Customer Reviews

The School of Fencing: With a General Explanation of the Principal Attitudes and Positions Peculiar to the Art

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Ten years ago the number of books on historical fencing systems could be counted on one hand. Now we have an embarrassment of riches. However, in the revival of interest in older styles of fencing, the 18th and 19th centuries have tended to be overlooked. In particular, the civilian weapon of the 18th century, the smallsword has been overlooked by people who desire something more recogniseably unlike modern fencing.

Domenico Angelo's School of Fencing, a treatise on French smallsword play, was first published in 1763 and remained popular for over fifty years. In this reprint, Editor Jared Kirby has wisely let Angelo do the majority of the talking, choosing only to add a short and informative introduction, two appendices (parts of the sword and a clarification of technical details omitted by Angelo (but not by contemporary authors)), and finally a series of informative notes by Jeannette Acosta Martinez, one of the foremost researchers into the techniques of the smallsword. The bulk of the book is a faithful reprint of Angelo's treatise, with clear plates and text.

For anyone interested in the smallsword in particular or the history of fencing in general, this well presented book is a must have.

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

In 1763, Domenico Angelo penned the definative text on the combative use of the smallsword. The work is specialized, it is only about the use of a thrusting (point only) sword with a blade of 30 to 35 inches (75 to 88cm) in length. The work is dated, inhabitants of the soi-disant civilized world allowed themselves to be disarmed about 150 years ago, and this style of sword was the last type to be routinely worn by civilians. Given this, the book is only of interest to historians, classical fencers, sport fencers looking for their roots, and other martial artists interested in expanding their repetoire. But it is of great interest to these groups.

Mr. Jared Kirby and Ms. Jeannette Acosta-Martinez outdid themselves. They offered commentary and additional information that compliments Angelo, while restraining the editorial urge and leaving the original work complete and untampered with. Outstanding job!

Angelo wrote a thorough text on all aspects of the use of this arm, at the height of the development of the technique of combat with the small sword. A modern example of the sword being discussed is the Cold Steel Small Sword. Every thing that is required is covered, while there is no material that was not of use in the time it was written. Of special contemporary interest, particularly to martial artists, is the section on disarming. The illustrations make the leverage and other aspects of the sword disarms very clear.

The smallsword is a superior arm, but not an egalitarian one. In close combat, it is without peer, but it take hundreds of hours of diligent practice to gain even a basic competence. Angelo will aid anyone pursuing mastery of the arm.

A great work, reprinted by brilliant fencers with a keen appreciation for the timeless. An absolute must have for the classical fencer or foilist. And for the modern naysayers who denigrate the utility of this work, note well; Aldo Nadi points that if you can fence, you can fence with anything, even a broomstick...

E. M. Van Court

This reprint of the 1971 Land's End Press work is a good, clean copy of the 1787 work. The Land's End Press copy is rare and difficult to find, usually coming in at or above $70. Now we have a chance to purchase, relatively inexpensively, this volume again. Angelo's work is an excellent source for the study of fencing, and it is important that it has been made available to the community once again.
This importance notwithstanding, the annotation by Maestro Jeannette-Acosta Martinez elucidates the work in a manner that makes it indispensible to the serious fencer.
The 1971 Lands End Press copy sits on my shelf. This is the copy I now study!

Angelo's smallsword text is one of the foundational texts of Western fencing. Jared Kirby provides a clear edition, with insightful commentary by Jeannette Acosta-Martinez. Highly recommended.