Eat the Book: A Process for Understanding Historical Sources

Historical European Martial Arts draws from a rich tradition that includes instructional texts from the period when these practices flourished. While studying these materials isn’t required to learn the arts, they offer substantial value to practitioners who want to understand the tradition’s roots.

At Academie Duello, we require Scholar rank candidates to engage with introductory sections from either Ridolfo Capo Ferro’s rapier manual (1610) or Fiore dei Liberi’s medieval martial arts manual (1409). The objective is understanding tradition roots and recognizing the scholarly efforts to revive these historical practices.

For those pursuing comprehensive understanding of a manual’s teachings, here’s a systematic approach.

A Systematic Approach to Deep Study

1. Read Cover to Cover Without Interpretation

Historical sources differ fundamentally from modern technical manuals. Authors often assume readers possess foundational martial knowledge. They reveal particular approaches rather than building sequentially from basics.

A preliminary quick read establishes overall concepts and the text’s structural flow. Don’t get stuck trying to understand every technique. Just absorb the shape of the material.

2. Touch Every Technique

Using timed intervals, briefly explore each technique without demanding rigor. Give yourself five minutes per technique, try it a few times, then move on regardless of whether you’ve mastered it.

This exposure phase prevents getting stuck on individual interpretations while missing broader patterns and repetitions elsewhere in the text. Often, a confusing passage early in a manual becomes clear after you’ve seen related material later.

3. Interpret

With foundational familiarity established, begin rigorous study section by section with weapon and partner present.

Consult broader community research. Standing on predecessors’ shoulders advances scholarship more effectively than purely independent work. Someone else may have already solved the puzzle you’re struggling with.

4. Memorize

Memorizing sections reveals connections impossible to perceive while reading. When the text lives in your body, not just your eyes, you notice patterns that extensive notation may never expose.

Performing techniques from memory allows them to inform each other in ways that reading cannot replicate.

5. Repeat

Revisiting materials across years yields continuous insights. Exposure to other texts and contemporary interpretations enhances your capacity for discovering fresh understanding from established sources.

The manual you think you know thoroughly will teach you something new when you return to it with additional experience.

A Final Note

Don’t let rigorous methodology discourage engagement with historical materials in any accessible form. Dabbling and casual exploration provide genuine value. Not everyone needs to be a scholar to benefit from contact with the source material.

Even a superficial familiarity with historical texts connects you to the tradition in ways that purely modern instruction cannot.