Customer Reviews

Cold Steel: The Art of Fencing with the Sabre (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Cold Steel: The Art of Fencing with the Sabre" was originally published by Alfred Hutton in 1889. The book is a classic instruction manual in the use of the saber in one's defense. There are several illustrations showing proper guards, defense and use of the saber.

In addition to discussion of the use of the saber, "Cold Steel" also discusses:
>The Game of the Sword (The Fencing Sword)
>Saber Against Bayonet
>The Saber Opposed to the French Sword
>The Great Stick (The 5-foot Stick)
>The Constable's Truncheon
>The Short Sword-Bayonet or Dagger

For anyone interested in the Western / European martial sciences, "Cold Steel" is recommended reading. For those interested in developing skills with sword, stick, and dagger, "Cold Steel" is a must. Written at a time when men relied on these weapons for their personal defense, "Cold Steel" offers excellent instruction for one's defense.

Highly Recommended!

And a lot of other great stuff.

Much as Domenico Angelo's classic,The School of Fencing: With a General Explanation of the Principal Attitudes and Positions Peculiar to the Art did for the small sword, Hutton provides the one essential work on combative use of the sabre. He lays out a comprehensive yet straight forward series of lesson plans with detailed guidance on how to gain copetence with the sabre. I particularly liked his comments on the importance of the return or reposte. "[The riposte] is the most brilliant stroke a swordsman can make, since in making it he demonstrates his command of nerve...his activity... and his judgment". Too true, and relevant even to sport fencers. Also excellent are the dills, including blindfolded drills for developing 'sentiment du fer' or the feel of the sword.

Along with lessons for the sabre, Hutton includes instruction on the two-handed sword that is hidden within his section on the Great Stick (5' stick). Most of the movements are straight out of the height of two-handed sword fighting a couple of centuries earlier, and equally applicable to European two-handed swords and the katana, the Japanese two-handed sword (or Jedi sword play even...)

He also discusses knife fighting and the use of the 'truncheon', the baton or blackjack, in clear and accessible, though somewhat antiquated terms.

In short, brilliant. Hutton's work is a timeless addition to any fencer's or martial artists library and a 'must read' for classical Western fencers and students of the two-handed sword (of any lineage). For sport fencers, the drills may seem of questionable relevance at first, but mastery of these classical drills will only improve your competitive skills, especially with the new rulings about touches on the underside of the arm not having priority.

Great stuff, I can't recommend it highly enough.

E. M. Van Court

I really enjoyed this book because it deals with the technical aspects of sabre fencing. How to use the point, as well as both of the cutting edges.
The text is over 100 years old and was at the end of the era that was at the most perfected stage. Alfred Hutton borrows heavily from the old masters of Italy, France and England with his own style mixed in. A must read book for any serious saber fencer.

Well, as the title suggests, i was most impressed with this little gem. Mr. Hutton clearly knew his stuff, not only as a fencer but as a teacher as well. the book is divided into clear sections arranged in a logical sequence. first the basics (in which one is shown the correct manner of holding the sword, the basic stances, strikes and parries), then paired drills, then the fancy techniques (including a rather amusing description of how to properly smack someone with the pommel).
The written descriptions of the moves and techniques are generally quite clear and comprehensible, and usually accompanied by illustrated plates (though having to flip for five pages between description and plate can get a little annoying).
a word of warning for the enthusiastic, though: Mr. Hutton assumes the reader to have a basic knowledge of fencing forms and terminology before going into the exercises in his book. nothing particularly hard to find online, but it is worth mentioning.
so, to sum up, this is an excellent book for anyone with an interest in real, battle-tested, non-sport fencing, and i highly reccomend it.

I am new to the fencing scene, and I just wanted to explore the subject before diving in. This book although dated in language (you get used to it), is easy to read and understand for the most part. There are various sections and exercises for training your skills in the use of the saber. Alfred Hutton mixes the best of the "schools" of his day to produce a practical and easy to learn sword manual. The 'plate' pictures used to show some of the techniques are harder to decipher and understand then the newer looking drawings of Hutton with the sabre, but you get the point with the text. Don't expect support for your pursuit of mastering swordsmanship from people these days, but if your interested in late 1800 sabre training then Hutton's book is a good deal.

This book is a straight forward manual on training to use a saber. That means there is little to no historical stories and no nice chit chat on the personal belief of the author. From the first chapter we are thrown straight into grip of the saber to the guards and to the basic cuts.

A saber fencer should have no problem understanding and picking up many techniques and exercises that is given. A Foil or Epee fencer should be able to quickly pick up much of what is written and learn much of saber techniques. A non-fencer might have trouble remembering all the numbers attached to the cuts and parries, but the book has good illustrations and the writing explains things well enough for even a beginner to pick up quite a bit from this book. (although it'll be hard to tell whether you are applying the techniques correctly without a properly trained fencer to fence against you)

An dieser Arbeit gibt es nichts auszusetzen, was einen Sternverlust rechtfertigen würde. Der Text ist wirklich einfach und die Zeichnungen sind klar. Das Grundkonzept des Säbelfechtens ist hier gut nachvollziehbar. Nur trainieren muss man noch allein.

This was a great read. I loved how the author described the pommel of the weapon as the pUmmel because when someone foolishly closes you use it to pummel them with it to teach them their proper distance. It is a great discussion on late 19th century fencing.

This is a review of COLD STEEL: THE ART OF FENCING WITH THE SABRE by Captain Alfred Hutton of the King's Dragoon Guards which was originally published in 1889. Mine is the Dover Edition first published in 2006 featuring an excellent introduction by Ramon Martinez, President of the Association for Historical Fencing, Founding Member of the International Masters at Arms Federation and Director of the Martinez Academy of Arms. Dover also reprinted Richard F. Burton's classic BOOK OF THE SWORD originally published in 1884.

Hutton was a career soldier in an elite British regiment. He was also one of the men credited with reviving the art of "historical fencing" in England during the late 19th century. Along the way, Hutton published seven other books including THE CAVALRY SWORDSMAN (1867, SWORDSMANSHIP FOR THE USE OF SOLDIERS (1887), OLD SWORDPLAY (1892), OUR SWORDSMANSHIP (1893), NOTES ON ANCIENT FENCE (1895), SWORD FIGHTING AND SWORD PLAY (1897) and THE SWORD AND THE CENTURIES (1901).

As a soldier, Hutton often includes useful tips on fighting with a sword as well as playing. Although "not an elegant movement," Hutton offers (on pp.26-27)instructions on how to "force the pummel [of your sabre) forward into ... [the] face" of an adversary in need of chastisement. This also gives you the opportunity to simultaneously trip him but only in situations "when not much regard is likely to be paid to Fencing-room etiquette...."

Captain Hutton's book also provides some wonderful advice on employing your sabre successfully against bayonets, French swords, great sticks, truncheons, short sword bayonets and daggers. In other words, the author approaches the art of fencing in broad terms not limited to competitive fencing.

This is a great book and will be of interest to historians as well as swordsmen. I liked it and gave it five stars.