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The Liar The Cheat and The Thief: Deception and the Art of Sword Play
You don't fight bodies you fight minds.
In this slender volume, Maija Soderholm of Sonny Umpad's Visayan Style Corto Kadena and Larga Mano system presents the details of one of the most important and least understood aspects of personal combat. How to control the opponent's mind.
The Liar, The Cheat, and The Thief explores the drills and the mindset of one of the last modern duelists. As Sun Tzu said "All warfare is deception".
On the surface, this is a book about learning to deceive one's opponent in the fighting arts. And it would be a great addition to the canon if that were all it managed to be. Yet, a closer read suggests that this book is pretending to be less than it is to conceal some deeper lessons. We should hardly be surprised by this. Just as Musashi and others have taught us, the sword is a vehicle for understanding other things. In truth, what Ms. Soderholm has provided us is a guide not merely to reading one’s opponent, but to writing him. The advantages of that having that ability are limited only by one’s imagination, whether the context is the ring, the battlefield, or the boardroom. These are deep waters, and the tools provided are powerful — to be used cautiously and wisely.
Rob Crowley, former MAJ, US Army Special Forces
My focus, for many years, has been on surviving violent encounters. I don't duel. I don't square off and try to keep things fair. So why am I excited about a book on dueling, using weapons I don't even carry from a culture not my own? Because there are principles underlying all things, and sometimes the principles are easier to see if you force yourself to shift perspective. There are three things that the long blade teaches better than any other distance, timing and deception. Maija Soderholm understands these nuances deeply. I've been waiting for this book for a long time. It will make me better in my totally unrelated field.
Rory Miller, author of Meditations on Violence, Facing Violence and ConCom – Conflict A new paradigm in Conscious Communication
After 35 years studying the Filipino martial arts, I thought I knew what 'flow' was until I met Maija; flashing smile hiding the glint of steel. To improve your art, watch, in the videos, how her feet and torso turn in different directions and the hands deliver the attack on a third line. Deception within deception.
P.H. (Mac) McRedmond, Deputy Sheriff, Retired and 50 year martial arts student and instructor
There are teachers and there are teachers. Rarely do you find the ability to both DO and TEACH at a high level of skill within the same person. I have seen Maija Soderholm's skill in technique and teaching ability firsthand, flowed with her on many occasions and been the recipient of embarrassing lessons in humility. As a 28 year practitioner of the martial arts, that's not an easy thing to bring about.
Maija's Art of Deception is the brass ring. There's no holding back, nor is there any mystification - you can't simply let your mind relax, the game is more mental than it is physical and learning to integrate the two has been the stumbling block of many teachers. Maija's art isn't a *system* per se, but the essence of every martial art on the planet; It's a living, evolving manual of motion you can return to for years, and get something new every time. Maija never lets you relax in a drill, she constantly reminds you (sometimes painfully) that higher martial arts demands deeper concentration.
In this slender volume, Maija Soderholm of Sonny Umpad's Visayan Style Corto Kadena and Larga Mano system presents the details of one of the most important and least understood aspects of personal combat. How to control the opponent's mind.
The Liar, The Cheat, and The Thief explores the drills and the mindset of one of the last modern duelists. As Sun Tzu said "All warfare is deception".
On the surface, this is a book about learning to deceive one's opponent in the fighting arts. And it would be a great addition to the canon if that were all it managed to be. Yet, a closer read suggests that this book is pretending to be less than it is to conceal some deeper lessons. We should hardly be surprised by this. Just as Musashi and others have taught us, the sword is a vehicle for understanding other things. In truth, what Ms. Soderholm has provided us is a guide not merely to reading one’s opponent, but to writing him. The advantages of that having that ability are limited only by one’s imagination, whether the context is the ring, the battlefield, or the boardroom. These are deep waters, and the tools provided are powerful — to be used cautiously and wisely.
Rob Crowley, former MAJ, US Army Special Forces
My focus, for many years, has been on surviving violent encounters. I don't duel. I don't square off and try to keep things fair. So why am I excited about a book on dueling, using weapons I don't even carry from a culture not my own? Because there are principles underlying all things, and sometimes the principles are easier to see if you force yourself to shift perspective. There are three things that the long blade teaches better than any other distance, timing and deception. Maija Soderholm understands these nuances deeply. I've been waiting for this book for a long time. It will make me better in my totally unrelated field.
Rory Miller, author of Meditations on Violence, Facing Violence and ConCom – Conflict A new paradigm in Conscious Communication
After 35 years studying the Filipino martial arts, I thought I knew what 'flow' was until I met Maija; flashing smile hiding the glint of steel. To improve your art, watch, in the videos, how her feet and torso turn in different directions and the hands deliver the attack on a third line. Deception within deception.
