Historical Manuals
Books
Stage combat books
Actors On Guard – Dale Girard
Fight Direction For Stage and Screen – William Hobbs
Teaching and Interpreting Historical Swordsmanship – Brian Price
The Duellists Companion: Italian Rapier – Guy Windsor
Renaissance Swordsmanship – John Clement
Sword Fighting, A Manual for Actors & Directors – Keith Ducklin & John Waller
Fight Directing For Theatre – Allen Suddeth
Arms and Armor
History of The Sword – Bruce LaFontaine
A Guide to Swords, Daggers, and Cutlasses – Gerald Weland
Medieval Sword – Ewart Oakeshot
The Armourer and His Craft – Charles Ffoulkes
Master Bladesmith – Jim Hrisoulas
Arms & Armor – Knopf
A Glossary of The Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor – George Stone
The Rapier and Smallsword, 1460-1820 – A.V.B. Norman
Native American Weapons – Collins F. Taylor
The Sword and The Centuries – Alfred Hutton
European Weapons and Armor – Ewart Oakeshott
English Weapons of Warfare 449-1660 – A.V.B. Norman and Don Pottinger
Wallace Collection: European Arms and Armor vol. I, II, and Supplement – Sir James Mann
Arms and Armor of the English Civil Wars – David Blackmore
Soul of The Sword – Robert L. O’Connell
European Arms and Armor – Charles Henry Ashdown
The Book of The Sword – Richard F. Burton
The Archeology of Weapons – Ewart Oakeshott
The Swords of Shakespeare – J.D. Martinez
Swords and Daggers – Frederick Wilkinson
British Military Swords – John Wilkinson Latham
The History of Fencing – William M. Gaugler
The Secret History of The Sword – T. Christoph Ameberger
Combat
Knives, Knife Fighting, & Related Hassles – Marc “Animal” MacYoung
Put Em’ Down, Take Em’ Out! Knife Fighting Techniques from Folsom Prison – Don Pentecost
Bowie and Big-Knife Fighting System – Dwight C. McLemore
The History and Art of Personal Combat – Arthur Wise
Samurai Warriors – David Miller
Code of the Samurai
The Art of War
The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe – Sydney Anglo
Medieval Combat – Hans Talhoffer
Master Of The Blade – Richard Ryan
Military Knife Fighting – Robert K. Spear
Methods and Practice of Elizabethan Swordplay – Craig Turner & Tony Soper
Old Swordplay Techniques – Alfred Hutton
Other
The Gift of Fear – Gavin de Becker
Schools and Masters of Fencing – Egerton Castle
On Killing – Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
On Combat – Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
The Duel, A History – Robert Baldick
Movies
Martial Arts Movies
Chinese (Kung-Fu)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee pretty much surprised everyone with his evocative recreation of the Chinese Wuxia (heroic chivalry) tales he read as a youth. The film was an unexpected hit with U.S. critics, did big business at the box office and was even nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards (it lost, but walked away with Best Foreign Film). Hong Kong stars Chow Yun-Fat (ironically in his first ever kung-fu role) and Michelle Yeoh (looking great) bring weight and dignity to their roles as veteran warriors, but it’s then-newcomer Zhang Ziyi who steals the show as the talented, immature and hot-headed young noblewoman who yearns to fight. The stunning wire-fu was by respected choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping (who was introduced to U.S. audiences the year before with “The Matrix” after years of working with the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li). Features several stunning set-pieces, including a nighttime rooftop chase, a haunting levitating dual in a bamboo grove and a knock-out one-on-one match between Zhang and Yeoh.
Drunken Master (1978), Drunken Master II/The Legend of Drunken Master (1994). There is only one Bruce Lee. Unfortunately, in the wake of the Dragon’s untimely death in 1973, Hong Kong producers went about trying to turn every potential star into his replacement. Jackie Chan broke through by charting his own path: one marked by pulling silly faces, falling over himself and getting beaten up as much as he beat the bad guys. In 1978 he teamed up with director/choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping to make “Drunken Master,” a humorous take on the early days of kung-fu legend Wong Fei-Hong (the same character played by Jet Li in “Once Upon a Time in China”). In this film, Wong is a naughty student who is punished by his father by having to train under the Beggar So, who teaches him ‘The Eight Drunken Immortals’ a style of kung-fu that requires the combatant to actually become drunk to be truly effective. The film was a major hit for Chan, who 16 years later, returned to the role in its standout sequel. In his second round as Wong, Chan is fighting Western imperialists bent on stealing Chinese treasure with the help of local cronies. Chicago native Ho-Sung Pak plays a memorable bad guy who ends up on the receiving end of Chan’s drunken fist, but the real show is the final bout between Chan and Ken Lo (in real life Chan’s friend and bodyguard). It . . . simply must be seen to be believed.
Enter the Dragon (1973). The legendary (and unfortunately last) kung-fu movie starring the great Bruce Lee. The first Hong Kong-based kung-fu film to be given a substantial budget and support from a major Hollywood studio (Warner Brothers, collaborating with Hong Kong producer Raymond Chow) features Lee as a Shaolin fighter infiltrating a tournament held on the private island of an evil mastermind. Lee choreographed the fights himself, which show him off at his furious, vein-popping best. The supporting cast includes Jim Kelly (who later starred in the cult favorite “Black Belt Jones”), B-movie star John Saxon and ‘Bolo’ Yeung (here credited as Yang Sze and who later played the villain in “Bloodsport”). Also keep an eye out for top female kung-fu star Angela Mao Ying (in a small part as Lee’s sister), a young Sammo Hung (fighting Lee in the film’s opening), Pat Johnson (who later choreographed “The Karate Kid”) and Jackie Chan (as one of the many unfortunate thugs who gets his neck snapped by Lee in battle).
Fist of Legend (1994). Jet Li. Yuen Woo-Ping. A story based on a classic Bruce Lee film (specifically 1972’s Fist of Fury). It shouldn’t go wrong, and it doesn’t go wrong. In fact, it might be Jet Li’s best movie, though it actually was a box office disappointment in Hong Kong during its initial run. Li plays Chen Zhen, a fictional student of real-life master Huo Yuan-Jia (who Li would later play himself in Fearless (2006)) who runs afoul of a Japanese martial arts school in colonial Shanghai in 1937. Li’s fighting in this film is sharp and brutal, with little or none of the wire work used in most of his films. Several fight scenes pay tribute to Bruce Lee’s work in the original film, and at one point, Li even adopts Lee’s non-telegraphic Jeet Kune Do style of stanceless, mobile fighting. Supposedly this is the film the Wachowski Brothers saw that inspired them to hire Yuen Woo-Ping to choreograph “The Matrix” (1999). Not to be missed.
Once Upon A Time in China (1991). An absolute must-have for kung-fu film fans. Jet Li had been on the scene since being a mainland Wushu champion in the 70s and making his film debut in 1982 with the hit “Shaolin Temple,” but this is the film that put him on the map. Producer/director Tsui Hark cast Li as real-life legendary kung-fu master Wong Fei-Hong in this epic period film pitting Chinese martial artists against corrupt officials and Western encroachment. The opening title sequence and theme music are legendary among genre fans, as is a fantastic fight scene fought on ladders (and later ripped off in the 2001 film “The Musketeer”). Be warned, the film has some blatant, pro-Chinese, anti-West sentiments brimming through it. Followed by four sequels, but the first is the best.
Police Story (1985). In 1985, Jackie Chan starred in the U.S. film “The Protector,” in an attempt to capitalize on his recent success in Hong Kong and U.S. producers hoping to launch him as a new Bruce Lee. It was a change of pace for Chan, as the film had a contemporary police-crime thriller setting. However, the filmmakers didn’t trust Chan’s unique sensibilities, and stripped away pretty much everything that his films memorable (crazy stunts, extended fight sequences, slapstick comedy). In response, Chan returned to Hong Kong and made “Police Story” which was everything that he and his fans could have wanted. Sure, the actual plot is pretty run-of-the-mill (something to do with gangsters and protecting a witness), but the action is UN-FRICKIN-BELIEVABLE. Not just the fight scenes. Chan (as both director and choreographer) showcases almost every aspect of film action a connoisseur could possible ask for: car chases, high falls, breaking glass, kung-fu fights . . . the works. The film even features one of Chan’s most famous stunts – a leap to a metal pole from the top level of an indoor mall atrium and then sliding all the way down to the bottom. It was with this film Chan started his tradition of showing outtakes over the end credits (something he borrowed from the “Cannonball Run” movies he made in the U.S.) which allowed the audience to see the hard work (and painful mistakes) involved in executing his stunts. The movie was an international success, launched a “cop socky” subgenre of contemporary kung-fu films, lead to three sequels (“Police Story II,” “Police Story III: Supercop,” and “Police Story: Story of the CIA” a.k.a. “First Strike”). It also proved enormously influential on other filmmakers, and even had whole stunts and sequences ripped off by Sylvester Stallone in “Tango and Cash” (1989) and Brandon Lee in “Rapid Fire” (1992).
Japanese
Lone Wolf and Cub (1970s). One of the most popular and influential series around in Japan is “Lone Wolf in Cub.” Based on a manga comic book series of the same name, “Lone” follows the adventures of Kozure Okami, formerly chief executioner of his clan. Framed for a crime he didn’t commit and his entire family massacred save his infant son Daigoro, Okami is forced to become a wandering mercenary. Traveling from village to village pushing a baby cart (with hidden weapons) holding Daigoro and a banner reading “Sword and Child for Hire,” Okami helps out the weak and oppressed, while also battling the agents of Retsudo and the Yagyu clan that framed him. The original films series ran from 1972 to 74; there was also a television series in 1973. The storyline was later adapted by comic book writer Max Allen Collins for his Prohibition gangster graphic novel “The Road to Perdition,” which was made into a 2002 film with Tom Hanks.
