The Art of the Two-Handed Sword Paperback – January 18, 2012

I have dedicated a life time studying mixed martial arts long before it was popularized by the U.F.C. ! I also started studying the lost arts of sword fighting as soon as the old fight manuals were made available to the public. Real sword fighting & Olympic fencing are roughly 500 years removed from one another. At first I was amazed to see many Asian moves, throws & joint locks coming out of European fight manuals but as a after thought it made perfect sense because the Human Body has the same limitations & capabilities no matter what continent your on!!! I would not recommend this particular book for beginners but for those that have been practicing from the old fight manuals & with a variety of weapons, this manual is a must have bridging the gaps between The Long Sword & The Great Sword!!! There are a lot of little gems to be found in this Fight manual & those who have already been studying will recognize the subtle differences & catch on quickly to the extreme & subtle differences necessary for properly using a Two Handed Sword. You will see the parallels to the use of Pole Arms. Where the moves involved in the much lighter long sword are very compact, quick & precise we see with the heavier longer Two Handed swords where centrifugal momentum comes into play making the huge figure eight with your blade more practical & much less Hollywood where you see this done unnecessarily with lighter blades. While I wouldn't recommend this book to beginners, those that are already familiar with the use of the Sword this is a must have book for your study material!! After some deeper thought I would like to say that this would be a good book for beginners especially if they pick up some other treatises. I would recommend "Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Long Sword" as well as its companion book " Knightly Arts of Combat", both of these books have very easy to follow drawn instructions so detailed they show foot placement & divide the body so you can follow the correct hand grip's right & left hand placement on the sword. Their are other great reference books but with these three Books & a helpful study partner a beginner can get a great start.

Imagine "The Science of Fencing" by William Gaugler, but written for two-handed sword. The classical influence is clearly present in this book, which can be a danger, but the author channels it perfectly: using extensive outside knowledge to more deeply understand, but not second-guess, the source material (which is also included in the original for those who wish to experiment with other interpretations). The book flows naturally from principles, to solo drills, to partner drills of increasing sophistication, including step-by-step instructions and lots of photographs. Be warned, though, this may take a long time to read, not because it is exceptionally long or at all difficult to follow, but because with every page you will want to pick up a sword and go practice!

need to know stuff for two handed swords..remember a broom is a two handed weapon

Great book! Very informative. Well written and with very good illustrations. I found the information on using the two-handed sword as a martial weapon both practical and useful.

First hand information concerning the two-handed sword. Good technique, history and data concerning this weapon. As a Landsknecht period and sword collector, looking forward to this as a research tool.

Excellent book! Good translation of the original Alfieri's work, but most importantly, very good modern interpretations, theory and exercises.

Necessary book for the student. Original text translated with drawings.

The translation of Alfieri's original manuscript is okay, you can get it for free online but it's nice to have nice a hard copy. The selections from other manuscripts are nice. They're the only reason I'm giving two stars.The real problem is that the modern interpretation in the second half is just incorrect in many areas. The author insists on using classical (sport fencing) terminology which is confusing. He also includes extra guard positions that are not historical and apparently also taken from sport fencing. This is just horribly wrong! Why didn't he take them from Marozzo or some other text on the spadone instead? Why does he claim that Alfieri's text is the only surviving manual for the spadone when it's not? He also uses feders in many of his photos, which are for longsword practice and too small to represent a spadone. Again, just why? Why would you use a different weapon from what the text is meant to teach?I wish he had spent the space he uses to discuss stretching and reminding you to salute before sparring to actually discuss the history of the weapon he proposes to teach. The only useful thing he does is show photos of some of the guards, which is great because the original text has very few illustrations. However, there are already historical manuscripts that have every guard illustrated so why not just use those?

Buena introducción al manejo del Espadón. Puede servir para ampliar conocimientos a aquellos que practican algún arte de combate con espadas.

nicely done. good texts, analysis of techniques and good instructions. good documentationc and Pictures as well. I did not give 5 stars because in my opionion the book falls a bit short in describing tactics (movement, stances, Transfer of combat ranges etc.).but overall this is a good one. a must have for every serious student of the two handed sword as used in europe/western style. enjoy!

This book is essentially in two parts: the first is primarily a translation of Alfieri's 17th century treatise on the Two Handed Sword, the second is an introduction to use of the two handed sword using modern terminology and intended for the modern student of Historical European Martial Arts. While the Alfieri translation may be of interest for reference purposes the much longer second section is, to me, the far more valuable element. After a comprehensive introduction to footwork, guards and parries Mondschein moves on through Basic Drills and Intermediate Techniques to Advanced Tactics. This book left me with a clearer understanding of how the two handed sword should be used in practice than anything else I have read. For the modern student new to the longsword or two handed sword this is arguably the best instruction manual currently available. The only comparable book is Guy Windsor's "Swordsman's Companion". Both are excellent.

A very informative and well written book, this has become a staple of my Montante and Spadone study. The auther is clearly very knowladgeable and has an excellent understanding of his subject matter. Highly recommended if you are a HEMA practitioner who has an interest in larger swords.

This Book describes pretty detailed how to use a two handed Sword or a Greatsword; but sometimes, a picture says more than a thousand words.I must admit, that I learn more from four tiny Pictures how to execute a Technique rather than only reading 15 Sentences about it.I posses some fighting manuals in which both are in it: good Descriptions and good Pictures to visualize it. I prefer them over this one.It is not a bad book, I took some knowledge from it, but overall it just feels short and could have been better illustrated.