Customer Reviews

Fighting with the German Longsword

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Some years ago a gentleman selling books told me that the vast majority of people who pick up a book about swordsmanship, don't particularly care about the historical detail. As long as they know it's a historically valid system, all they care about is whether the book can help them learn to swordfight.

Christian Tobler's first book, Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship is a fine book, analysing Sigmund Ringeck's 15th century combat treatise. In Fighting with the German Longsword, Christian has taken a simpler approach. Essentially he says, I have read and interpreted a whole bunch of 14th-16th century German works on swordsmanship, and based on them, this is how I teach my students. We have enough historical detail to convince us that this is a genuine historical art, used in real combat by medieval kights (and hence immeasurably superior to any modern made up system), but beyond that, we are just taught how to fight with a sword, in a series of straight forward and logical lessons. The book is presented clearly, with nice photos, well written explanatory text and a clear progression through the skills involved in mastering the art.

Anyone wanting to learn how to use a longsword, the late medieval knightly sword, used in two hands on foot, should make sure they obtain a copy of Fighting with the German Longsword.

Stephen Hand
Author, English Swordsmanship, Medieval Sword and Shield
Editor, Spada, Spada II

If you have ever wondered, "Can I learn to fight with a Longsword" this is the book for you. Christian Tobler answers that question with a definitive "yes" and backs up his assertion with an incredibly clear and precise teaching manual.

"Fighting" opens with a discussion and explanation of the knightly art of defense and provides grounding in the masters of the art. However, he moves quickly on to modern considerations of safety and practice tools. This is invaluable information for the modern practitioner of the art, as until now the only way to determine what tools one should invest in were internet searches and guesswork.

Then we enter, as students, into the meat of the work, which is practical information on the art. The basics of footwork, balance and timing are not neglected or assumed, but are explored with depth, as are the Guards and Wounders. From there, the manual moves through the Five Master Strikes, Wrestling, Winding and finally, though the main focus of the manual is on unarmored combat, ending with Armored Combat.

The uniqueness of this manual is in its teaching ability. Each concept is presented first theoretically, and then is followed up on with drills to physically impart the concept to the student. It's not just a read-along where you spend your time imagining someone else performing the technique, but rather a book which encourages you to get a partner, grab a waster, and try out the techniques for yourself. Finally, most chapters wrap up the techniques with a decision-tree, further reinforcing the use of each technique in its proper place. This means that each technique is presented at least three different ways, aiding the student in his learning process.

Though the book is filled with numerous photos, charts and drawings, the real prize is in the text. Mr. Tobler took the care to ensure that a person who simply read the text would fully understand the concept. He did not rely upon the pictures to tell the story as so many other Martial Arts books do, but rather the pictures merely support what he already told you in words.

I can say without a doubt that if you want to learn to use a Longsword in the German style, but have no access to a teacher or school in your area, you can do so with this book. In fact, I own two copies, one that goes about everywhere with me, one that stays at home. Order it today, you will not be disappointed.

There have been a number of books in recent years that have addressed the use of the European longsword, but very few have taken a specific historical martial art, picked it apart, and presented it in a clear, logical way, as Christian Tobler does here in Fighting with the German Longsword.

This is not just an collection of techniques from German masters in the Liechtanauer tradition of fighting: It is a how to guide, one that presents the basics of footwork and body mechanics, and building off them with the core concepts and techniques to embody the reader with a good sense of the foundation of this system. One of the really excellent things about this book is that a complete novice can read it and grasp the concepts easily, while a seasoned practitioner can still read it from cover to cover and learn from it.

Fundamental concepts such as distance and timing are discussed, primary and secondary guards, feeling your opponent's actions through the blade, and understanding the five master strikes. While the majority of the book in focused on fighting without armor, it does go into armored fighting as well, and there is even a small section on spear, which helps illustrate key longsword concepts such as winding. There is also a section showing major concepts in unarmed fighting, as this forms the basis of much of the longsword.

Christian Tobler is also to be commended for his honest approach to research. The text is full of examples of where the techniques came from out of period manuscripts, and Christian clearly admits where he has stepped in to fill in some of the blanks that are not explicitly clear in the original texts. Naturally there are differences in interpretation amongst practitioners, but even the places where Christian has had to take some creative liberties, he is still making sure that his interpretations are as faithful to the system as possible.

Who benefits from this book? If you are a practitioner of the Liechtanauer school, then the answer is obvious. If you are a practitioner of a different school of longsword, this is a perfect way to get a broad understanding of how this system works. If you are a sword enthusiast, reenactor, historian or collector, you will undoubtedly find the book a great read. If I had to recommend a book that wasn't a primary source for an example of what a Western martial art should look like, this would be the book.

This is a wonderful work for all of us who are alone, or have only one or two interested friends. I have bought almost a dozen of the books on the market on western swordsmanship, and I can attest this is the one that taught me the most, the fastest.

I will not point fingers at the other books, most of which are valuable, especially to the advanced student. The beginner should go no further then this. It is easy to understand and goes into all the detail you need to begin to understand the system.

In short, buy this book.

I purchased this book after watching the documentary, Reclaiming the Blade, and Fighting with the German Longsword by Christian Henry Tobler has far exceeded my expectations. Not only is this a wonderful training guide for Western martial arts, this book is also filled with loads of history. As for the martial arts aspect, all of Mr. Tobler's exercises are thoroughly explained and each one has 3 to 4 black and white pictures that cover a step by step of the movements for that particular exercise. Even my younger brother had no problem working through several of the exercises. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in western martial arts.

If you're at all interested in fighting with the two-handed sword this book is THE book to get. Perhaps the best thing about this book is the flow chart for each Meisterhau (master blow). These flow charts explain what to do when your Meisterhau is countered and when your counter is countered (several layers of countering can be found). Once the student has a good foundation he or she can then go back to the original manuscripts (Talhofer's excellent fechtbuch can also be purchased through Amazon, for example) and try his hand at interpreting them (the originals were intentionally murky)

I've been taking a medieval martial arts course at a local fencing school for a little over half a year. The class covers German Longsword, Messer, some hafted weaponry based off Hans Talhoffer's work plus sword and buckler from MS I.33. I picked this book up about a month ago from Amazon and I was very pleased with it. It provides a good reinforcement for the lessons I am learning in class and its very useful to have a practical guide on hand. The descriptions are clear and straightforward and the photos are very useful. Being a software developer by trade I got a kick out of the flowcharts detailing the decision tree for the master cuts at the end of the chapters. All in all I'm glad I picked up this book.

Fighting with the German Longsword is one of the best martial arts books I have ever seen. I have quite a collection of them, and most have extreme difficulty conveying the actual practices. This book not only explains the moves very well, but the set up of the book is ideal for learning. I have practiced Japanese swordsmanship for many years and wanted to expand my knowledge to include European methods. This book was perfect for that.

This book is an actual instruction manual, with training routines, stances, forms, etc. This is an excellent introduction to swordplay, with historical comments as well. I would recommend this to anyone interested in learning the art of sword fighting.

This book, or rather this manual makes me smile, and sigh, "at last."
Tobler, has constructed a fine tool to teach his students and a great aid to us.
The book is well laid out, with charts and corresponding photographs, it is however not a stand alone product.
I am quite sure one would think it goes with "Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship", and that would be correct. I would suggest however that it is used as a Companion to David Lindholm's "Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword", and Tobler's "Secrets" can be used as the source.
With these books most of the practicing WMA community's bookshelves are looking more Respectable, or at least one can tear them both apart and construct one's own drills and focused study.