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Forum Index > Makers and Manufacturers Talk > Announcing...Freelance Academy Press Reply to topic
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Christian Henry Tobler




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PostPosted: Mon 01 Mar, 2010 8:26 am    Post subject: Announcing...Freelance Academy Press         Reply with quote

Dear Friends, Students of the Sword and Lovers of History,

We are proud to announce the debut of Freelance Academy Press.

Freelance Academy Press offers its readers both innovative books and rich supporting material in the fields of Western martial arts, American and European history, arms and armour, chivalry, historical arts and crafts, and related adult and young-adult fiction. We accomplish this through the introduction of new educational books and timeless, carefully selected reprints. Each of our titles features innovative cover composition, clear illustrations, high production value and solid binding. Our goal is to give book-lovers a product in which the quality of the subject is matched with a notable degree of professionalism and cleanness of design.

Now Available: Our First Titles

As devoted students of Western swordsmanship, it is our particular pleasure to launch Freelance Academy Press with two compelling titles, ready for order today:


Venetian Rapier: Nicoletto Giganti’s 1606 Fencing Curriculum - Translated by Tom Leoni

Perhaps no other weapon represents “Renaissance Italian fencing” as powerfully as the rapier. However, do we truly know how this sword was used and how it was taught? Venetian Rapier transports you into the fencing school, or salle, of celebrated Renaissance rapier master Nicoletto Giganti of Venice. Giganti was one of the most influential teachers of the period, and a master whose instructions on the use of this weapon have survived the centuries. It is most fortunate for us that his 1606 text, The School, or Salle is a veritable training curriculum, complete with stepwise lessons and easy-to-follow explanations on the use of both the rapier alone and the rapier and dagger. This faithful translation of Giganti’s seminal work, by internationally-renowned rapier teacher Tom Leoni, includes the complete text, original illustrations, and an introduction on rapier fencing that enables the reader to easily follow Giganti’s text.


In Saint George’s Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts by Christian Henry Tobler

The medieval knight was a well-trained fighting man, expert in the use of sword, lance, spear and dagger, and a member of a warrior aristocracy whose values, virtues and vices helped shape European society for over 500 years. Providing an insightful, fascinating view of the medieval knight and his craft, In Saint George’s Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts brings readers a treasure trove of musings on the culture and the context of the martial arts in the late Middle Ages, hands-on training exercises for wrestling, dagger, falchion and poleaxe, and most importantly, the first English translation of the so-called “von Danzig” manuscript, the largest and most complete of the medieval German treatises. Join medieval combat expert Christian Henry Tobler on an expansive journey into the lost world of chivalric fighting arts, a journey that is certain to thrill martial artists, arms and armour enthusiasts, and lovers of history alike.

Coming Soon: Forthcoming Titles

We are confident that you will be as pleased with our debut titles as we are proud of them. But, just a swordsman cannot make a cut and then pause to see if it wins the bout, a publishing company cannot stand on their laurels for long. Therefore, we are happy to announce that the following titles are currently in production and slated for release by summer 2010:

In the Service of Mars: Proceedings from the Western Martial Arts Workshop, 1999 – 2009
The first of two volumes, In the Service of Mars: Proceedings from the Western Martial Arts Workshop, 1999 – 2009 is a visual and content-rich chronicle of the growth, in depth and breadth, of the Western martial arts community since the introduction of Western Martial Arts Conference in 1999. A compilation of some of the most popular and detailed lectures and class notes from the Western Martial Arts Workshop’s first decade, it is also far more than a “best-of” anthology. Ideally presented for both past and future Workshop attendees, each entry has been substantially revised, expanded, and in many cases, photo-illustrated by their authors in order to recreate the actual class experience in the subject presented.

Swordplay in the Age of Shakespeare by Stephen Hand
Stephen Hand, author of English Swordsmanship, Medieval Sword and Shield and former editor of the journal SPADA: An Anthology of Swordsmanship, now turns his attention to an in-depth survey of the fencing styles of late Elizabethan England. Designed specifically as an introduction to Elizabethan swordsmanship for Western martial artists, stage combatants and reenactors, this lavishly illustrated training guide compares and contrasts the swordplay techniques of Giacomo di Grassi, Vicentio Saviolo, George Silver and Joseph Swetnam.

