Customer Reviews

The Art and Science of Fencing

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Sometimes a book is noteworthy simply by virtue of lack of competition regarding the subject matter.

Such is the case here. Evangelista's Art and Science of Fencing is one of the better books out there for those who want a servicable introduction to sport fencing. The graphic layout is pretty good as are the photos. The historical stuff is brief, readable and informative. Evangelista does a good job of explaining to the uninitiated why fencing has the rules it does and how the modern sport links to the actual dueling of the Renaissance period on.

The diagrams of different fencing parries and movements are crude and not necessarily helpful. But here, Evangelista shoots about par for the course. Most fencing manuals in existence have pretty awful illustrations.

That said, Evangelista is not exactly popular in the serious competative fencing circuit. Most of today's top competitors routinely roll their eyes at Evangelista.

Part of this is due, no doubt to Evangelista's rather high opinion of himself which seems to pervade the book. But mostly Evangelista is dismissed by the competitive fencing community as a "tradition-bound old fogey." He routinely attacks the modern style of fencing and yearns for a return to the "good old days."

Most of his criticism focuses on the "anatomical grip." Evangelista advocates a traditional straight "French grip." He is correct in his assessment that the French grip leads to much lighter and straightforward fencing than the more muscular and aggressive anatomical grip. He is also correct in pointing out that the newer grips create a fencing style that little resembles real duels fought in Renaissance Italy or England in the 1700s.

I have fenced with both. Personally, I prefer the anatomical grip for essentially two reasons: 1) it transfers strength and power more readily to the sword and 2) it's just more fun!

This second reason illustrates the major problem with Evangelista: he's essentially a killjoy. Modern fencing has wholeheartedly embraced the new style of fencing that Evengelista has attacked. Modern fencers have perfected some rather spectacular moves that would be simply impossible with a more traditional grip. The sport has evolved: today fencing matches are much more aggressive than an actual duel (with lethal swords) would have been.

But I do not see this as a problem really. Fencing is a sport, not a real duel. A certain amount of unrealism is permitted in sport that would not be prudent in true life or death struggles. In essence, it's OK to be a bit "inauthentic." My feeling is that if people are enjoying the anatomical style, let them enjoy it.

You should also note that Evangelista's description of the rules of sabre fencing is a bit outdated. He describes essentially a running charge (or "fleche"). This move has been illegal since the mid 1980s. Sabre fencers are no longer allowed to cross their rear foot in front of their leading foot.

"Raging controversies" aside however, Evangelista's book is probably the best introductory guide to sport fencing on the market. The sad truth is that very few good books have been written about sport fencing. Most of the books available are from the 1970s and 1980s (or earlier) and have not withstood the test of time. In fact, Evangelista's book is likely to be the only book on sport fencing available at your local book store.

Evangelista wins by default. His book simply has no serious competition. If you are interested in learning more about sport fencing without actually setting foot in a fencing club, this book is really all you've got. But that doesn't make this a great book.

If you are serious about learning sport fencing, visit a club, get a sword and start doing it. For everyone else, this book will suffice.

Obviously you can not learn fencing, or any sport for that matter, from a book. It is assumed that if you are reading this, you are either in lessons or considering them. With that in mind, this is an excellent companion text for a beginning fencer.

In many ways, this book fills in the missing gaps in lessons. It contains the background and the evolution of the sport. It describes the basic attacks and defense, the takes and ripostes. It shows the footwork and lays out the rules. There is a nice little piece about leverage and some interesting theories and tactics. I found that is was a good way to keep my brain wrapped around fencing while I waited for the next lesson.

It does address an older style of fencing, and may not jibe with your instructor. Ultimately, "The Art and Science of Fencing" is a one man's opinion on the sport of fencing. It is, however, an informed opinion. There will be ideas in this book that you will disagree with. That's OK. I am sure that you will find many ideas that you also agree with and can learn from.

I am an admittedly novice fencer, having taken up the sport only a year or so ago. I came across this book on Amazon and was amazed at the wildly divergent reviews of Mr. Evangelista's tome.

The purist in me agreed with some of his views on classical fencing - his unapologetic bias towards the French grip versus the pistol grip, his dismissiveness regarding the use of speed and strngth in favor of proper technique, and the recommendation that beginners learn foil before other styles of fencing. (I tend to be a purist on many sporting matters: baseball and football to be played on real grass, no designated hitter in baseball, playing basketball as a team, rather than indivisual sport, and using wound-core - instead of solid-core - golf balls.) Mr. Evangelista does tend to be bombastic - although he tells you that he is, up front. Simply put, he openly acknowledges his biases in favor of "classical fencing".