P.H. (Mac) McRedmond, Deputy Sheriff, Retired and 50 year martial arts student and instructor
There are teachers and there are teachers. Rarely do you find the ability to both DO and TEACH at a high level of skill within the same person. I have seen Maija Soderholm's skill in technique and teaching ability firsthand, flowed with her on many occasions and been the recipient of embarrassing lessons in humility. As a 28 year practitioner of the martial arts, that's not an easy thing to bring about.
Maija's Art of Deception is the brass ring. There's no holding back, nor is there any mystification - you can't simply let your mind relax, the game is more mental than it is physical and learning to integrate the two has been the stumbling block of many teachers. Maija's art isn't a *system* per se, but the essence of every martial art on the planet; It's a living, evolving manual of motion you can return to for years, and get something new every time. Maija never lets you relax in a drill, she constantly reminds you (sometimes painfully) that higher martial arts demands deeper concentration.
- GenresMartial Arts
140 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 12, 2014
18 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 25, 2016
This sassy, skinny book is mostly made up of drills. They are brilliant. Since I practice a Japanese sword style and know only about three things about Escrima, I had to look up a number of the terms, but it was worth it. Most of these drills are things I can use with fellow students of my totally different style...because sword fighting is sword fighting.
Carefully, one step at a time, the author adds new elements to her drills. She tells you what to do, what not to do, and how not to do it. She tells you what to learn from it all.
The rest of the book is chatty, insightful, and always seems to be flashing a grin at you. It gives a whole new set of ways of thinking about sword combat. Most of it seems to be saying, "Observe this. Now think about it. Play with it; try it out. Now observe this other thing..."
My one complaint is that the drills she has filmed and offers for sale cost $120, which I find excessive. No, I didn't buy them.
All in all, it's a very helpful book.
I have about 30 drills I can use in my own practice, a few great quotes, and some new insights into winning the mind game.
Carefully, one step at a time, the author adds new elements to her drills. She tells you what to do, what not to do, and how not to do it. She tells you what to learn from it all.
The rest of the book is chatty, insightful, and always seems to be flashing a grin at you. It gives a whole new set of ways of thinking about sword combat. Most of it seems to be saying, "Observe this. Now think about it. Play with it; try it out. Now observe this other thing..."
My one complaint is that the drills she has filmed and offers for sale cost $120, which I find excessive. No, I didn't buy them.
All in all, it's a very helpful book.
I have about 30 drills I can use in my own practice, a few great quotes, and some new insights into winning the mind game.
September 6, 2020
I picked up this book because of a general interest in martial arts; I have never practiced sword play. This book is about so much more than sword play. As with all helpful fighting systems in my experience, there is a framework laid out here. And, in this case, underneath that framework there is a philosophy - one that resonated for me. I incorporated that philosophy into my martial and non-martial interactions, and the results check out.
I’ve never read The Art of War but I did stumble across The Book of Five Rings when I was young. It affected me deeply. Reading The Liar, The Cheat and The Thief took me back to that time. I recommend this book to anyone, regardless of their MA experience or interest.
I’ve never read The Art of War but I did stumble across The Book of Five Rings when I was young. It affected me deeply. Reading The Liar, The Cheat and The Thief took me back to that time. I recommend this book to anyone, regardless of their MA experience or interest.
November 21, 2018
Book covers a good number of drills. While a few links to videos are provided, the book would be better if there were more videos or pictures. The drills need to be practiced and I did this with a few of my students, but it will be a while before digesting most of the information. I think reading Rory Miller's "Drills" book in conjunction would be beneficial to the reader. What I enjoyed most about this book is the coverage of the psychological aspects of training and fighting, learning to read your opponent, and providing suggestions to keep you in control. The principles covered carry over to non-bladed arts. If you train in arnis or escrima, I recommend reading this material.
July 1, 2017
In martial arts, the real secrets are not techniques, but training methods. This little gem of a book delivers a treasure trove of learning experiences to try with a partner. I'll use some of these; I'll adapt others, because they are optimized for a dueling environment, and that's not what I train for. But the whole book is a worthwhile read for its commentary on human nature.
February 22, 2025
The drills in the book are good, but the book is somewhat useless without the accompanying videos, for which you have to pay extra (120USD, while the book is 25 USD). So basically it is not worth the price tag.
May 11, 2016
Short and sweet, this excellent book describes techniques for misleading one's opponent into errors of judgement during a fight. A series of progressive drills are included which I intend to try out with my friends and martial arts group, mixed in with illustrative anecdotes from the author's time training which describe the principles brought out to be worked in in the subsequent drills. I've tried some of the solo drills already, and they're challenging and worthwhile even for experienced practitioners.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews