Reddit reviews Highland Broadsword: Five Manuals of Scottish Regimental Swordsmanship
We found 2 Reddit comments about Highland Broadsword: Five Manuals of Scottish Regimental Swordsmanship. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Anti-Pugilism by Captain G. SinclairFencing Familiarized by Thomas MathewsonLectures on the Art of Defence by Archibald MacGregorOn the Use of the Broadsword by Henry AngeloThe Art of Defence on Foot with Broadsword and Saber by John Taylor
Silver is a very difficult starting manuscript because it is pretty high level stuff and fairly light on specifics that would allow you to apply your high level learning. He's also opinionated as hell but that's not a bad thing. And it's worth noting that people who have studied Silver for years still disagree on what the true times actually mean!
The only texts that are really accessible to a beginner quickly are the later military saber texts because they are supposed to be simple. An example text with reprints: http://www.amazon.com/Highland-Broadsword-Scottish-Regimental-Swordsmanship/dp/1891448218/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377705921&sr=1-3&keywords=highland+sword and a good place to find them online: http://www.fioredeiliberi.org/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=21
I really recommend finding a group even if you have to drive quite a ways to avoid the really painful completely clueless stage in interpreting earlier stuff.
Are you looking for history of the region and culture or historical treatises?
A single compendium of treatises that I (with a lot of help from others) put together.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1trCQd0eCL8cyaJGKIOkr8rPSSGtaOC7I0nw2PvAQaAw/edit?usp=sharing
For "old style" broadsword the most important texts are probably Hope, Wylde, McBane, Page, Miller, and Lonnergan. For the later "regimental" broadsword styles look at Sinclair, Angelo, Taylor, Mathewson, and Roworth. Roworth is the most accessible for a new practitioner.
Cateran Society is probably the single go to source, though there would be others. If you had to buy one book it would be "Lessons from the Broadsword Masters" which effectively combines his previous books. This will give you a good grounding on the cultural and military history of the region and then an a comprehensive look at the techniques and approaches.
https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Broadsword-Masters-Christopher-Thompson/dp/0359139639
Unortunately Wagner and Rector's "Highland Broadsword" book is out of print. https://www.amazon.com/Highland-Broadsword-Scottish-Regimental-Swordsmanship/dp/1891448218
The included treatises/manuals can all be sourced elsewhere now but there are some essays that would be nice to be able to read.
Scottish Broadsword is nice but not necessary, I would consider it informative once you have a main core of research and practice done.
https://www.amazon.com/Scottish-Fencing-Small-Sword-Broadsword-Battlefield/dp/0999056735/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=33678FJ3DZY411T3YJA9