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John Clements

Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated Methods And Techniques Paperback – October 1, 1998

by John Clements (Author)

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From the author of Renaissance Swordsmanship comes the most comprehensive and historically accurate view ever of the lost fighting arts of Medieval knights, warriors and men-at-arms. Based on years of extensive training and research in the use of European swords, it contains highly effective fighting techniques for the sword, sword & shield, long-sword, great-sword, pole-arm and more. And with more than 200 illustrations and rare historical documents, it is a scholarly reference as well as a hands-on training guide for martial artists of all levels.

Print length

344 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Paladin Press
Publication date

October 1, 1998
Dimensions

8.75 x 0.75 x 11.25 inches
ISBN-10

1581600046
ISBN-13

978-1581600049
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Clements has practiced cut-and-thrust swordsmanship for almost 20 years and trains regularly in long-sword, sword and shield, sword and buckler, sword and dagger, Medieval spear, and rapier and dagger methods. He lectures on historical weaponry and is an ardent promoter of contact-weapon sparring with historical replica swords.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Paladin Press; 1st edition (October 1, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 344 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1581600046
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1581600049
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.75 x 0.75 x 11.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #588,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,275 in Martial Arts (Books)
- #8,423 in Exercise & Fitness (Books)
- #11,256 in European History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
99 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		77%
4 star		14%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Craig Holt

A dearth of information

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

I have owned this title previously but due to time and tide I lost it and wanted to replace ot as I am able to return to training. I find it quite thorough and geared more to actual combat than to sport fighting. It is by no means complete as no manual will be, and is quite general in its teaching, but you can add the information from this book to your curriculum and it will fit in nicely. A very informative book and one no HEMA student should be without.

Helpful

IrishTBole

it would have been nice to have a more definitive guide to accessing equipment

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2018

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Other reviewers have commented on the author's excessive diatribes against other sparring methods than his, which is all true. Mr. Clements could do with a little humility, regardless of the clear fact that he has more than earned the right to his beliefs. His instruction methods and logic are sound, and spot on. For the beginner just starting (which is me). it would have been nice to have a more definitive guide to accessing equipment, training swords, wasters and the like. Perhaps this is hard to keep up-to-date. But a good place to start is the ARMA Houston website - they do a better job than the home website does as regards equipment. All-in-all, plenty worth the money for this book, considering I can't read either Italian or German.

2 people found this helpful

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rapidtraveler

No comparison, BEST book of its kind

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

I bought this for my dad on Father's Day, and he has nothing but rave reviews. It's helped him understand his collection of antique knives and swords, and he's even undergoing his own self-guided "training" at home now. As far as I know, this author (John Clements) is THE expert in the field, so there really is no comparison to this work.

Helpful

Drinnt

An enlightening and informative look at REAL swordsmanship.

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 1999

Verified Purchase

I found that even though John does spend a lot of time criticizing other methods, this is a necessary exhibition of misconception in the world of swordsmanship today.
Not only is this a great book for those who seek to start on the path of combat the way it was done hundreds of years ago, it is an awakening to those of us that think we have been doing it all along.
Don't expect this book to teach you how to fight. But do expect it to give you basic stances, cuts, attack routines and terrific illustrations. No book can teach you to fight, but John does an exceptional job of presenting a template that can be used to learn swordsmanship through training.
If you are on the fence...buy it. You will be pleased with your purchase. I was.

9 people found this helpful

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T. Davidson

My son loves this book!

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2017

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Great book my son loves it. He is a Viking combat fighter for live steel, and he calls ot the sword fighters bible! It gives you tons of information on stances and more.

Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2018

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Good guidebook

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T. Devon Sharkey

A little lighter on the diatribes please..

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2003

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A good introductory text for the field, which until very recently lacked any sort of instructional manuels. Since the time of its publication, and as research in the field has expanded, some of the information appears a bit dated and inadequate. A (further) revised edition would probably be in order.
My greatest complaint, however, is the amount of ink wasted lambasting "certain rattan-fencing groups." Well, by that he means the SCA, which is fine, their fencing is decidedly not historically accurate, but the paper spent criticising them could have been better spent on useful, instructional material. In places Clements' vitriol sounds like George Silver foaming at the mouth about Italian rapiers.
I'd love to see a new, updated edition, removing the diatribes about the SCA (which, to me, read like a defense or justification for this book...) and replacing that with solid, up-to-date, instructional materials.

16 people found this helpful

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corey deas

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2018

Verified Purchase

good reference

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Top reviews from other countries

Christopher Muirhead

Great beginners guide

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2017

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This is my first book on the subject so I should say that I cannot compare this with other related works.
This is a good book, the reason I've given it 4 stars is because I think the title is slightly misleading; it should be called something like Medieval Swordsmanship; a beginners guide. Its not comprehensive. I would like one work that if you work at it long enough, could turn one into a competition level fighter.
This book is very good about telling us the state of hema and other sword related groups, equipment and training methods. I think this can help a beginner greatly and get him started with guards, parries, strikes and a few manoeuvres. Of course you will still need someone to spar and train with and an instructor would be more than helpful. No book can change that. The author is very confident in his beliefs of how its done and there is one particular area where he is probably wrong in his assertion. I actually don't think this is a big problem I just thought I'd mention it.
There are descriptions and illustrations but they are not comprehensive and can be hard to follow. To get the most out of this book you would have to study it very hard and of course the subject matter is a skill that will take a lifetime to master. Unfortunately there is no shortcut but I think this book is a great start on that journey.

MickV

For the art of Sword fighting . Get this book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2012

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John Clements is a professor. He speaks without egotistical embroidery.His descriptions , instruction and suggestion , are clear and concise .He is a 'hands on' professor unlike the legion of 'arm chair experts'.No fancy footwork or spins . Just a serious study and practice of debilitating , winning or killing an oponent.

One person found this helpful

Cool Husband.

A really excellent book on Medieval Swordsmanship

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2015

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A really excellent book on Medieval Swordsmanship . Very easy to follow and full of good information on the aspect of medieval life .Have advised my friends to get a copy.

D. Carter

Useful but too long

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 25, 2009

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Whilst the book does contain useful information about the weapons and techniques it aims to cover, I felt much space was wasted in repetitive and long-winded criticism of methods and views of modern re-enactors and enthusiasts. A more structured approach to the practise and development of techniques would have been more useful. Having said that, I would still buy it for the information it does contain. Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated Methods and Techniques

Amazon Customer

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2016

Verified Purchase

great