However, the book fails in a couple of respects. For a book that is supposed to be authoritative (to the neophyte) on the Art and Science of Fencing, it is difficult for a beginner to visualize many of the techniques that he describes verbally. The book is very short on explanatory drawings, and the photos he uses are very low-budget (He appears to have taken a goodly number of them in his back yard or alley under what can only be described as interesting lighting conditions.) While the book is not intended to be a substitute for lessons, he would do his target readers a great service if he would give many more visual depictions of his explanations.

This could be a very good "introduction to fencing" book if he were to re-release it in a revised edition by (1) upgrading the quality of the photos, and (2) including signficantly more drawings and diagrams to better explain his text to help beginners visualize his points.

What I did find fascinating was the apparent manipulation of the Amazon.com Editorial Review process in connection with this book. It is apparent to me that a great number of the book's early "reviews" seemed to be written by Mr. Evanelista, his wife, and/or many of their good friends/former students. I say this because while this book does contain some helpful nuggets, it is hardly the "best book on fencing ever written" as many of the early reviews characterized it. It seems to me that many of the reviewers who have since savaged Mr. Evangelista's book are punishing him for what they interpret to be a bald-faced attempt on his part to drive up his Amazon.com rating of the book, rather than for the content itself. Any quasi-serious fencer could objectively read the book, discount the author's admitted biases, and still take away some valuable information. However, these same fencers - as Amazon.com users -won't forgive someone who has tried to "game" the Amazon online editorial review system. If a beginning fencer wants a better "how-to" book on fencing techniques, then the "Steps to Success" book by Elaine Cheris is a better buy. (But you won't get the historical perspective that Mr. Evangelista provides in his book.) Also, I decided to borrow this book from the library it rather than buy it.

The Art and Science of Fencing contains a fairly basic into and description of sport fencing, focusing on the French approach to foil. A full third of the book is dedicated to trying to sell the reader on fencing. In my opinion, if you have bought the book, you're already interested. The text was notably lacking in decent photos or illustrations. There are a couple of pages dedicated to praising the importance of drills and exercises, but there is very little actual description of suggested drills or exercises!
On a side note, the author has a very narrow view of fencing, attributing that there was no "real" swordplay until the 16th century. This is admittedly a common bias in the field. However, it blatantly ignores the fechtschules that have documented evidence from the 1400's. The author is not working from experience or research, as describing non-rapier swords as "can openers" is highly inaccurate.
Lastly, the author asserts that strength training has no place in a fencing training regime. I suggest that strength training has a place in any athletic endevor and that it is simply a matter of tailoring your program to match your sport.
Overall an average introduction for beginning fencers.

For the record, I am an intermediate sports fencer with a great appreciation for classical fencing. My first coach used to annul points in class if she felt they weren't proper hits. Also, I fence foil and epee with a french grip.

As much as I want to like this book, I find less and less reason to go back to it. A HUGE part of it is taken up by Evangelista's personal hatred of pistol grips (which will apparently cripple your abilities so badly that you will never achieve even mediocrity), and people who have the audacity to fence bouts within their first year (which is even worse for your skills than the pistol grip). Anyone who works hard at modern sport fencing (i.e. not classical fencing) is a "poker" or a "brute." There simply is no room in his world for anything other than HIS style of fencing, and he spends nearly a third of the book reminding you of that fact.

But then we come to the fencing instruction itself. My first question is, "where are the pictures?" What few graphics are in the book are often pointless photographs or seventeenth century woodcuts of people being stabbed. These are very pretty, but they shouldn't be there if they edge out illustrative diagrams in an instructional book.

Some of the instruction is quite helpful and well done. The style is generally straightforward and simple. The sections on epee and sabre are woefully inadequate though, as is the case with most modern fencing books. Some of the instruction completely contradicts what my coaches (and my own experience) tell me. I'll be charitable and chalk that up to different ways of doing things.

Ultimately, this just isn't a good book. Too much of it is ranting, and the fencing parts are spotty in their information. It's not entirely useless, but be forwarned if you consider it.

If this book was written for beginners, then it comes close to being very good. As a beginner who has never fenced, my perspective is bound to be different from that of most reviewers who seem to have more experience. In all, this book is neither completely good nor is it bad. It has some positives and negatives.

On the positive side, the quality of the cover and binding are very high. Most books I have seen on this subject are published by independants who cut corners in the quality of the book. Not this book. The high quality of publishing makes it easier to read.

There's also a lot of good historical content in the book. Whatver one thinks of Mr. Evangelista's personal opinions about classical versus modern fencing, there's enough info for the beginner to get a good feel for fencing's background.

