Book Review: Vass, Epee Fencing: A Complete System

The title of this book is not misleading. Vass has written an exhaustive book on épeé fencing that is both complete and detailed. It remains one of the few written sources of épeé actions available in bookstores, though it has been out of print for some time and is difficult to find, and expensive when one does.

Unfortunately, this book covers épeé fencing from a perspective that is now over 60 years old, and probably older than that, considering that Vass is speaking from a long tradition of épeé in Hungary. A Complete System is almost as much an historical reference as it is a trainging manual.

The system Vass discusses is both strongly oriented on blade technique and is very static. Footwork is primarily discussed as a way to deliver a hit or escape one, unlike modern épeé in which footwork is part and parcel of preparation and tactical surprise. The book is filled with blade moves and counter-moves. . . and moves to defeat those countermoves. This is an in depth analysis here of a style of épeé that we don't see anymore, a system that "Epee 2.0" effectively put to an end.

The book is illustrated with copious numbers of line drawings. Often, I prefer drawings to mediocre pictures. The drawings are well done, but often when reading the text I would find myself trying to puzzle out just what the author was trying to get across. Sometimes the drawings were helpful, and sometimes not.

This is not to say that you shouldn't own this book. There is a wealth of detail on the technical blade actions of épeé, which are occasionally useful and are often referred to in other books. As a reference guide, it can't be beaten. It's a good perspective on "where we've been", but this is far from the definitive book on epee which—I feel—has yet to be written.