Bøker av [translated] M P Lynch

HEMA historians will enjoy this concise little wrestling manual composed in 1906 by Joseph Clère. The Turkish Guard, the German Key, the force collar - all parts of the endless continuum of practical and stylized motions which are picked up and discarded only to be found once again within the world of grappling as a whole. There's nothing new under the sun when it comes to martial arts, and yet much has been forgotten just waiting to be found once more.

If you're a fan of the standup grappling game and particularly the methods of the great Armand Cherpillod (declared European champion in free wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu a number of times between 1900 and 1926, as well as being a professor at the famed Bartitsu club) which was published under the title Hooks, Trips, Throws, & Takedowns, then this little work is sure to please. It is a translation of a Swiss manual from 1923 with the simple title of Das Ringen - which is to say Wrestling. Despite their idyllic landscapes, cushy resorts, and reserved demeanors, the Swiss are some seriously tough hombres. Is it that clean mountain living, constant hiking, and built-in high altitude training which gives them a super oxygenated leg up? Difficult to say, but after giving the Hapsburg Empire the heave-ho in the 14th century they went on to become the most sought after mercenaries in all of Europe, and to this day their commandos serve as the guardians of the Vatican. Even the hyper-pugnacious Nazis knew better than to mess around with the descendants of William Tell - they went around on all sides rather than try to swallow that alpine porcupine. Perhaps one of the things that serve to make this nation of yodeling herdsmen so tough - aside from carrying wounded livestock up and down steep slopes in the driving snow - is their native combat sport of Schwingen. Of all the European folk wrestling styles I have encountered, Schwingen is my hands down favorite: It is a standing grappling game with all of the best elements, from the subtle weight shifting stratagems of Judo to the raw power of Greco-Roman wrestling. Instead of a gi the competitors pull special breeches (Schwingerhosen) over their pants allowing for holds and throws which, given the generally robust build of the wrestlers, are pretty savage.In this work it is the gym-friendly version of Swiss Wrestling which is described, and while the special breeches are omitted, it does appear that one or more of the competitors is wearing spats to deliver that 1920's mystique. Given the nature of combat sports - things being discovered, discarded, remembered, and implemented anew - you're sure to find something about the standup grappling game which you had not yet considered: And there are few things better than taking an opponent by surprise with a centuries-old trick that's still as good as gold.

You're strolling along the banks of the Seine and suddenly it hits you: "I must learn to wrestle immediately!" A few strides toward the Quai du Louvre brings you to a green metal book stand brimming with texts of every kind et voilà - there is a copy of François le Bordelais' La Leçon de Lutte.Bordelais (1849-1933) was a master of the sport in France at the end of the 19th century. As a smaller grappler in a field dominated by giants, he won the admiration of the crowd by beating his opponents through technical skill alone, and for this same reason he came to be known as the greatest instructor of his era. In 1899 he put forth his first manual followed by the second in 1907, both of which were superbly illustrated by A. Lefort des Ylouses. Here both brief texts have been combined into one.French wrestling is a distinct national version of the sport which is neither Greco-Roman, Freestyle, or American Catch wrestling - and the author makes clear that while he is well acquainted with the pain-inducing techniques of the latter style, he is an advocate of a purely sportive form. Even a great fan of Catch Wrestling can appreciate the gentler, more widely applicable art of wrestling solely for the pin: There are few endeavors which work every part of the body so thoroughly as grappling, and bringing this kind of mind-body benefit to as many as possible is a laudable goal.

