Joachim Meyer 1570 — Long Staff · Video-book

For Meyer the long staff is more than one weapon among many. It is the foundation the whole of his polearm work rests on: what you learn on a bare haft you take with you to the halberd and the pike. And because a staff has neither head nor edge, there is nothing to hide behind — what remains is the essential business of handling, leverage, reach and the work of both hands.

It is also the most accessible weapon in the entire book. A staff costs next to nothing, can be had anywhere, and can be trained in a garden or a gym without a mask or protective kit. Anyone wanting to start with pole weapons starts here.

What the chapter teaches

Meyer begins with the positions and with how the staff is handled at all. From there he works through every play described in the text, in the order they stand in the print. The playlist follows him page by page, so you never have to decide what comes next: the master set the order.

How the video-book works

The video-book is two separate products and the link between them. The e-book is the parallel edition Fencing with the Dagger and Polearms: the original wording on one page, the translation beside it. The playlist holds 50 videos covering every page and every play of the chapter.

Here the link is made literal. Every video opens with the image of the page it treats. You never have to hunt for your place in the text — it is there in the first second of the recording. Read the book, play the video, practise alone or with a training partner.

What the video-book contains

• The e-book Fencing with the Dagger and Polearms in parallel layout — original and translation side by side
• A playlist of 50 videos covering the long staff chapter
• The positions and the handling of the staff
• Every play described in the text, in the order of the print
• The image of the relevant page at the start of each video

Who it is for

For anyone who wants to begin with pole weapons without buying expensive kit. For sword fencers looking for a weapon with a different logic — the staff teaches leverage and reach in a way the sword never quite gets to. And for instructors, as material for a course that can be run outdoors, with minimal equipment and a group of any size.

The video-book is not a substitute for training or for an instructor's guidance. The performances follow Meyer's text and keep to its reading.