This book is a good general overview of the "sport" of fencing (as opposed to the "art" of classical fencing) that any beginner would do well to read. There are many classical fencers out there (myself included) that can find several faults in this work, such as pictures displaying bad fencing form, diagrams showing inefficient parries, etc. This book, however, does not really concentrate on this area of fencing; instead, it covers all of the basics that every sport fencer should know. As a past competitive fencer myself, I would recommend this book to any present or aspiring competitive fencer who desires to attain a broad knowledge of the sport itself, the varying techniques involved, the conventions involved in a fencing tournament, and other assorted general knowledge that every fencer really should know. This book would also be considerably helpful to newer or not-yet-begun fencing clubs (especially college fencing clubs), as it provides not only helpful lesson plans for many of the techniques it covers, but also chapters on officiating, hosting and running fencing tournaments, and legal matters that must be considered by clubs and hosts of tournaments. These chapters in particular can help a club to start off well, keep running smoothly, and avoid later problems (especially legal problems) that all-too-often occur because they were not a consideration in the beginning. All in all, this is a good start-up book for beginning individuals and clubs, and as long as you can ignore many of the (unfortunately) misleading pictures and diagrams, the text is quite accurate and well thought out.

A while back I gave this book only a so-so review, but, on reflection, have since changed my mind. This book will appeal to many in the fencing world today, those with a mindset geared specifically toward the active competitive arena, and therefore should be considered a valuable source of information for that purpose. While I happen to lean toward a more classical approach to fencing than this book professes, that is not important to this review. I recognize that many do not share my opinions about fencing (I am the author of "The Art and Science of Fencing" and "The Inner Game of Fencing"), and that's fine. There should, of course, be books detailing all aspects of fencing. This book is the best of its kind.

And this book is one of them. (The other is Fencing and the Master, by Laszlo Szabo)

I have read many of the different fencing books on the market, and these two are the only that provide both logical structure and useful content. As one other reviewer has astutely pointed out, the authors have themselves produced many national champions, team champions, and olympic team members.

This book may be a bit pricey, but it is worth the money compared with the other books out there. The old saying holds true: "you get what you pay for."

As an epee fencer, I have to say that the section on epee is very well written. I have noticed that, in many fencing books, the author will only spend a page or two describing epee tactics/technique/theory. Usually, the theory consists of a few rambling paragraphs. Epee is given a much better treatment here. For one thing, the description of epee footwork put into words what I had trying to describe to begining epee fencers for years.

Good photographs too, especially the one of my friend Michael Feldschuh (with an astonished George Kolombotovich in the background) at the begining of the chapter on officiating. Also, the "models" demonstrating fencing actions do not look awkward (as those in other books often do).

In short, if you are a competitor, borrow it. If you want to become a coach, buy it and memorize it.