German Longsword Book

German Longsword Book

Works real good.

Love how everything is concise and succinct! It's a great teaching assistant.

As a HEMA instructor, reading through translations of the historical manuals or "fechtbuchs" can be exhausting. There's usually only one picture and vague descriptions for complex actions. There's a lot of ambiguity and major omissions that can make it challenging to dive into the sources. Not to mention the unusual written cadences. Kyle shares his KDF experience through this plain spoken, direct, yet detailed breakdown of the german longsword techniques under the Lichtenauer tradition. The images are clear and show the motions from angles that help both beginners and experienced fencers understand these complex ideas. He even highlights how some of the sources/masters differ in their texts, clearing up a lot of confusion. This is an excellent companion to all of your translations (like Forgeng's Meyer or Cheney's Ringeck/Danzig/Lew). The best part about it is how approachable he makes the material, so anyone can learn!

i've bought a couple of other books which i stopped reading. this book i cannot stop reading. every page i am learning something pivotal. as someone who really wants to get a good foundation, this is the perfect book. i also take classes in person but you need the book too.