A New Book About Pollaxe Combat

I am very pleased to announce the publication of the third book in the die Schlachtschule armored combat series entitled The Play of the Axe: Medieval Pollaxe Combat by Hugh T. Knight, Jr.

This book is intended to introduce the reader to authentic medieval pollaxe techniques as taught by medieval fighting masters. It begins with a general introduction about medieval fight books and the nature of armored pollaxe combat, and follows with a chapter dedicated to the strategic principles of medieval combat as they apply to the pollaxe. The author then gives a detailed chapter on how to train, including information about finding a teacher, training without one, and the equipment necessary for training. Next, the book goes on to explore detailed pollaxe techniques, starting with fundamentals such as stance, footwork and guards, and moving logically through techniques to be used in a wide variety of situations in pollaxe combat. Finally, it ends with an appendix containing instructions for creating drills to use with any of the techniques in the book, rules for free play in armor designed to recreate real combat, and a detailed glossary. Consisting of more than 200 pages containing over 380 pictures, this is the most detailed and carefully-researched book on armored combat written since the Middle Ages. It is available in both a perfect-bound edition and a spiral-bound edition designed to lay open flat for use at practices.

This book will be of interest to anyone with an interest in knighthood, medieval combat, history or martial arts in general.

The Play of the Axe: Medieval Pollaxe Combat has been published through Lulu.com and is only available for internet purchase at this time:

http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=906667

The author is the founder and head instructor of die Schlachtschule: The School of Battle in North Hollywood, CA, a school dedicated to rediscovering and practicing the knightly arts of combat from medieval Germany. He has more than 30 years of martial experience ranging from traditional Japanese sword and grappling arts to over ten years of German martial arts. He founded die Schlachtschule in 2003 and teaches a curriculum that includes sword, spear, pollaxe, grappling and dagger combat both in and out of armor. More information can be found on the school’s web site:

http://www.schlachtschule.org/