Martial Arts are literally “The Arts of Mars,” the Roman god of war. For over two and a half millennia, the combat arts of Europe served the hoplite, gladiator, legionnaire, knight, duelist, boxer and wrestler on the battlefield, in the duel, as street defense and in the ring. Interest in these traditions has grown dramatically over the last twenty years, bringing together a unique combination of fighters and scholars in the quest to resurrect and preserve this proud heritage of fighting lore.

The Western Martial Arts Workshop (WMAW) was founded in 1999 as a way for the students of these martial arts to meet, train, exchange research, and lay the foundation for an enduring Western martial arts community. In the Service of Mars, Volume Two is both a compilation of some of the most popular and detailed lectures and class notes from WMAW’s first decade, and a record of the growth of the Western martial arts community in depth and breadth over the same time. From longsword to sword and buckler fencing; deadly knife-fighting to mounted combat, the martial traditions of England, Germany, Italy and Spain are all amply represented and combined with detailed, practical instruction.

Not only a “best-of” anthology, most of the inclusions here are substantially different from the form in which they fi rst appeared in the WMAW event guides. The contributions in this book have been substantially revised, expanded, and photo-illustrated, coming as close to recreating an actual class in the subject as the written word can ever replicate a physical discipline.

Contents

Foreword

Part One: Martial Arts of the Middle Ages, ca. 1300–1550

English Longsword: a Tactical Approach 
  Paul Wagner

The Spear-Play of Fiore dei Liberi
  Gregory Mele

A Conceptual Look at the 24 Winden in Johannes Liechtenauer’s Art
  Jörg Bellinghausen

Fighting from the Nebenhut: Longsword Plays from the Ringeck Fechtbuch
 Christian Henry Tobler

Mounted Combat: A Continuation of the System
  Theresa Wendland

Part Two: Martial Arts of the Renaissance and Enlightenment, ca. 1500–1850

From the Page to the Practice: Fundamentals of Spanish Swordplay
  Puck Curtis and Mary Dill Curtis

The Iberian Montante: Sources, Techniques, and Tactics
  Steve Hick and Eric Myers

Understanding the Partisan: Forgotten Weapon of the Italian Renaissance
  Tom Leoni

Bolognese Swordsmanship: An Introduction to Renaissance Sword and Buckler
  Steven Reich

Keeping it Simple: Italian Rapier Tactics for Dummies
  Tom Leoni

Part Three: Western Martial Arts in Their Historical Context

Frog DNA, Concentric Rings, and Old-Fashioned Necromancy: Reconstructing Historical European Swordsmanship
  Gregory Mele

The Medieval Sword Blade: Form and Intended Function
  Craig Johnson

Part Four: Pedagogy—Teaching and the Western Martial Artist 

Flow Drills as a Teaching Tool for Medieval and Renaissance Dagger Training
  Jörg Bellinghausen

Decision-Making for Instructors
  Guy Windsor

Developing and Training with Solo Forms: An Overview
  Guy Windsor

About the Contributors