Customer Reviews

Fighting with Sticks

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I was disappointed in this book. Most of the chapters were extremely short; it seemed like it had been thrown together and padded out to "book" length. This would have been much better as a pamphlet. Most of what should have been the interesting chapters actually tell you to look at some other book, or join a dojo!

If you are heavily into martial arts, this book may not be your cup of tea, but for a beginner to the subject of wooden weapons, this book will have much value. "Fighting with Sticks" covers a lot of material with regard to all kinds of wooden combat items, especially wooden swords, so, at the very least, it is a valuable reference resource. The book also highlights singlestick combat techniques, a subject that hasn't been covered in any detail in books for about seventy years. Negative comments on this book seem to revolve around an elitist martial mindset, rather than addressing the true nature of this volume. Consider this review a recommendation.

As a long time student and coach of Fencing, I have found this book to be a disappointment. It seemed that regard for law suites in today's society forced omission of more instruction in actual weapon use. The historical sections were interesting and worth reading.

Fighting With Sticks.

Nick Evangelista has written another book, called "Fighting With Sticks". This book gives you a look at a short history of fighting with sticks. It tells about Singlestick, cane fighting, staff fighting, and even shows how to make Singlesticks and Staves. There is also a section in the book dealing with self-defence. This might be a perfect book for Y2k.

I just think this is a neat, little book. It is so full of wonderful bits of information, it is a joy to read. You don't have to go the stick fighting route to enjoy it. I don't understand the criticism of "Fighting With Sticks." I can only imagine the reviewers who come on negatively are working out their own agendas -- whatever they might be. For me, I think "Fighting With Sticks" is just fine.

Recommended.

This book is not for hard-core martial arts, but for people interested in the basics, this is a super fun book. Face it, since we saw Robin Hood fighting with a staff, we dashed out to try it ourselves (in my case, I did not move fast enough and ended with a wallop across my right leg!!) Oh, how I wished my grandfather had copies of this book! We could have had the basics of fighting that is old as time. In sword learning, fighting with wooden swords.

Nick Evangelista give you give you the foundation to wielding stick ( in any form) with élan, power and control. He gives the history of the concept, various games you can play to strengthen your skills. Also gives you a list of where you can find supplies. Face it, fighting with wooden clubs has been with us since the dawn of time and will continued to be an effective weapon if you know the ins and outs.

Great fun for the whole family to learn together. Also, a good healthy way to work out for exercise.

Unlike the last review, I found this book very useful. This book "Fighting with Sticks" does have short chapters. However, contains many facts, too. And to go on, it shows many ways to act if in case of an emergency, protection for yourself or your family, in case of a brake in, you could disarm a robber with a knife with a cane or staff. NOTE: It does say in the book if a robber walks up to you with a gun and asks you for your wallet, the correct thing to do is give the wallet to him. And believe it or not, Stick fighting goes back to ancient Egypt. This book has been most enjoyable. My congratulations to the writer for writing such a great book with plenty of information.

Building on his chapters on stick fighting, singlestick, la canne etc. from his Encyclopedia of the Sword, Evangelista provides a broad historic exposition on the different western (and, more generally, global) stick fighting arts. Very appropriately, he segments his descriptive chapters into Games‹which reflect the different singlestick traditions of singlestick in 19th-century Britain. Game I being the contained system described in Hughes¹ Tom Brown¹s School Days, updated to avoid the aggravating bleeding head wounds that terminated early Victorian bouts. A second large practical chapter is based on R.G. Allanson-Winn and C. Phillipps Wolleys Broadsword and Singlestick (1920), reflecting the continental and military traditions of the singlestick as the training weapon for broadsword and saber. To squeeze the book into the more marketable category of self defense, a quickie chapter is devoted to the use of the stick against thugs. The publisher supplied the appropriate ‹yet oddly out-of-place‹drawings of grim, muscular bogey men in need of a shave and a haircut, and how you can stop them from evildoing by a quick thrust into their aviator glasses. Other chapters deal with how you can make cheap, durable weapons yourself‹just in case your local wickerwork store does not supply singlestick hilts. (Nick uses plastic buckets made to look deceptively similar to the old basket-hilts...) Like his previous titles, Nick Evangelista combines hands-on expertise with his personal touch of down-to-earth philosophy‹and produced a book that is very enjoyable to read. Highly recommended.

Author shows us how to use stick fighting for fun and self-defense. The techniques in this book teach you how to wield the stick with grace, power, and optimum effectiveness. You will also learn the history of the stick and all its forms: shepherd's crook, wooden swords, canes are just a few.
I really enjoyed learning more about stick fighting. Another way of self-defense!

I was very disappointed with this book. Overpriced and overwritten -- it could have been condensed to a 20 page monograph. This is not coming from any "elitist" martial arts perspective, just a practical value-for-money perspective. The only valuable section is the description of single-stick fighting. You are just as well to search on google for single stick fighting, or look at the EJMAS articles for free.