The Fighting Staff

by Dwight C. McLemore

In the latest addition to his Fighting Weapons series, Dwight McLemore does for the staff what he did earlier for the Bowie, tomahawk, and sword. The Fighting Staff is a modern illustrated guide to using one of man's oldest weapons. In keeping with his philosophy on fighting weapons, in this workbook McLemore does not attempt to duplicate methods from a specific period in the past. Rather, he offers an eclectic approach that borrows the most effective techniques from Asian and European martial arts throughout history. The Fighting Staff covers such essentials as footwork, grip, strikes, thrusts, blocks, and targeting. But its real value lies in the fighting concepts imparted, which serve as a language for advanced training. As always, your martial arts training is greatly enhanced by McLemore's beautifully executed drawings that take you step-by-step through 25 fighting drills for the martial arts staff. His use of frontal, side and overhead views, as well as his unique "floating staff" perspective, allows you to truly see how your actions correlate with those of your training partner (or opponent), as well as how and where your weapon moves. The training techniques taught in this book are not limited to the staff. They can also be used effectively with other weapons.

Genres: Martial Arts

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent primer on technique. As a physical art form, you need to work through the actions described by the author. Occasionally the descriptions take some time to work out how the author intends them to be carried out. Diagrams are hit and miss. Some are clear; others less so. There is some discussion of defence and martial arts theory, but it is cursory. No book is a replacement for a competent and knowledgeable instructor.

[Matthew Dambro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to quarterstaff fighting. Diagrams are a little difficult to follow. Should be used with Youtube instructional videos.