I recently downloaded the video Messer Fighting from the Glasgow Fechtbuch from Freelance Academy Press (www.freelanceacademypress.com). This little gem is a two-for-one deal in that it not only is a video demonstrating messer techniques by Christian Tobler, but also comes with Christian Tobler's English translation of the messer section of the 1508 Glasgow Fechtbuch.

I have worked with the messer section of this treatise before, and the most notable thing about it is it's simplicity. Christian himself has often called it "messer for dummies" in that it covers simple but effective defenses against some of the most common attacks, and is complete enough to give a person a reasonable overview for fighting with the weapon. If you have never worked with this material, the download is more than worth the $8.99 for the PDF translation alone. Christian's translation skills in particular are quite excellent in making this very easy to read and understand.

The video is remarkably well done. It has a nice professional feel to it, with both well done narration as well as a professional sounding medieval soundtrack from the Paul Butler Consort. It goes through every play, showing Christian's interpretation of each action. The actions are shown very clearly, with narration reading the actual text, followed by narration explaining the interpretation while you watch it in action. One of the faults I often see in martial arts videos is where the author feels the need to over explain something for several minutes before actually showing it, and this video never comes close to that pitfall. If you've never worked with the material before, this is an excellent way to see how the actions are potentially done. If you have worked with the material, it is good to see how Christian physically interprets the text so that you can compare it to your own methods. For myself, I've found that Christian and I are looking at things in a very similar light, but he also had elements in his interpretation that I had not even thought of, which only goes to show how invaluable it is for us as modern recreationists of these arts to see how others are reconstructing the texts.

At $8.99, you really can't go wrong with this. It's cheap and it's a simple download away. It also has a high value for anyone who can't read the original German text of the Glasgow fechtbuch, making it a must have for that alone.

I would concur whole-heartedly with Bill's review. This is a great deal for a very good video and the translation. It is accessible and makes for a very solid set of skills one can use with messer and single handed sword. In studying the martial arts it is often the basic and foundational skills that are used most often. If these are mastered one has gone a long way to being a competent fighter. In this package you get such skills and a very good representation of them.

Our practice group has been working through this material and it is quite fun!

Best
Craig

Thanks again for the review Bill :D

I very much enjoyed working on this project and we are planning on producing a few more over the next year. If people are really into this style of short downloadable videos, we'll definitely push for more.

Hi Jean!

The first idea is something we already have in mind.

Unfortunately the second one isn't workable: the resolution of a still image drawn from video is far too low in quality as to be print-worthy.

Take care,

Christian

well after hearing you guys say it was alright i dove right in and got it.

it is great! and you have to release more of these... will be looking into the new dvd as well

thanks for the recommendation and that you for creating this

Mick