John is not nearly as harsh as some of these reviews make him out to be. He basically explains how such theatrical fighting causes a degraded mental image of what Western Martial Arts really are, at least as far as the general public is concerned. And on that point, I have to agree. Reenactments are great fun, but no-one should kid themselves that it's even close to the real art. He's calling it as he sees it, and quite frankly, he's not too far off the mark.

Anyway, if you want an excellent beginner's guide to the sword, you would do well to start with this book.


Mixed blessings   January 6, 2002
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I think that this book is a great step forward and it will help to convice many "doubting Thomases" that Europe did have its own martial arts and that they can still be practised today. It's a bit hard to follow in some places and is not really a step-by-step guide for beginners, but it does provide lots of information and good ideas. The pictures are very good and clear, and there are lots of sketches from old fencing books as well.

The writer does waste a lot of ink hassling movies, fantasy roleplayers and others who are not really trying to do what he is doing anyway. It's boring and I felt a bit ... when I read these parts. Evereyone knows the difference between fantasy and reality.


A good start   November 28, 2001
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

But for a lack of an editor and source citations, both this book and the Renaissance book could be better.

Both could be consolidated into a single text the density of the Medievial.

It appears the author was rushed. Either because of over committment or a hurried publisher. Either way, neither text was ready for press. It is either that or the author lacked enough informational text and filled the blank spaces with the occasional stage combat, collegiate\Olympic fencing, or SCA tirade.

I own both books. I bought both books to get me started in Western Martial arts. I am willing to continue to disagree with the author on some issues and concede others.

Is this book worthless? I don't think so.
Could the author have done better? Heck yes.
Would I recommend this book? As a primer, but not for advanced study.

If you are already a student of European martial arts, this is not a book for you. If you don't know one end of a sword from another, it is a place to start.

Patiently awaiting Bob Charron's Fiori translation with very high expectations.


clear and concise   September 6, 2001
 2 out of 5 found this review helpful

Having studied eastern martial arts for over 14 years, mostly Japanese, I had always pined over the lack of material available to those who wished to pursue Western martial arts. What I like most about this book is how clear it is. Many other books do not show enough pictures in sequence for a particular move to fully understand it, but the drawing in this book are very easy for me to follow. Although some reader have apparently found the author's remarks regarding those in the stagecombat and reenactment camps, I found them to mirror my experiences of them exactly. It is high time someone put forth a scholarly work to refute those people who think THEIR way is the "only way". Mr. Clements shows us the basics and then allows us to take what he gives us and create our own personal way of using this most ancient and revered weapon. I cannot recommend it highly enough.