Getting Started in Bolognese Swordsmanship

[Keith P. Myers]

Hey Guys!

Recently I've started the study of the Italian Bolognese system and I am really liking it! So I thought I'd start a thread to encourage others that have an interest to give it a shot. This is a method that doesn't really seem to get the attention that it deserves!

To start off, go here and download these excellent introductory handouts produced by Steven Reich and Tom Leoni:

http://www.salvatorfabris.com/BologneseFundamentals.pdf

http://www.salvatorfabris.com/BologneseIntroduction.pdf

Get the basic equipment. Kult of Athena seems to have the best prices. To start out you need a sword & buckler.
The Hanwei "Practical Sidesword" could have a little better balance, but its not bad for the price! $129

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp ... Side+Sword

You will also need a buckler. The GDRB 9 inch buckler works well, and you also can't beat the price! $25

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp ... %2D+9+Inch

Once you have these you can start working through the basic stances, strikes and footwork. But eventually you'll want to go a little further and it will be time to get Tom Leoni's translation of Antonio Manciolino's manual. Its a bargain at $33!

http://www.freelanceacademypress.com/co ... dsman.aspx

So for an investment of about $200, a little talent, and a lot of study and practice you will be well on your way to learning one of the coolest HEMA styles out there!


Bookmark these pages as excellent references and "jumping off points" for all things "Bolognese":

http://www.salvatorfabris.com/SectionBolognese.shtml
http://nova-assalto.salvatorfabris.com/
http://www.marozzo.com/blog/

[Keith P. Myers]

Now, you may ask..."so what's so cool about Bolognese Swordsmanship?" Thanks for asking! This is why I'm liking it:

1. The core weapon system is sword & buckler (at least for Marozzo and Manciolino). Sword & Buckler is one of my favorite things, so finding a system centered around it was cool for me! The only other documented Sword & Buckler system is the German I.33 method. But it is only Sword & Buckler. The Bolognese method starts with Sword & Buckler and then goes on to explain how to apply the same concepts and methods to many other weapons.

2. Bolognese Swordsmanship has many "Assalti", which is the same thing as the eastern martial art "form" or "kata." I do a lot of solo practicing. It can get a bit boring doing basic stuff over and over. So again, I thought it was pretty cool to discover a HEMA method that had many historical and well-documented "forms" to learn and practice. There is enough material here to keep solo workouts challenging and interesting for a very long time!

3. There are multiple documented resources for the Bolognese Tradition. There are 5 manuals detailing the tradition that span about 80 years. They have good internal cohesion. What may not be very clear in one manual is often explained better in another. They are laid out in a clear manner that is easy to follow. There are no cryptic verses to try and figure out a hidden meaning. And we are starting to see good translations. Tom's translation of Manciolino is excellent, and a good translation of Marozzo can't be far behind!

4. The system is very versatile. It was designed for multiple situations....battlefield, personal defense, dueling, and "school fencing." The manuals clearly lay out one mode of training designed for exhibition and school fencing, and another for fighting in "ernest." It also covers a multitude of weapons. Sword & Buckler (3 versions of the buckler), Sword & Shield (what other manuals do you know of that cover truly historical sword & shield methods?), sword & dagger, Sword & cape, 2 swords, sword alone, dagger alone, two-handed sword, partisan, spiedo (spear-like weapon), spear, and ronca (halberd-like weaon or "bill").

5. The "spada da due mani" or two-handed sword method uses a big sword also called a "spadone". It is very similar to the Portuges "montante." Its not as big as the German "zweihander", but close! However, I'm finding that the methods are easily adaptable to the Longsword. And what you end up with is a method different enough from the German Longsword or Fiore's dei Liberi's Longsword to be a 3rd major entry to the HEMA Longsword traditions. I'm kind of excited about developing this further. So I find this to be another cool aspect about the system.

[Steven Reich]

Keith,

You write good promotional material I'm glad to see people start to notice my favorite system of swordsmanship.

Keep checking my NoVA-Assalto site for material as I compile and assemble it for "human consumption" and put it online. Since people sometimes have trouble figuring out some of the underlying requirements for the techniques (i.e. such as the starting measure of a complex action, etc.) from the original text, I have been slowly putting up introductory and intermediate material. In addition, I have some pedagogical material I have been working on (for example, an article on preparing cut) and various other things to give people without access to an instructor the ability to avoid some of the mistakes that I had to learn the hard way.

Steve

[Keith P. Myers]

Here's a good primer page on Bolognese Swordsmanship from Ilkka of Finland. It has video of a basic form as well as the basic guards. Putting Steve's and Tom's PDF articles together with Ilkka's video will put you well on your way!

http://www.marozzo.com/guide.html

[Michael-Forest]

Time for some thread necromancy!

Steven, since you're the resident Bolognese expert, would you recommend the Hanwei practical sidesword and the aforementioned buckler as a good entry-level sword & buckler pair, or would you recommend anything different?

[Steven Reich]

Time for some thread necromancy!

Steven, since you're the resident Bolognese expert, would you recommend the Hanwei practical sidesword and the aforementioned buckler as a good entry-level sword & buckler pair, or would you recommend anything different?

I assume you mean the GDFB 9" or 12" bucker?

Yes, these can work well for entry level. One caveat would be that for some women (or people with relatively low upper-body strength), these might be too heavy/unwieldy. That doesn't mean that the Hanwei Sidesword is necessarily "heavy", just that it is on the higher side of blade-heaviness. The GDFB bucklers are also a little heavy, but the 9" version is within the bounds of reason and even the 12" is passable for most people.

An alternative to the Hanwei Sidesword is the Practical Knightly sword. The only problem is that the blade is rather short and you can't (safely) finger the ricasso. Personally, I prefer a sword to be heavy enough that you learn to use more than just your forearm to wield and control it.

Steve

[Michael-Forest]

So, I just discovered that my pdf of the Fundamentals is corrupt, and the link is broken.

[Steven Reich]

So, I just discovered that my pdf of the Fundamentals is corrupt, and the link is broken.

Go to this link: http://www.nova-assalto.com/files/BologneseFundamentals.pdf

Steve

[Michael-Forest]

Many thanks.

[nathan f]

is there any similar pdfs that are about just the rapier in this style?
the above pdf is brilliant thanks for it. thanks for the help.