The book's shortcomings are, however, significant. The technical sections might have been good, but they were weakened by poor pictures. Since most of the sections outline movements, directional arrows are essential for a beginner trying to learn the correct basic movement. Granted, using this book in conjunction with coaching probably answers those questions. But what's the point of a picture if it's not useful? In addition, many pictures were simply too dark and needed to be replaced with better ones.

As for the author's claims of training many championship fencers, to me the validity of that matters less than the content itself.

All in all this is a fairly good book that is worth a read but is not enough to start out with.

Not a technical book at all, but rather a poorly organized essay on the author's personal philosophy. For fencing history, try "By the Sword" by Richard Cohen. For technical instruction and better photos, try "Foil, Sabre, and Epee Fencing" by Garret, Kaidanov, and Pezza.

Writing a decent book takes a lot of time and effort. Active, top-level coaches are generally too busy with the business of coaching (training their club/team, travelling with fencers to tournaments) to have time to write books. Thus, fencing books have a tendency to be either retirement projects by those who are winding down their involvement with active coaching, or written by people who really aren't participating at a high competitive level at all. Either way, the net result is that fencing books tend to be a little (or a great deal) out-of-date at the time they are published. Obviously promoting the book by his friends, students and HIMSELF on various internet websites that sell books may help with his sells figures.

With that being said, there are better books out there Rudy Volkman's book are indeed far better the Mr.Evangelista's and also Aladar Kogler's books. I also completely agree that while Mr.Evangelista claims to have produced champions on his books and his website, he has failed to mention even one single name. I think it's safe to say, that if Mr.Evangelista had produced some champions, he would have mentioned them in his books specifically. But I wouldn't be suprised if he comes back and says, that's not what classical fencing is all about. He claims that he produced champions so you can't really make that argument stick. As it is, he writes about the people that his teacher Ralph Faulkner produced.

This is an enthusiastic intro to fencing that maintains a beginner's interest while covering all of the basics from social history and weapons through the equipment, language and technique to the "fire" necessary to stay on the road to fencing mastery. Also, one is introduced to some of the fencing masters, both male and female, and provided with miscellaneous resources in Appendix II related to the U.S. Fencing Association and its magazine (American Fencing), fencing equipment supply companies, sword movies, and lists of fiction and non-fiction books related to swords and fencing. Mr. Evangelista was an apprentice to fencing master Ralph Faulkner and, like his master, promotes the classical style of fencing and form - "fencing's yardstick" - which emphasizes personal control over oneself first and then one's opponents. Control begins within: "True fencing takes place between the brain and the sword hand rather than between the tip of your weapon and the opponents chest" (pg. 41). There is more to fencing than just competition, although that's important too. "Mastery - real, certifiable mastery, not just a few overblown victories here and there - must flow from a set point of effective behavior patterns. Classical form, with its demands for balance, grace, efficiency and accuracy, sets up such a rarefied atmosphere. We are given a sound blueprint that has been tested and polished for centuries" (pg. 159).

Some who have been trained in the "modern" style of fencing will be put off by some of what the author says. For instance, he firmly believes that one should start with the foil before moving to the epee and then the sabre. Also, he doesn't think one should bout until one has "gone through a progression of learning that includes a thorough blend of both physical and mental approaches to fencing" (pg. 68). Why? "This enables the student to fully understand his relationship to his opponent on the fencing strip." Regarding competition, he would never allow "a student to enter a tournament until he had bouted for at least a year." Building a solid foundation is important to classical style fencing. Regardless of whether one sticks with this classical approach, there is plenty to learn from this book for the new fencing student. Because of Mr. Evangelista's book, I've chosen to start with the foil and although my early training is mixed with bouting, I have been complimented by fellow students who have asked whether I've fenced before. One actually said I "seem controlled". Applying the principles in this book has contributed to that control. Highly recommended.

Anyone used to the dry and mechanistic U.S. fencing books published in the 1970s and 1980s will be pleasantly surprised. In the Art and Science, Evangelista is in his element. Here is a guy who pursues fencing with a degree of personal devotion that he managed to create and run a fencing academy in rural Missouri. (This in itself would qualify for applaudable success in any metropolitan area. It is a truly Herculean feat for Peace Valley, MO.)A former student of and later assistant to Ralph Faulkner, Evangelista breaks new ground as a writer. He succeeds in creating a well-centered book that is as complete as it is readable, full of personal and professional anecdotes and experiences, as well as historical perspective. He manages to establish himself as a competent, credible protagonist of modern fencing, without the sanctimonious overbearance that makes reading certain other fencing books such a chore to read.It becomes evident that for Evangelista, the student is first and foremost an individual, the master primarily a mentor who forms the student not just by drill but also by taking him into his confidence -- explaining and referring rather than lecturing.This is one of the best sports fencing titles to hit the bookstores in a decade -- and a good buy to boot!