The Sicilian Blade [Paperback]

Vito Quattrocchi (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 86 pages
• Publisher: Desert Pubns (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879471603
• ISBN-13: 978-0879471606
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and deadly, December 26, 1999

By 

An Irishman\ Sicilian (Northern New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sicilian Blade (Paperback)

This book really teaches exactly what is taught to young men of Sicilian heritage. I was taught the art of the Sicilian blade by my Maternal Grandfather and his son's (my uncles). I can attest to the fact that everything taught in this volume on Sicilian Knife fighting is exactly what I learned as a youngster from the Sicilian side of my family. Anyone who disputes this fact simply does not know or has not experienced the teachings of Sicilian knife fighting. The art is taught from father to son and is usually kept within the family and is primarily a dueling art, not a "Take Em out" fighting style like many of the American knife fighting schools teach. Each school has it's strenghts and weaknesses. The Sicilian school is a school of Honore above all else and strives to teach the "quattrocchi" or eye to eye contact that is so essential to Sicilian masculinity. The "Sicilian blade" teaches just that,this book is a true volume on Sicilian Stiletto fignting. It is from my own personal experience that I can say Mr. Quattrocchi has first hand knowledge of this art.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A CONCISE, NO-NONSENSE ART, October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sicilian Blade (Paperback)

When the modern martial artist and edged weapons exponent thinks of knife fighting arts, his thoughts typically turn toward the many Eastern disciplines that exist in this context. And though most of us westerners were raised on the movies of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Tyrone Power, and Errol Flynn, we don't tend to associate their edged weapons skills with a western martial arts tradition.

The fact of the matter is that such blade traditions still exist, although they are either disregarded or taken for granted by the many cultures where they evolved. Recently, however, a number of individuals skilled in such arts have temporarily replaced their blades with pens in order to document the rudimnts of their particular western knife fighting methods. The bulk of these works focus on knife systems from the Mediterranean, since that is where such arts evolved and flourished. One such work is THE SICILIAN BLADE: The Art of Sicilian Stiletto Fighting, by Don Vito Quattrocchi.

The Sicilian Blade is a succinct manual that explains how this weapon was historically used in combat, honorable or otherwise, by the culture that made the word "stiletto" known and respected on both sides of the Atlantic -- the Sicilians. Apart from the sociological information it presents, The Sicilian Blade is a technical instructional handbook that describes the various strategies and tactics for using this weapon. An especially interesting chapter is one titled Indraga mano, which covers the use of the stiletto when it is held "hidden" in the reverse grip.

The Sicilian Blade is not a comprehensive tome; it is a concise and no-nonsense treatment of a similarly concise and no-nonsense art. If you don't have a Mediterranean knife arts section in your combat library, this is a good place to start.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book about knife-fighting, February 24, 2002

By 

Ulrich Lenz "splinter" (Hamburg) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sicilian Blade (Paperback)

The content of the book tells the reader a lot about a real knife-fight. The combat style described here is the most effective for a knife-against-knife encounter at the wide range. "Wide range" means that it is only possible to deliver an attack by stepping forward. You don't learn any "martial arts"-tricks which would leave you cut to pieces in a real encounter. Very recommendable ! Don't try to be more intelligent than people from Sicily who are experienced in knife duells since hundreds of years !