Journal of the Armour Research Society
We are pleased to inaugurate our Arms and Armour catalog with the long-anticipated second volume by the renowned Armour Research Society. This research journal will feature articles by Fabrice Cognot, Jiří Hošek, Martijn A. Wijnhoven, and Douglas Strong.

Master of the Guild, the Fight Book of Master Peter Falkner by Christian Henry Tobler
Our first, full-color facsimile is a reproduction of a beautiful and little seen 15th century fencing treatise by the Hauptmann (Captain) of the famed Marxbrüder fencing guild, covering the longsword, messer, wrestling, staff, dagger and armoured combat.

These are just a few of the many titles currently in production at Freelance Academy Press. Rest assured that we will make regular announcements of all new titles and materials to be offered.

Freelance Academy Press: Something Different

Our goal is to be more than just another publisher, and our name “Freelance Academy Press” reflects our core structure and philosophy. As with many modern expressions, the origin of the term freelance has largely been forgotten. Originally, a “free lance” was a knight for hire, which in the modern world now means an individual hired to do contracted work.

The foundation of a publishing house is determined by the quality and diversity of its catalog. We are keenly aware that the structure of our business is built on establishing solid, enduring partnerships with our freelancers – our authors. That is why we collaborate with our authors to shape and refine their vision into a work that will withstand the test of time.

If freelance is our structure, then academy is our philosophy. Since we are passionate students of the subjects we publish, we are invested in seeing interest and knowledge of our titles grow on a global basis. We carefully choose titles and materials that lead readers on a historical journey that does not merely end with the final page of a book. Instead, our philosophy incorporates the three-tiered approach of Discover-Learn-Experience:

Discover - Freelance Academy Press broadcasts and promotes the existence of fascinating topics such as Western martial arts and the modern communities that exist within this rapidly expanding arena. By doing so, we help these communities to grow and we encourage interaction between the individuals within them.

Learn - We provide high-quality instructional and translational works for our readers. Because even the most scholarly of historical works should not be dry and boring, we emphasize readability and visually-compelling presentation in order to make your journey back in time a stimulating adventure.

Experience – In today’s publishing world, a press must be about communicating ideas, not merely about printing books or DVDs. We encourage you to return to our website, in particular our blog, time and again. We promise that you will find it to be an ever-growing repository of supplemental training documents and video clips, featured interviews and Q&As with leading researchers and instructors, and free downloadable e-books and translations. As a further bonus, subscribers to our periodic newsletter will receive “sneak peaks” and advance news of new title releases, as well as pre-order discounts and a few other surprises.

In short, Freelance Academy Press is run by aficionados of Western swordsmanship, for aficionados of the Art of the sword. We seek to forge an interactive, on-going relationship between reader, author and publisher that is well beyond the model of a traditional press. We invite you to come to www.freelanceacademypress.com now and join us on this odyssey.


Freelance Academy Press: Interact with History


Christian Henry Tobler
Order of Selohaar

Freelance Academy Press: Books on Western Martial Arts and Historical Swordsmanship

Author, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts
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Craig Johnson
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Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA
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PostPosted: Mon 01 Mar, 2010 9:01 am    Post subject: Excellent !!         Reply with quote

Congratulations, I look forward to getting my order Laughing Out Loud The works underway also look great. Always a great thing when we have more work going on in this area of study.

Best
Craig
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Greg Mele
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PostPosted: Mon 01 Mar, 2010 10:40 am    Post subject: Re: Excellent !!         Reply with quote

Craig Johnson wrote:
Congratulations, I look forward to getting my order Laughing Out Loud The works underway also look great. Always a great thing when we have more work going on in this area of study.

Best
Craig


Thanks Craig, we're pretty excited!

Of course, as with any new project, there are glitches. Right now, some folks are getting a "security certificate error" when they create an account. There is no real error, it's a glitch that should be resolved by tomorrow, but of course, we never saw it in testing....

Greg Mele
Chicago Swordplay Guild
www.chicagoswordplayguild.com

www.freelanceacademypress.com
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David Teague




Location: Anchorage, Alaska
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PostPosted: Mon 01 Mar, 2010 7:01 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello All!

I know I'm excited!

