Historical Fencing Manual: Rapier-Fencing in the 17th and 18th Centuries (Paperback)
Modern fencing's origins come from the elegant, and deadly rapier of the late Italian Renaissance. Several schools of rapier fencing existed, amongst which one of the strongest and longest lasting was the Roman-Neapolitan-Sicilian School of swordsmanship (Scuola Romana-Napoletana-Siciliana). Arising from the early, northern school, the southern school dates to 17th-Century, in Rome, then spread throughout the South of Italy and evolved uninterruptedly until the 19th-Century, when it merged with the more modern traditions of fencing. Historical Fencing Handbook: Rapier-Fencing in the 17th- and 18th-Centuries, is a true, modern fencing manual for training in this tradition, written by a modern master of the art. The texts of the 17th-and 18th-century masters are broken-down, synthesized and arranged into a concise, modern pedagogy, opening a gateway to the southern Italian school for the very first time. Beginning with fundamentals of stance, footwork, attack and defense, the text also covers complex provocations, disarms and grapples, and use of the left-hand dagger - a complete course under one cover.
Francesco Loda has sought to model his life on that of the "swordsman-scholars" of the Renaissance. As a scholar, he has a Ph.D in the History of Religions, and a second Ph. D. in Ancient Civilization and History. He began historical fencing in 1999, gaining the rank of Maestro d'Arme (Master-at-Arms) from the Italian Fencing Federation (F.I.S) and recognition as an athletic trainer by the Italian Olympic Committee. He is a founding member and president of A.I.M.A. - Italian Master-at-Arms Association, a young organization charged with creating a new generation of historical fencing teachers. As an athlete, from 2004 - 2017 he has won over six metals, forty gold, in rapier and sword tournaments throughout Europe and U.S.A., making him the most awarded athlete in competitive rapier fencing.