Brief Instructions Upon My Paradoxes of Defence - George Silver

Brief Instructions Upon My Paradoxes of Defence is a foundational text of English martial arts, written by George Silver as a practical companion to his 1599 treatise Paradoxes of Defence. Where the Paradoxes argued the case for traditional English weapons over the imported Italian rapier, the Brief Instructions lays out the actual techniques, covering short sword, off hand grappling, sword and dagger, sword and buckler, two hand sword, staff, forest bill, and pike and dagger.

This Scholler's Edition keeps Silver's original language intact but modernizes the spelling, with clear layout and footnotes drawn from the Paradoxes of Defence for context. Compact and pocket sized, built as a training companion rather than just a shelf reference.

Essential for students of English swordsmanship, backsword, and the historical English and Continental fencing rivalry.

136 pages | Paperback