Published in 1863 when it was still quite handy to know how to slash an enemy with a saber or stick him with an épée, Hugo Rothstein's Das Stoß und Hiebfechten mit Degen und Säbel is a must-have volume to round out every HEMA library. For a relatively brief manual it is packed with techniques described in minute detail along with illustrations which relay the author's intent with astonishing clarity. From the hand parry to the battute, the forced thrust to the surprise neck slice, Rothstein's manual is a recipe for forming the neophyte into an able killer on dueling ground or in battle - important stuff for a young officer in the era of the Prusso-Danish war when an infantry officer still carried a smallsword while his mounted counterpart thundered across the field with saber in hand. This first English translation of Rothstein's classic is now available to readers under the title of Cut and Thrust and it is a portal to Europe's martial past. See what serious cold-weapons training was like during the period of the Crimean War and Poland's glorious January uprising when an attempt was made to restore the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (I always rooted for them). You can get a sense of what it was like to be a young Prussian when that nation was on a giddy upswing toward the domination of central Europe culminating in the Prusso-Austrian War (1866). Then came the 1870s, when Prussia would crush France, its ancient rival, and Bismarck would weld the petty German Kingdoms into an Empire which would change the course of history.

If I were to pick one book for a quick and dirty introduction to the French Martial Arts, this would be it. A picture is worth a thousand words, and this is particularly the case when it comes to understanding the subtle movements of the human form in three-dimensional space. Published in 1929 by the Fédération Gymnastique et Sportive des Patronages de France, this Étude Schématique is your one-stop-shopping work for the study of La Boxe Française, La Canne de Combat, and the lesser known staff fighting art of Le Bâton Français. Savate has gone by many names. Its earliest manifestations are hard to trace - some speak of a violent peasant game played in northern France wherein two opponents would face off in wooden clogs or sabots and, limited to kicking one other beneath the level of the knee, they would use ruses and traps to achieve a leg grab which would send the other fellow backward into the mud. Others contend this "sport" was devised by French soldiers on prison barges off the English coast during the Napoleonic wars. Whatever the origin, it morphed into a weapon for criminals who would throw their boots with enough force to crack a man's tibia or remove his kneecap - at which point they could unburden the helpless mark of his belongings. Then there was the style of kicking art which arose in the south of France known as chausson, which refers to the light slippers worn by French sailors. Grabbing hold of shrouds and stays they would deliver kicks from head to toe both for sport and as a genuine martial art to be used when launching or repelling a boarding party (the Mediterranean port of Marseille remains a Savate powerhouse). Men like Pisseux, Lecour, Leboucher, and of course the great Joseph Charlemont transformed this hodgepodge of techniques into what came to be known as La Boxe Française, combining the pragmatic punches of English boxing with the savage kicks of the old French systems. A genuinely practical and modern martial art, French Boxing (which has largely come to be known by its older moniker of Savate around the world) is unique in its use of a shoe - and isn't the average person more likely to encounter hostility in the street while wearing shoes?

"Be aware, never be surprised" was Emile Andre's guiding principle as he worked "to create a new system that is practical in terms of its combat-readiness." Long before the advent of MMA, he asserted that "it seems clear that we ought to study several fighting sports and mold them into one system." Andre had been producing self-defense manuals since the 1880's at a time when street gangs were terrorizing Paris, and he continued to do so after the advent of the Great War. In this ultimate 1929 edition of "L'Art de se defendre dans la rue", Andre lays out a combination of those kicks, punches and grappling moves which he deems the easiest to learn while providing the best results in terms of surviving a "nocturnal ambush". He then moves on to the use of the cane, knife, walking stick, and other weapons such as brass knuckles and pistols. The study of empty handed defense systems has always been a part of humanity's martial history: The Spartans were so keen to keep their "by any means" battle-ready edge that they allowed biting and eye gouging in their regular pankration competitions! The samurai worked hard at their Daito-ryu-jujutsu in order to be able to keep on fighting when their weapon was lost, and of course karate itself is often translated as "empty hand." Krav Maga is perhaps the latest popular manifestation of a system geared toward the very real possibility that you will sometimes be caught at unawares and unarmed, and you must be able to respond with fists and feet before getting to your weapon or fleeing. Combatives is a fun and useful skill to cultivate, and with any luck you will augment your physical constitution and your hand-eye coordination without ever having to deploy such skills in the real world... but is you have to, it is there. Keep in mind that the kicks in this system are meant to be delivered by a person wearing a hard soled shoe - in this way the seemingly innocuous low kick from savate becomes an ankle-shattering fight stopper. And you can well imagine what it means to take a point kick to the groin from an adversary in a steel-toed boot! As for La Canne, it will only seem silly to you until you take a hardwood cane and whack a heavy bag with it using a fully developed cut. Indeed, staving in a skull is not beyond the power of the humble - but sturdy - cane.

