Daggers are mentioned in many modern books about medieval and Renaissance swordplay, but until now none described how daggers were used in combat. Drawing from sources written from 1409?1600 (including the works of Hans Talhoffer, Fiore dei Liberi, Filippo Vadi, Joachim Meyer and more), this book uses step-by-step photos and historic illustrations to demonstrate the deadly and effective techniques of European dagger fighting. Talhoffer and the others were men with real fighting experience, not self-promoted "grand masters" or denizens of the training hall, and they wrote the manuals that form the basis for Medieval and Renaissance Dagger Combat. The dynamics of the knife fight have not changed over the centuries, and the masters' lessons are as useful against an attacker with today's tactical folder as they were against the first dagger. AUTHOR: Jason Vail began his study of martial arts with judo at age 12, and at 18 he began a lifelong study of karate. He began his weapons training with iaido and bojutsu in the late 1970s, shortly afterward turning to Vietnamese staff and spear. He has been studying and interpreting medieval and Renaissance fighting manuals, focusing primarily on unarmed and armed dagger techniques, since 2001. ILLUSTRATIONS: illustrated throughout