I already have my first order in and look forward to the new titles as the come off the presses!

Cheers,

David Teague

This you shall know, that all things have length and measure.

Free Scholar/ Instructor Selohaar Fechtschule
The Historic Recrudescence Guild

"Yea though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou's sword art is with me; Thy poleaxe and Thy quarterstaff they comfort me."
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Christian Henry Tobler




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PostPosted: Mon 01 Mar, 2010 7:19 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi David,

Yep, we're pretty jazzed too. Wink

For those concerned, we've fixed the security certificate issue earlier today, as well as a problem with ordering from outside the US.

A few glitches are to be expected at first...fortunately, our hosting/e-commerce provider's tech. support is more than top-notch!

Cheers,

Christian

Christian Henry Tobler
Order of Selohaar

Freelance Academy Press: Books on Western Martial Arts and Historical Swordsmanship

Author, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts
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Jean Thibodeau




PostPosted: Mon 01 Mar, 2010 7:32 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Christian Henry Tobler wrote:
Hi David,

Yep, we're pretty jazzed too. Wink

For those concerned, we've fixed the security certificate issue earlier today, as well as a problem with ordering from outside the US.

A few glitches are to be expected at first...fortunately, our hosting/e-commerce provider's tech. support is more than top-notch!

Cheers,

Christian


Had a quick look this morning as well as " bookmarking " on my MAC, and I have a couple of questions/suggestions:
A) Shipping options seem to be UPS only at the moment. For Canada UPS is, or at least the last time I used it was charging large customs brokerage fees that get added to the cost for the buyer/importer. USPS/Canada Post is much more economical as their customs brokerage fees are minimal.

The result is that last time something was shipped to me using UPS it cost me an extra $50 or so and that this charge seemed to be a minimal charge so that even a paperclip of no value would get a disproportionate brokerage charge. WTF?!

Note, this was a while back so maybe they have changed or adjusted their charges currently, or their policy on brokerage charges ( So this should be checked in case I'm giving you information that is no longer true ? ).

Their charges may be different for books than with other things ? I know I ordered some books from LuLu recently that where shipped Fed Ex and there where no brokerage fees ??? ( Fed Ex had the same fee structure as UPS as far as brokerage fees are concerned but was a little cheaper ..... maybe customer complaints made the private shipping company drop excessive fees not justified by actual costs ? )

B) Do you have a Paypal paying option ?

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!


Last edited by Jean Thibodeau on Mon 01 Mar, 2010 7:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Christian Henry Tobler




Location: Oxford, CT
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PostPosted: Mon 01 Mar, 2010 7:47 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi Jean!

Actually, USPS is our only option to Canada, or anywhere outside the US, right now. And that's largely because UPS and FedEx are insanely expensive outside the US. It's possible this was screwed up earlier in the day though, as we did have some shipping configuration issues.

And, yes, we do accept PayPal!

Take care,

Christian

Christian Henry Tobler
Order of Selohaar

Freelance Academy Press: Books on Western Martial Arts and Historical Swordsmanship

Author, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts
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Jean Thibodeau




PostPosted: Mon 01 Mar, 2010 8:09 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Christian Henry Tobler wrote:
Hi Jean!

Actually, USPS is our only option to Canada, or anywhere outside the US, right now. And that's largely because UPS and FedEx are insanely expensive outside the US. It's possible this was screwed up earlier in the day though, as we did have some shipping configuration issues.

And, yes, we do accept PayPal!

Take care,

Christian


Thanks all good and I only did a quick look around on the site and I now am much more interested in buying something. Wink Big Grin Cool

Yeah, the UPS and Fed EX brokerage fees are very high and unjustified unless there is an issue to be solved at the time of importation: Most packages customs clearance is a quick rubber stamp thing and represents no real work for the brokerage department i.e. outrageous and unjustified by actual work done or costs to these shipping companies when the shipment isn't " problematic " and needing extra paperwork or real legwork to talk customs into clearing the package.