This book is a must have for the HEMA library. Mensur refers to rapier dueling from the hanging guard with only the head being targeted. Unlike the French epee duel which so often proved fatal (and continued into the 1960's), the German-speaking world has maintained a cut/slash only form of combat wherein deep facial wounds are dealt out (explaining the scars and eye-patches on German officers in old war movies) but death is very rare, and always the result of an accident. This form of the duel (practiced mainly among university students) proves a man's mettle win or lose, and scars are worn as a badge of honor. Upon moving on to the military the rapier is exchanged for the saber which is held forth in the standard "steep" guard, and cuts could be delivered to a wider range of targets in sparring. The brothers (and fencing masters) Christian and Friedrich Seemann-Kahne edited and assembled existing material into this third edition of the Akademische Fechtschule which was meant to be released in 1914, but was delayed in its publication by the coming of the war until 1926. It includes two books: Deutsche Hiebfechtschule für Korb und Glockenrapier (German Cut-Fencing School for Basket and Bell rapier) and Deutsche Säbelfechtschule (German Saber Fencing School). Both allow the modern swordsmen to experiment with German broad-blade cut fencing as it was preserved from earlier tradition into the 20th century.

Formerly published as How to Defend Yourself, this revamped and improved English translation of Master-at-Arms Georges Dubois' early 20th century (circa 1912) classic provides you with everything you need to survive the tough streets of Paris in the years before WW1: How to subdue an attacker with your cane, how to make your own pepper-and-ash pocket defense powder, some key moves from jiu-jitsu, the proper way to conceal a knife, and for the ladies a special dirty trick for keeping wandering hands off of your bustle while riding the Metro. But the fun doesn't stop at kicks to the groin and eye gouging: With great humor and an easy style Dubois also has tips for surviving a fire in your apartment building as well as in a crowded theater before safety regulations rendered them less death-trappy. There are even tips for stopping a runaway horse, exposing the office thief, a hilariously clever means of foiling your local chicken thief, plus a side-splitting security plan aimed at the evil clown who comes to burgle your bungalow while you're just trying to unwind in the fresh country air. There's even a primer on dueling with the epee, since that was something which was bound to bound to impact the average gent in fin-de-siecle Paris.This all-in-one manual is a true classic of self-defense literature - the best I've encountered, to be frank - and whether you're rounding out your HEMA library or you just want a good read with some solid pointers on how to stay a step ahead of the world's many predatory shysters, this book is for you.

Attacks to the neck and fingers are always good indications of a serious work on self-defense, and Hans Reuter's 1922 manual has both. Indeed, when the "first wave" of Jiu-Jitsu hit the West at the dawn of the 20th century, it featured all of those nasty old battlefield techniques the samurai were so fond of - bone crunching "finish him!" type moves which are perforce largely left to the side in modern scholastic Jiu-Jitsu circles. Indeed, you cannot cultivate the supreme sport of physical chess to its highest degree if everyone involved hobbles out of the dojo in a neck brace with busted several digits. The sportive form has been pruned of harsh elements like a bonsai tree, rendered smooth so that it can flow from technique to technique with a rough but not savage beauty, stopping only when one player signals checkmate. Modern Jiu-Jitsu has become genteel insofar as that is possible, and while an accomplished player is almost always a formidable street fighter, he's probably never worked with some of the brutal shortcuts to victory employed to great effect during Japan's Edo period, for example. What's the fastest way to sink an elbow and shoulder lock? Grab some fingers and start twisting. Is your arm lock almost in place but your adversary still has little wiggle room? Seize him by the hair and crank his neck down his spine to take that last bit of fight out of him. These are the kinds of things you want to remember when the poop hits the propeller, and that is what you'll find in this fresh translation of Hans Reuter's Jiu-Jitsu: A Manual for Self Defense.