Samurai Fiction (1998). Director Hiroyuki Nakano is responsible for this light, entertaining romp through 17th century Japan. Filming in a black & white style that pays tribute to the work of such directors as Akira Kurosawa, Nakano provides the audience with a pleasing mixture of samurai action (plus a few ninjas), comedy and light drama. A valuable sword is stolen from a clan by a cocky new recruit (Tomoyasu Hotei), so the clan leader’s not-so-bright son (Morio Kazama) goes chasing after him to get it. The film proved to be a success in Japan and found an audience on video in the U.S. The opening sequence seems to have been the inspiration for part of the Crazy 88 battle in “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003), for which Hotei (who is a rock star in Japan) also provided some music tracks.
The Streetfighter (1974). In the wake of Bruce Lee’s success in Hong Kong, Japan gave us the one and only Sonny Chiba. Starting with “The Streetfighter,” Chiba gave us a memorable new martial arts hero in the form of Terry Tsurugi. However, while Lee always strove to portray a kung-fu fighter bound by codes of honor and loyalty, Chiba’s karate expert Tsurugi is a thug, plain and simple. Sure, he is definitely the good guy, but one not above fighting dirty, as well as thinking dirty. Notable for being the first film to be given the dreaded X rating in the U.S. for the level of violence (quite literally, ‘bone shattering’). Spawned several sequels as wells as making Chiba a bona fide star. Quentin Tarantino paid homage to Chiba by casting him as the Okinawan sushi chef/swordmaker in “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003).
Seven Samurai (1954). The samurai masterpiece. Sometimes even called the most Japanese of Japanese films. Legendary director Akira Kurosawa took a tale of a village that hired masterless samurai to defend them, invested it with a high degree of philosophical insight, warrior ethics and humanity, and then filmed it with (then) state-of-the art film techniques (plus a couple innovations of his own). The film is a bit slow-paced by today’s standards, but it manages to find fans with every new generation, and has been enormously influential upon both Japanese film and the action genre in general. The fight scenes, choreographed by master swordsman Yoshio Sugino, are filmed with a variety of techniques that have become standard: slow-motion, telephoto lenses, rapid cutting. The story has been remade several times, as the Western “The Magnificent Seven” (1960), the sci-fi B-film “Battle Beyond the Stars” (1980), the Pixar cartoon “A Bug’s Life” (1998) and the anime series “Samurai 7” (2004).
Taboo (1999). Controversial Japanese director Nagisa Oshima tackled the samurai genre with this late 90s drama that cast a lens upon a particularly taboo subject: homosexuality. In late-19th century Kyoto, the Shinsegumi militia recruits a young boy (Ryûhei Matsuda) whose striking appearance arouses feelings among some soldiers that go beyond being brothers in arms. Though really a period drama and not an action film, the movie features some of the best depictions of samurai in practice combat with bokken (wooden swords) captured on film, plus a number of short but memorable duals.
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003). Japanese actor/writer/comedian/game show host/jack-of-all-trades Takeshi Kitano (also known as ‘Beat’ Takeshi) directs and stars in this remake of the Japanese swordsman series made famous by its original star Shintaro Katsu. Kitano plays Zatoichi, outwardly a harmless, bumbling blind man who peddles his trade as a masseuse and has a penchant for gambling n 19th century Japan. But actually he is a deadly swordsman with a blade hidden in his cane, superhuman senses of hearing and smell and lightning fast reflexes. Kitano combines the gory artery-spurting style of 70s samurai films with 21st century CGI effects for fight scenes that erupt in fountains of (oddly pretty) geysers of blood. No great meaning here, just a rollicking good time, that concludes with a rousing Hollywood/Bollywood-by-way-of-Japan musical number(?) that will either thrill or alienate you.
The Streetfighter (1974). In the wake of Bruce Lee’s success in Hong Kong, Japan gave us the one and only Sonny Chiba. Starting with “The Streetfighter,” Chiba gave us a memorable new martial arts hero in the form of Terry Tsurugi. However, while also strove to portray a kung-fu fighter bound by codes of honor and loyalty, Chiba’s karate expert Tsurugi is a thug, plain and simple. Sure, he is definitely the good guy, but one not above fighting dirty, as well as thinking dirty. Notable for being the first film to be given the dreaded X rating in the U.S. for the level of violence (quite literally, ‘bone shattering’). Spawned several sequels as wells as making Chiba a bona fide star. Quentin Tarantino paid homage to Chiba by casting him as the Okinawan sushi chef/swordmaker in “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003).
Yojimbo (1961). Another must-see from director Akira Kurosawa. Regular Kurosawa leading man Toshiro Mifune plays Sanjuro, a wandering swordsman of dubious motives who wanders into a frontier town besieged by two warring gangs. Armed with his sword and a sharp mind, Sanjuro slowly, carefully works his way into the confidence of both gangs, and as the bodies start to drop, gradually orchestrates a confrontation to leave the town free of their influence. The Sanjuro character proved so memorable, Kurosawa brought him back in the film “Sanjuro” (1962), which happens to feature one of the all-time greatest samurai duals captured on film. Italian director Sergio Leone transferred the story (and even some of the camera angles) to the Wild West, and with star Clint Eastwood remade the story as “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964) the first of the ‘spaghetti Westerns’ that launched Eastwood’s film career. The film was also remade in 1996 by director Walter Hill with Bruce Willis as the Prohibition era thriller “Last Man Standing.”
Scenes
