Fighting with the German Longsword

I've been taking a medieval martial arts course at a local fencing school for a little over half a year. The class covers German Longsword, Messer, some hafted weaponry based off Hans Talhoffer's work plus sword and buckler from MS I.33. I picked this book up about a month ago from Amazon and I was very pleased with it. It provides a good reinforcement for the lessons I am learning in class and its very useful to have a practical guide on hand. The descriptions are clear and straightforward and the photos are very useful. Being a software developer by trade I got a kick out of the flowcharts detailing the decision tree for the master cuts at the end of the chapters. All in all I'm glad I picked up this book.

I bought this book after I started a HEMA class on longswords based on the German texts. Much of the class went too quickly, as I couldn't remember the difference between a zwerchhau and schielhau. This book together with Sword Fighting by Herbert Schmidt truly helped, and made for great souvenirs of the class.There is lots of overlap with Shcmidt's book, but this one well designed drills that will get the moves committed to muscle memory. While I recommend both books for anyone interested in learning HEMA, I would probably rank Tobler's book about half a star higher because of the drills.

No grandbabies for me.

I love this book. Our group had a single copy of the out of print 1st edition, which was a great resource, and this second edition is even better. There are a few changes--which really shows how our understanding of longsword is evolving. Even if you have the 1st edition, I recommend this purchase.If you can find a group, terrific! If you can't, the book is clear enough to work with on solo practice. It's pretty detailed, so don't expect to understand it all the first go-through, but it's worth reading a time or two.

I have been interested in the art of German longsword fighting for a long time. This book has been very helpful for me to understand the detail of this art. However, there is one problem I want to say about the price of this book on Amazon. I think maybe it is because this book becomes rare nowadays that makes it quite expensive. Originally, the price marked on the book itself is just $24.95. However, right now (as in February 16, 2012), you will need to spend more than $100 to get a copy on Amazon. And, it looks like it is difficult to get a brand new copy nowadays. It is true that the information in this book is very valuable and it is very helpful for those who are serious with German Longsword fighting. However, while originally a brand new copy for this book is $24.95, you will need to spend more than $100 to get a used copy nowadays. I don't know what to say about this circumstance.

I purchased this book after watching the documentary, Reclaiming the Blade, and Fighting with the German Longsword by Christian Henry Tobler has far exceeded my expectations. Not only is this a wonderful training guide for Western martial arts, this book is also filled with loads of history. As for the martial arts aspect, all of Mr. Tobler's exercises are thoroughly explained and each one has 3 to 4 black and white pictures that cover a step by step of the movements for that particular exercise. Even my younger brother had no problem working through several of the exercises. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in western martial arts.

When I saw this online I thought it was in color, it's not. It's still worth getting.

I have many books on Longsword in my library. Tobler has been the only author that is able to take the historic information and present it into a format that teaches the reader the proper techniques. Even fine authors, such as Guy Windsor, will stumble in their writings as they try to present their approach to this martial art.Tobler's interpretations and presentations require one reading to gain knowledge. Get this book.

Sehr gute Illustrationen, werden sehr detailliert im Text erklärt.

The new chapter

Great book, good instructions and history. Good read.

Good instructional book get a friend to read it so you can do the partner drills

I gave this three stars not because I disagree with some of Mr Tobler's interpretations in this work (and I believe he now does) nor because I think it's not useful. I just find it lacking compared to his previous book on essentially the same topic, Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship: Sigmund Ringeck's Commentaries on Liechtenauer's Verses (hereafter "Secrets").What's extra or new in this version: some couching on basics like footwork and posture, but at a relatively basic level, and some guidance on kit and training. There are a rather useful set of flowcharts from different techniques, but I had already made my own while reading Ringeck!What's not in here: a source.That makes it hard to read his interpretations with a critical eye. That might just be important - in Secrets, for example, I have noticed places where Mr Tobler substituted left leg for right leg, with his own commentary next to the translation. That makes rather an impact on the technique! While Mr Tobler's interpretations have evolved since Secrets, they have also almost certainly evolved since this book as well. It's worth noting that unlike Secrets, there does not seem to be any errata or revisions available for this book. Mr Tobler is honest enough to admit that he's often wrong (like anyone else doing HEMA for more than a year should, he junks what he thought he knew and replaces it with what he know thinks he knows) but as important as presenting an interpretation is, I feel having a source to work from is essential.Mr Tobler's translation work elsewhere has been top notch, and I worry I have been harsh in marking this book down for not being such. However, the lack of a primary source is a severe limit on it's use to me.Those concerned with ethical issues (or even (shudder) "chivalric* ones) should go and search out the recent issues between publisher and author involved, and consider the source of their purchase.