Book description
The Viking shield wall is a famed battle strategy, tens of hundreds
of men interlocked, reliant on their neighbours for survival. What are
less well known are the actual techniques used in solo hand-to-hand
combat, used in duels and other forms of close quarter engagements.
Based on a comprehensive analysis of Viking sagas and other period
sources, this is the first book to present a step by step martial
system. Martial Arts expert Antony Cummings reveals the hitherto
hidden world of Viking combat, ranging from the techniques involved in
thrust, block and cut, to the weapons used, the limitations of period
armour and the range of wounds suffered by combatants. Illustrated
with over 250 drawings and photographs, and based on the sagas and
writings of the Vikings themselves, The Illustrated Guide to Viking
Martial Arts represents one of the earliest fighting manuals in the
world, and a fascinating insight into the warriors who were the
scourge of Dark Age Europe.
Antony Cummins has a Masters degree in Archaeology and is the
author of True Path of the Ninja, To Stand on a Stone and
Conversations with an Assassin. He is a martial arts teacher and a
specialist on the ninjutsu manuals of Japan, and has released several
DVDs, as well as working as a host in the documentary The Ninja:
Shadow Warriors.
