Fighting with the German Longsword

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.

No grandbabies for me.

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.

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 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 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.

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

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.