Windsor,
Guy. The Swordsman's Companion
Chivalry Bookshelf, Highland Village, TX., 2004
Softcover, 236 Seiten, ca. 150 Photos, ISBN: 1-891448-41-2
Price: $US 21.95
According to the author this book is meant to be an introduction
and self-teaching-guide to longsword fighting for absolute beginners. Thus,
assuming that the reader has only little or no background knowledge about
swordsmanship or swords, Mr. Windsor in the first part of his book provides
a sound theoretical foundation in various aspects of swords and swordsmanship.
He discusses what swordsmanship is about and the role of Western Swordsmanship in the world of martial arts as well as the benefits and difficulties of learning and practicing a martial art. A classification of swords together with a brief history of the development of the sword towards the longsword and beyond is given and the historical role of the sword on the battlefield and in everyday life is clarified.
The style of Longsword fighting presented by the author is a synthesis of the styles of the 15th century Italian masters Fiore dei Liberi and Filippo Vadi, as presented in the books they wrote. The author gives a brief introduction to the mental foundation on which dei Liberi and Vadi base their fighting systems. Knowing this background is essential for the reader to understand the techniques and the whole system. So, along with the general principles of fencing and the relevant terminology, as presented in the next chapter, the reader gets an excellent theoretical basis of the mental and intellectual aspects of swordsmanship which is required when working through the following 'hands on' chapters. So the book not only shows how it is done but why it is done. This may not be that important in the beginning if you practice under an experienced instructor whom you trust. But if you yourself are the one to judge whether you did something right or wrong you have to know and understand the principles and goals right from the start.
Due to his writing skill Mr. Windsor manages to present the complex theoretical aspects of swordsmanship in a highly concentrated manner which nevertheless is easy to follow. It's this unique combination which makes this book a recommendation for every swordsman - not just beginners nor just for those interested in the longsword. Although the techniques may be different for different weapons or styles the general principles of fencing are the same.
Besides the theoretical aspects, proper equipment is one of the core elements for practicing swordsmanship safely. So it's not surprising that the "Swordsman's Companion" addresses what the sword nowadays should be like and what other equipment is required for safe practice on the reader's way to become a longsword fighter.
Having laid out the necessary intellectual foundations for swordsmanship, the rest of the book is mostly practical. 'Unarmed Practice' covers practice which neither require a partner nor any equipment. This includes warm-ups, exercises in body mechanics and balance as well as basic stances and footwork. 'Armed Solo Drills' - besides the guards this chapter also covers offensive actions like cuts, thrusts and hilt strikes. In a number of exercises which are thoroughly described and depicted in series of photos you learn to execute these techniques in an intuitive but controlled way. The third and final of the 'hands on' chapters is the most complex. The individual principles, techniques and tactics which have been addressed in the earlier chapters are now applied to real fighting situations. This includes reactions to attacks, counters to these reactions as well as Giocco Stretto - the close play - where you apply wrestling techniques in longsword fighting. The core of this chapter is formed by a detailed series of photographs showing the applications of the individual techniques, supported by some additional descriptions. As the reader's understanding and skill of fencing grows while working through this chapter, Mr. Windsor carefully adds some more tactical levels of swordplay.
To round off this excellent book, finally the role of freeplay for learning historical swordsmanship is discussed; how to do it in a safe manner and which tactics to apply. The following appendices present a nutshell version of fighting with the longsword as well as warm-ups and a suggested training schedule.
As the result of years of intense research and hard training as well as his everyday day life as a professional teacher of European swordsmanship in his own school at Helsinki, Finland, Mr. Windsor is not 'just' an extraordinary swordsman but also an expert teacher of swordsmanship. With "The Swordsman's Companion" he shares his knowledge and experience in both fields with a wide audience. No matter whether you are beginner or advanced swordsman, student or teacher, I'm pretty sure that you will benefit from this book.
Stefan Dieke, Die
Freifechter