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Epee 2.5: The New Paradigm Revised and Augmented
Johan Harmenberg revolutionized epee fencing when he pioneered the New Fencing Paradigm that lets a fencer neutralize his opponent's superior technique. In this new, expanded edition of Epee 2.0, he hears comments from top competitors and gives his responses. Johan had given up on serious fencing because he thought he lacked the talent to fence classically. He left his native Sweden to pursue his education at MIT. Here he met Eric Sollee, an innovative coach. Together, they mapped out the "New Fencing Paradigm, scribbling Eric's Three Conjectures on a bar napkin. Johan put the New Paradigm into effect - with a vengeance. Despite being snubbed by the Swedish authorities for his new style, he won the World Championship in Men's Individual Epee in 1977 and the Olympic Gold Medal in 1980. In this ground-breaking book, Johan tells his inspiring story and reveals the theory behind his style. Also, Bjorne Vaggo, NCAA epee champion and Olympic Silver Medalist, explains his own take on the New Par-adigm, Geoff Pingree, IFA epee champion, tells how the paradigm developed at MIT, In this new edition, new voices join the conversation: world and Olympic individual champions Arndt Schmitt (Germany) and Philippe Boisse (France) plus Swiss national coach and world team champion Angelo Mazzoni. They share their winning methods, their insights, and their comments on Johan's theories, and he replies to their comments. He has also added new chapters, including a scientific paper on a study that put his ideas to the test.
230 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 8, 2023
Wish it was still in print
December 21, 2015
I'll start by mentioning that the book would probably benefit from a good editor and proofreader and, despite my below criticisms it's probably one of the most important fencing (certainly one of the most important epee) books in the last few decades.
The book essentially starts off as an autobiography detailing Johan's early fencing career, the development of his paradigm and his subsequent success. It's quite interesting but the book really hits it's stride when it moves onto the specifics behind Harmenburg's "New Paradigm". He covers in some detail the concept of "areas of excellence" (AOE) where fencers are at their strongest (and most comfortable) and how to move your opponent out of his AOE and into your own.
The new "dialogue with 5 epee champions" was a bit hit and miss - they all seem to have different ideas about what they were doing. Some essentially wrote mini-autobiographies of their career, others wrote the sort of abstract, impractical advise that is common in other fencing books but which Epee 2.5 generally manages to avoid. None of them (with the slight exception of Bjorne Vaggo) really focused on the application of the paradigm laid out in the rest of the book. It was still an interesting section but sort of feels like a last minute addition (and given it's absence in Epee 2.0 I suppose that it was).
Definitely well worth reading for anyone who's been fencing for a few years.
The book essentially starts off as an autobiography detailing Johan's early fencing career, the development of his paradigm and his subsequent success. It's quite interesting but the book really hits it's stride when it moves onto the specifics behind Harmenburg's "New Paradigm". He covers in some detail the concept of "areas of excellence" (AOE) where fencers are at their strongest (and most comfortable) and how to move your opponent out of his AOE and into your own.
The new "dialogue with 5 epee champions" was a bit hit and miss - they all seem to have different ideas about what they were doing. Some essentially wrote mini-autobiographies of their career, others wrote the sort of abstract, impractical advise that is common in other fencing books but which Epee 2.5 generally manages to avoid. None of them (with the slight exception of Bjorne Vaggo) really focused on the application of the paradigm laid out in the rest of the book. It was still an interesting section but sort of feels like a last minute addition (and given it's absence in Epee 2.0 I suppose that it was).
Definitely well worth reading for anyone who's been fencing for a few years.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews