A complete beginner's guide to training in medieval Italian longsword. This book covers everything from choosing a sword, to warming up, to fencing. Full of set drills and clear descriptions, this book has been the standard work on the subject since it first came out in 2004. As a technical manual it has been largely superceded by The Medieval Longsword, which came out in 2014, but it is unsurpassed as a general guide to how and why you should train swordsmanship.