All the above just for general information and sort of " Off Topic " : A long time ago I worked for a University in their purchasing department doing customs clearance and the paperwork for customs clearance so these very large fees set off my B.S. meter bigtime and are sort of a pet peeve with me, so excuse my being longwinded about it. Blush Wink

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Reinier van Noort





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PostPosted: Tue 02 Mar, 2010 4:24 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'd like to place an order, but you do not currently ship to the NL Sad .
School voor Historische Schermkunsten

www.bruchius.com
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Christian Henry Tobler




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PostPosted: Tue 02 Mar, 2010 7:05 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello Reinier,

Actually, we do ship the Netherlands...unfortunately, our shipping policy page had some errors, which I've just corrected.

All the best,

Christian

Christian Henry Tobler
Order of Selohaar

Freelance Academy Press: Books on Western Martial Arts and Historical Swordsmanship

Author, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts
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Reinier van Noort





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PostPosted: Tue 02 Mar, 2010 7:28 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thanks! Order placed.

Great initiave! Congratulations, and good luck!

School voor Historische Schermkunsten

www.bruchius.com
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Christian Henry Tobler




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PostPosted: Tue 02 Mar, 2010 7:30 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thank you Reinier! We very much appreciate both your enthusiasm and your patronage.

All the best,

Christian

Christian Henry Tobler
Order of Selohaar

Freelance Academy Press: Books on Western Martial Arts and Historical Swordsmanship

Author, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts
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Craig Shackleton




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PostPosted: Mon 22 Mar, 2010 9:27 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Got my order today!

Apparently it actually came last week, but I was out of town, so I couldn't sign for it.

I've really only had time to flip through In St George's Name, but it looks great. I was particularly intrigued by the essay on the four guards and the four elements. It corresponds pretty closely to my beliefs about why George Silver does everything in fours.

Haven't cracked Venetian Rapier yet; I actually ordered it for a friend, so I'll leave that privilege to him.

I'm very pleased with the physical quality of the books as well.

Good Work all round!

Ottawa Swordplay
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Greg Mele
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PostPosted: Mon 22 Mar, 2010 11:38 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thanks for the kind words, Craig! For my part, I agree that this is why Silver does things in fours, and in hierarchies.

Best,

Greg

Greg Mele
Chicago Swordplay Guild
www.chicagoswordplayguild.com

www.freelanceacademypress.com
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M. Eversberg II




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PostPosted: Mon 22 Mar, 2010 1:35 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Congrats on the new publishing house! I was talking with Cory Winslow yesterday and he hand mentioned some of the reasons this had come into being, all of which (including FAP) were news to me. I will see what kind of works I can get through you guys when the disposable income happens again.

M.

This space for rent or lease.
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Andrew Maxwell




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PostPosted: Mon 22 Mar, 2010 4:07 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Christian, what are you doing?? That's another book I have to get Wink

Must... find... cash... for... books.... Big Grin

On a more serious note, it's fantastic to see a Von Danzig translation, that's one I've been hanging out for. That's just gone on to my "priority purchases" list for the year.

Now we just need someone to do Paulus Hector Mair... Worried
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James Head





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PostPosted: Mon 22 Mar, 2010 4:55 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Andrew Maxwell wrote:

Now we just need someone to do Paulus Hector Mair... Worried


YES!!!!!
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Jean Thibodeau




PostPosted: Mon 22 Mar, 2010 5:02 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I haven't ordered any books yet but it is tempting and I hope other people posting about the books they bought will keep this site " bumped " so that it will keep remembering me to order something and also a new published needs the attention until people get into the habit of buying from them. Wink Cool

Although I have bookmarked the site a little reminder is useful. Wink

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Steve Lister




PostPosted: Tue 23 Mar, 2010 6:44 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Awesome endeavor and both titles look great but I was disappointed to find that these are paperback editions. Any possibility for hardcover versions to follow?
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Christian Henry Tobler




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PostPosted: Tue 23 Mar, 2010 8:01 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi Steve,

Thanks!

We'll be doing some books as hardbacks, to be sure. But most folks want books like our first two offerings as softcover, and that's because of price point.

But, believe me, as a dedicated bibliophile, I'm a hard cover man m'self. Happy

I do think you'd be pleased with these however - the matte finish on our books is unique and really quite lovely in the hand.

All the best,

Christian

Christian Henry Tobler
Order of Selohaar

Freelance Academy Press: Books on Western Martial Arts and Historical Swordsmanship

Author, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts
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