Take your skills and knowledge from absolute beginner to experienced fencer with the Complete Rapier Workbook, Guy Windsor's training method based on his interpretation of Ridolfo Capoferro's 1610 rapier treatise, The Great Representation of the Art and Practice of Fencing.
This workbook format includes extracts and images from Capoferro's book (and others), with clear explanations, step-by-step instructions, and a link to a video clip of every action, technique, and drill.
This workbook is in four parts:
Part 1: Beginners: how to warm up safely, how to stand and step, how to hold the sword, and the fundamental blade-on-blade actions teaching you how to safely approach your partner, get control of their sword, and hit them: and what to do when they try the same thing on you!
Part 2: Completing the Basics: covering all the important actions of the system, from the scannatura ("the slaughtering" to the scanso della vita ("the avoidance of the waist").
Part 3: Developing your Skills: now that you know the techniques and tactics, you can learn to actually apply them at speed. This section lays out a clear and practical way to cross the gap between "I know this" to "I can do this".
Part 4: Sword and Dagger and Sword and Cape adds the most commonly used off-hand weapons, the dagger, and the cape, beginning with basic guards and actions, and including drills to build up your proficiency with them.
This version is laid out for right handers, with space for written notes on the right hand page. If you are left handed we recommend choosing the version laid out for you. All techniques are shown in the video clips for both right handers and left handers.