Japanese Spears: Polearms and Their Use in Old Japan Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The book is very well prepared and historicaly well based.
The writer deeply investigated the context between the history of the polearms and the history of the imigrant nations. The book richly describe the culture of the polearms as Naginata, Yari, Nagimaki weapons and their existing and historical forms.
We can read about also the religional background of the weapons.
The book also shows the practical martial use of polearms in limited sections.
There is no any word about the forging and crafting processes, so who are interested in it, had to choose an another book.
I realy enjoyed to read the book, as a "fan" of the Japanese nations and weapons.
The only bad thing what I have experienced, that it was realy difficult to connect to the pictures in the secdond section of the book.
There are realy detailed, labelings and explanations of the origin of the written resources, but there is no any direct link for ex. numbers or identification codes to the pictures. I had to use the Japanese names for identification, but sometimes it realy makes nervous.
For any cas the book is recommended for the ones who are fan or interesting for the Japanes polearms. I think it worth the price.



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This is the first book in English to provide a fully illustrated guide to the use of polearms ranging from the earliest halberds and spears reaching Japan from the Asian mainland to the sophisticated naginata, nagamaki and various forms of yari used by the Japanese samurai through the medieval period. While the sword remains the best known of Japanese weapons, it was the halberd (naginata) and then the yari that dominated the battlefields up to the early seventeenth century, and thereafter the yari became an important status symbol to many warrior families. Additionally, the authors focus on the actual method of use of these weapons, hitherto an almost unknown aspect in the West.

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Polearms Of Paulus Hector Mair Review

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(More customer reviews)This book has some really great techniques in it and as far as i can tell the translations are good, it is presented in Latin (I assume) German and English. The illustrations are for the most part copies of the originals and very good although in some cases there were apparently some editing done to make them more clear, shading changes etc. and some of the pictures according to the authors are created from scratch by taking parts of other illustrations and combining them for techniques which were not illustrated.

The problem with the book is the original author is is not always clear in describing positions and moves; Some of his terms are ambiguous and he does not usually specify direction when you should parry or swing. Each technique is illustrated but each consists of a starting position and then several moves and counter moves to make from that position and there is only one illustration.
I am having fun and learning quite a bit from this but I find I spend much more time figuring out what position I and my opponent are supposed to be in and how I am supposed to move than i would like.
I would recommend this book if you want to learn more polearm techniques but i would suggest a practice partner to do so.


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Paulus Hector Mair was perhaps the most intriguing figure in the Liechtenauer tradition of German Renaissance martial arts. An enthusiastic practitioner of fencing, wrestling and other martial arts, he was determined to preserve the knowledge of the combat arts of his time. His dream is realized in this remarkable book by authors David James Knight and Brian Hunt.Mair collected a vast combat library, including works by Jörg Wilhalm, Antonius Rast, Gregor Erhart and Sigmund Ringeck, as well as copies of both the Codex Wallerstein and the Königsegg-Talhoffe manuscript. Circa 1540, Mair produced the Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica, or Ultimate Book of the Art of Athletics, a massive compendium heavily influenced by the earlier works in his library but surpassing them in content and depth. Today only three complete manuscripts of his Opus survive in German and Austrian collections.In Polearms of Paulus Hector Mair, authors Knight and Hunt make their contribution to the endeavor that Mair began so many centuries ago. Working from both the German and Latin versions of Mair's Opus, they present chapters on combat with the poleax, halberd, spear and shortstaff, and lance and longstaff, with text in the original German and Latin, along with the English translation. The illustrations, taken from the Dresden codices, C93 and C94, have been meticulously restored to give a clear view of the techniques.This amazing volume, a labor of love of the arts of combat, belongs in the library of everyone with an interest in Renaissance martial arts.

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